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windows XP not booting, NTLDR missing??

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11 replies

by shortstuff

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Hi guys, I have a problem here. My version of XP (home) doesn't boot anymore. It just says NTLDR missing ...
It's formatted in NTFS, & I need to get it working again so I can salvage some files. I'v tried copying the file from another system, but can't access the relavant partition (presumably because it's NTFS?)
Soooo I need a) to be able to access my drive to back up my files & re install or
b). repair / replace the missing files to get XP to boot.
Any ideas please??

glenn

11 replies

by steve penn

you might need a os rebuild. to recover your files you will need to piggy back your drive onto either an NT/200 or XP system so that it can see NTFS and copy the files needed.

by shortstuff

This has possibilities, I'd just like to explore other options if there are any before I strip the system down ..

by quintar51

Hi Glenn,

you have 2 options.

1. go to www.bootdisk.com and look for an ntfs boot disk. Once you boot you should be able to see your partition and copy the files.

If that doesn't work, then option 2 is to reinstall using the repair option. This won't make you lose any data at all, but you will need to reinstall your programs so they'll be registered with the new windows installation.

good luck,

by shortstuff

Thanx, I've got the XP boot disk, but still no joy. Fdisk tells me the drive is setup as follows, partition 1, NTFS, Partition 2 Ext Dos, Partition 3 C: Pri DOS 'Recover' FAT32
Really my question is how does one access the partitions (1,2 NTFS)?? you can't just type c: as you would normally. I can find my way around dos etc comfortably, but NTFS is a bit confusing. Even formatting a floppy from a NTFS system formats it in FAT ???
I believe the recover section is jsut an image, so running thiswill wipe everything there...

by shortstuff

??? This has lost me completely. There is no disk in the drive.
I'm trying to get the hard drive to boot again ...

by beanpole

If you have access to another XP system (or Win2k) from Start|Programs|Accesories|Syetem Tools|Backup there is an option for an Emergency Repair Disk. For this you will need 4 floppies, but it should bring your computer back to a state of at least viewing the files on your partition. As a side note, has anything been done to your boot.ini file??? This is the file that tells the computer where to go to boot WinXP.

by chris willhoite

You might try a repair on the OS. Boot useing the original CD and choose the repair option. It doesn't always work but you might get lucky.

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