How to: Fix 'NTLDR is missing' error at startup

Tech-Pro
Home
How To: Fix "NTLDR is missing" Related products
About us Applies to: Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Contact us Spotmau PowerSuite
Newsletter RSS MagiCure Professional
Products Symptoms System recovery and repair
New additions RSS When you start your computer, you receive the error message "NTLDR is missing. Press any key to
Most popular
Recommended products restart."
HOT! Today's discount deals Today's Bargain Offers
Preview Upcoming deals Cause
Get software FREE!
Search The error message "NTLDR is missing" means that the Windows boot loader (NT Loader, NTLDR) cannot
Go
be found. This often occurs when the computer tries to boot from a drive other than the one Windows is
how to solve xp ntldr problem
installed on, due to a change in the drive configuration or because you left a bootable disk in a removable
Buyer's guides drive. But it may also be because the NTLDR file has been corrupted or deleted.
Buy anti-spyware software
Buy
Buy
anti-virus software
backup software Solution
Buy data recovery software
Buy registry cleaners Check the boot drives
Free PC health check
Free system scan
First, check the boot drives to make sure that the computer is not trying to boot from a different drive to Stock Icons Bundle
Free registry scan the one that contains Windows. This incredible bundle
Free driver scan includes over 7500 royalty
Check that there are no CDs or DVDs in the CD/DVD drives. free icons, a full-featured
How to
Check that no removable drives are plugged in to the USB ports. icon and small-graphics
Clean up a virus infection editor, and one of the best
Convert DVD to iPod Check the boot order in the BIOS Setup to ensure that the computer boots from the drive containing
box shot and cover creators
Fix missing NTLDR / HAL.DLL Windows before any other bootable devices. on the market!
Fix unable to change wallpaper $99.50 Today Only 89% Off
Open rar file / 7z file / ISO file If this does not resolve the problem, you will have to repair the NT boot loader.
Recover deleted files / emails
Recover lost files / photos
Recover Word documents
Fix NTLDR
Reset administrator password The easiest way to fix the "NTLDR is missing" error is to use Spotmau PowerSuite. However, if your
more how-tos... computer is using Windows XP and you have a Windows XP installation CD you may be able to boot from
Articles this and use the Recovery Console to fix NTLDR manually instead.
Code signing for developers
Introduction to Voip
How USB works Use Spotmau PowerSuite
TCP/IP basics
The Windows Registry
Windows Drivers Get Spotmau PowerSuite now
more articles... and fix this problem in seconds! NoMoreDupes for
Outlook
Put an end to pesky, time-
Insert the Spotmau PowerSuite CD and start the computer. The main menu will appear. wasting, memory-eating
duplicate files in Outlook.
Search any series of selected
folders for duplicate and
corresponding files, and
throw them out!
$14.68 Today Only 51% Off

Click 2. Windows Recovery.

http://www.tech-pro.net/howto-fix-ntldr-is-missing.html[31/05/2010 13:17:29]
How to: Fix 'NTLDR is missing' error at startup

When the Windows Recovery tool starts, click Windows NT/2000/XP/2003.

On the Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 Recovery dialog, click Recover NTLDR and NTDETECT.

On the Recover NTLDR and NTDETECT dialog, select your operating system (e.g. Windows XP) and
then click Recover.

The tool will repair the file and report "NTLDR and NTDETECT have been recovered successfully."
Remove the Spotmau PowerTools CD from the drive and click Restart to reboot the computer.

Get Spotmau PowerSuite now

and fix this problem in seconds!

Using the Windows Recovery Console

The Windows 2000 and Windows XP CDs supplied by Microsoft has a tool called the Recovery Console
which can be used to repair errors that prevent Windows XP from starting using the command line. OEM
versions of Windows XP, including computers that were supplied with Windows XP preinstalled, may not

http://www.tech-pro.net/howto-fix-ntldr-is-missing.html[31/05/2010 13:17:29]
How to: Fix 'NTLDR is missing' error at startup

have this utility.

Insert the Windows CD and start the computer.
When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, press R.
Type a number corresponding to the Windows installation you wish to repair (usually 1) and press
Enter.
When prompted, type the administrator password and press Enter.
From the command prompt, copy NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM from the i386 folder of the CD to the
root folder of the hard drive. In the example commands given below, C: is the hard drive and D: is
the CD-ROM drive. You will need to change the drive letters if appropriate:
COPY D:\I386\NTLDR C:\
COPY D:\I386\NTDETECT.COM C:\
Remove the Windows XP CD from the drive and restart the computer.

Prevention
It's difficult to prevent this sort of problem from ever occurring but making regular and frequent full
backups of the system is a good precaution that can make recovery quicker and easier should the worst
happen.

An excellent tool that will aid recovery from this kind of trouble is MagiCure Professional. It works by
taking snapshots of the system at regular intervals and allowing you to restore them when trouble occurs.
It runs before Windows loads allowing you to restore a good working system even if Windows will not
start.

Send this article to a friend or colleague

Content copyright © 2010 Tech-Pro .net . All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction expressly prohibited. Terms and conditions Privacy policy

http://www.tech-pro.net/howto-fix-ntldr-is-missing.html[31/05/2010 13:17:29]