NTLDR is Missing.

What is NTLDR?

NTLDR is short for NT loader – a program loaded from the hard drive boot sector that displays the Microsoft Windows NT startup menu and helps Microsoft Windows NT load. So when it goes missing for some reason, your windows cannot load. I use Windows XP on a Pentium 4 PC. Though it seemed common on a routine google search, it was not so easy to fix and many forums reported that formatting hard drive was the last solution eventually.

NTLDR Error Message

There are few different ways that the "NTLDR is missing" error may present itself, with the first listing being the most common:

    "NTLDR is missing
    Press any key to restart"

    "NTLDR is missing
    Press Ctrl Alt Del to restart"

    "Boot: Couldn't find NTLDR
    Please insert another disk"

The "NTLDR is missing" error displays very shortly after the computer is first started, immediately after the Power On Self  Test (POST)  is complete. Windows XP has only initially begun to load when the NTLDR error message appears.

Causes of NTLDR Errors

There are a number of possible causes for NTLDR errors, including the most common "NTLDR is missing" error message.

The most common reason for this error is when your PC is trying to boot from a hard drive or flash drive that is not properly configured to be booted from; in other words, it's trying to boot from a non-bootable source. This also would apply to media on an optical drive or floppy drive that you're trying to boot from.

Other possible causes include corrupt and misconfigured files, hard drive and operating system upgrade issues, corrupt hard drive sectors, an outdated BIOS, and damaged or loose IDE cables.

How we fixed NTLDR Missing on Our Computer

1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter, which in this case is "e." This letter may be different on your computer.
   
   copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
   copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.

NOTE: This article is for informational purpose only and is just a detail of how I went about fixing my computer for common NTLDR error which can affect your computer too. If you are not an expert in hardware or software computer issues, seek professional support. Unnecessary mishandling the computer hardware of software could make your computer unusable and cause data loss permanently.

Posted in: HOW TOS, NTLDR