NTLDR missing ( is it me or the drive?)

[wolfhound]

Okay, I have done some searching around and seems that NTLDR missing is a semi-common problem. The issue that I have it that I believe that I have done all the troubleshooting however, I wanted to check with the forum to verify this. Plus, I wanted to share the scenrio with you as well.

1. Partioned new 200 GB drive into two 50GB and one 100 GB
2. Installed W2K on one of the 50GB partions
3. Loaded all drivers and baseline software
4. Was moving data from network drive on another machine when I got an error that said "need to run CHKDSK on C:"
5. Everytime I hit okay and hope to be able to run CHKDSK the error message would pop up again
6. So, I tried to re-boot Big mistake. Machine never booted again and could not rescue OS
7. Re-installed the OS again and installed all drivers and software
8. Things were going good until I tried to move a file once again from the network drive
9. System re-booted on it's own and came back up with NTLDR error

So, if I am undertanding this correctly I can fix this with a program run from a bootable CD. I beleive that I have the latest BIOS for my MoBo (N7NCG 400) however, I have been unable to verify. Could the partitions on the drive be the cause of these errors?

Thanks.

[TennesseeStud]

Say wolfhound I had this error message happen once to me when I had a tech come out to my home and install a new mother board. After he was done and started the machine back up. I started getting this same message NTLDR missing. When I inquired to the tech what the heck that meant? He calls on the phone to his tech support and they told him it was a software issue and he was to leave, I asked him what am I suppose to do now coz I was left with a computer that wouldn't even boot at all.
His reply was hey, my tech support told me it's a software issue so you'll have to take care of it your-self. I called Gateway tech support and they told me it meant that I had a corrupted system.
1. I did tell them their tech caused this.
2. That didn't seem to matter to them and I had to do a complete re-install of OS.
3. I really dunno if this info will help you but I thought I would share what happened to me.

Best of Luck wolfhound.

[wolfhound]

I have pretty much settled on it being a software issue. I am concerned that I could go through a ton of work only for it to happen again due to me not having a setting correct.
I am not really sure if it would be a BIOS issue or a partition issue.

[mouse1]

wolfhound I had that same exact problem you are describing, I partitioned my hard drive also and moved files from one part to another and it would not boot, my conclusion was that the files I was moving were installed to operate from that part and when you move them the directory just could not find them and would not boot, I reinstalled OS and left the file where they were and it runs fine

[rspassey]

I have never dealt with this problem, but I did some searching.

See if the info on this site will be of any help:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318728

[glc]

In order for a Win2K system to properly recognize a hard drive larger than 137gb, you need SP 3 or 4 and EnableBigLBA set in the registry. What you need to do is start over, repartition, but ONLY make the first partition. Once Windows is installed and UPDATED as per the linked article, then you can create the additional partitions in Disk Management.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;305098

If you still have problems, run manufacturer's diagnostics on the hard drive.

[mouse1]

Originally Posted by glc In order for a Win2K system to properly recognize a hard drive larger than 137gb, you need SP 3 or 4 and EnableBigLBA set in the registry. What you need to do is start over, repartition, but ONLY make the first partition. Once Windows is installed and UPDATED as per the linked article, then you can create the additional partitions in Disk Management. http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;305098 If you still have problems, run manufacturer's diagnostics on the hard drive.

thank you glc I forgot to mention that about SP4 and Enablbiglba, which I also had to do...

[wolfhound]

So, if I am understanding the thread. Here is what I need to do. BTW - Had SP3 and SP4 installed however, I am thinking that I will have to ster from scratch.

• Move all data from the HD in question back to network drive
• Remove all partitions from HD
• Install OS on HD
• Update with all Service Packs
• Use tools in OS to make second partition.

Did I get this correct?

[glc]

Yep. Before using the OS tools to create the rest of the partitions, update with SP4 and set the EnableBigLBA. You do not need to install SP3, you can go straight from baseline to SP4.

[MrRodeoCC]

You never said if you had a floppy disk inserted, everytime I tried to boot once the OS is loaded and a floppy disk is in the drive I've seen an NTLDR is missing message. It makes you feel real silly once you take the disk out and it boots right up. Check the bios and make sure you set the boot priorities to hard drive, cdrom, an then removable drive (ie floppy)

[wolfhound]

No floppy drive on this machine. However, I am now faced with another issue due to this situation.

Before wiping the drive clean of all data and partitions I wanted to pull the data off and put it back on my network drive. I removed the HD from the box and connected to a USB to IDE adapter with my laptop. To my dismay only one of the three drive partions (drives) was still accessable.

Is there a repair I can do that will allow me to pull the data back off?

[BatMon]

I have had this problem a few times. Just put your Win XP cd in and repair Windows XP. If that doesn't work creat a Boot Disk on another computer.

[wolfhound]

Not a XP machine, it is a W2K machine.

I am still wanting to pull the data off prior to trying the boot.ini fix.

[BatMon]

Put in your W2K cd and repiar it.

[wolfhound]

Will it repair damage done to the file system on one of the partitions?