"NTLDR missing" - no OS yet

[stargazer777]

OK, from forum searches, I see that this message ("NTLDR missing") appears sometimes with systems that have already been operating.

THIS system is my wife's PC, which I am trying to rebuild. I have not installed the OS yet. The POST hangs at the point where it SHOULD read the Win XP CD on the CD drive, but instead I get the message "NTLDR missing".

Elsewhere, it seems this message possibly means a corrupted or deleted system file. But, what does it mean when the OS hasn't even been installed yet ??

System so far:

Soyo mobo, model SY-K7VMP2
AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (Thoroughbred model 8) CPU
512 MB DDR RAM
1.44 MB floppy drive (disconnected AND disabled in BIOS)
Maxtor 160 GB ATA-133 HDD (8 MB cache)
Sony 48X CD-ROM drive
ATI video card (128 MB VRAM)
(NO sound card or NIC yet)

Thanks in advance ...

- Dave in VA

[Tuttle]

It means it's trying to boot from the hard drive instead of the CD. Make sure the boot device order in BIOS setup has the CD drive listed above the hard drive. Also make sure you're paying attention when it boots -- there will normally be a 'Press any key to enter setup' prompt when it boots from the CD, and a few seconds later it will try the hard drive instead.

[stargazer777]

Thanks, Tuttle -

For anyone who was wondering, I did indeed set the BIOS for booting first from the floppy, then from the CD.

I currently have the floppy as the first boot device, since the system doesn't seem to want to boot from the CD.

Unfortunately, I can't locate my Bootable Win XP diskette which helps the system zero in on the Win XP CD, and I'm still getting that "NTLDR missing" message.

I also can't seem to locate the previous source I had to create a Bootable Win XP diskette -- can anyone point me to a good one ? It's got to be free, and I want the files needed to fit on just ONE floppy disk ..... I don't want to mess with that ubiquitous set of 6-diskettes.

ALSO: One site had instructions to copy 3 files which it said would be found in the C: root directory where system files are. The files were boot.ini, NTLDR and one other .... BUT .... not only were they NOT there, I couldn't get WinXP to locate them at all, anywhere -- even with search settings allowing hidden/system files. (Yes, I also had these allowed under the Folder Options settings). What's going on here ??


Thanks, everyone ! for the help so far.

- Dave in VA

[SuperSparks]

Ntdetect.com is the other file. And if ntldr isn't there in the root folder of C:, that would explain why you have been getting "ntldr is missing" messages. You can copy ntldr and ntdetect.com from the XP CD, and here is a standard boot.ini (assuming XP is loaded onto the C: drive):

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

For boot disks, you can get what you need here:

Bootdisks

either the 6 floppies, or alternatively, get a Win98 Startup floppy, boot into DOS with cdrom support and then navigate to the i386 folder on the CD. Then run Winnt.exe and Setup will start.

[stargazer777]

Originally posted by SuperSparks
Ntdetect.com is the other file. And if ntldr isn't there in the root folder of C:, that would explain why you have been getting "ntldr is missing" messages. You can copy ntldr and ntdetect.com from the XP CD, and here is a standard boot.ini (assuming XP is loaded onto the C: drive):

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

For boot disks, you can get what you need here:

Bootdisks

either the 6 floppies, or alternatively, get a Win98 Startup floppy, boot into DOS with cdrom support and then navigate to the i386 folder on the CD. Then run Winnt.exe and Setup will start.

SuperSparks,

Thank you very much for your insight and comments.

You did sorta overlook a couple of things:

1.) You said, "here is a standard boot.ini (assuming XP is loaded onto the C: drive)" Well, as I indicated before, incoluding the title of the post, there is *no* OS installed yet The whole point here is that I cannot begin the install until this situation is resolved. Or am *I* missing something in what you were saying?

2.) You said, "either the 6 floppies, or alternatively, get a Win98 Startup floppy, boot into DOS with cdrom support ..." I really, REALLY want to be able to use just one floppy, with the bare minimum of what's needed to get my system to get onto the WinXP CD. .......... You also provided a link for Boot Disks, but the only solution I see on that site is the 6-disk set (aaauughhhh!!!)

Thanks again,
- Dave in VA

[SuperSparks]

So why were you looking for the Windows XP boot files if you hadn't even installed Windows?

And there is no single disk for Win XP, you either have to use the 6 floppy set, or a Windows 98 (or ME) one using the method that I explained above. Which are there right above the XP disks.

get a Win98 Startup floppy, boot into DOS with cdrom support and then navigate to the i386 folder on the CD. Then run Winnt.exe and Setup will start.

[stargazer777]

Ah, I see, Sparks .... OK.

I tried hard to avoid sounding accusatory .... I told you I was probably missing something Sorry to be so thick headed, I'm on cold meds today

I guess the main prob was I got terms confused, such as "boot disk". Perhaps what I'm saying I need is more of a "setup disk".

I will try the Win98 diskette idea and see what happens.

Again, thank you very much for your help ....


- Dave in VA

[stargazer777]

OK, at the moment, I have a bootable disk (Win 98SE) that's working. The system seems to "see" the CD drive, but it assigns it drive letter "R:" (??????).

At the final A: prompt, I ask for drive R: and I in fact get an R: prompt .... BUT when I type DIR or DIR/P <Return>, it says Not Ready Reading Drive R: (or to that effect) and the famous "Abort, Retry, Fail?" query.

If the system is seeing the CD drive and a drive letter is showing up for it, what in the world is stopping it from seeing the directories and files on the WinXP CD ???

- Dave in VA

[stargazer777]

OK, I got one step further .... I switched out the CD drive for a different one, and the system was able to "see" the directories and files on the WinXP CD right away!

As I said, the system assigned the drive letter "R:" to the CD drive and that is still the case. Also, when I access the CD from the A: prompt, type in Setup and hit return, I get the message "Cannot start setup from a DOS prompt" or words to that effect.

Well, geezz .... if there is no OS on the HDD yet, then what else can you have besides a DOS prompt ?? I know I'm forgetting something crucial here, but I'm just too out of it from cold meds

- Dave in VA

[SuperSparks]

There are some customised bootdisks on that site, you have downloaded one of those. If you want the normal bootdisk go back and download the OEM version. It really doesn't matter though, the customised one should work as well, apart from the odd drive letter assignment.

To install WinXP, as I explained, you need to navigate to the i386 folder on the CD, so that the prompt reads R:\i386> once you're there, type "Winnt.exe" without the quotes. There is no Setup.exe in Win2000/XP.