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Thread ID: 56661 2005-04-11 23:23:00 NTLDR is Missing - Help! Strommer (42) Press F1
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343905 2005-04-11 23:23:00 :badpc: My PC will not boot . :eek:
The error message is "NTLDR is Missing Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart", but doing this does not get it into Windows XP . What is NTLDR?

During start up, I have pressed F8, also Delete . . .

Bios Setup Utility states:
Primary IDE Master: Not Detected
Primary IDE Slave: Not Detected
(other data seems OK but I am no expert)

So, I then put in the 6 floppy disks for the WinXP Setup Boot Disk, which I made when setting up the PC last year . All went well until the final floppy and this error appeared: STOP: c0000221 unknown Hard Error \SystemRoot\System32\ntdll . dll

At this point, it looks to me that I am facing a reformat and complete start over . 'Can do' - have made regular back ups to DVD and to a second hard drive, and have Norton Ghost with the initial stuff on it, but of course it is a pain to redo everthing .

Any ideas from the tech experts here? Thanks .

Background info:

Never had a problem with this PC before:
less than a year old, 3GHz, 1G RAM, WinXP Home .

But this is most likely the stuff-up: after doing a Defrag, I used Eraser to wipe the free space on the HD - not that there is any classified secret data to get rid of, but I have been doing this (though usually with Norton Sytem Works) for several years now (Win98 previously) and I notice that by wiping the free space, it speeds up the general operation of the PC . I did double check that the free space was being wiped and not files . BUT, the Eraser program seemed to have taken too long to complete the operation and I clicked on Cancel . . . . but it would not stop so I used Task Manager to End Program, which it did, and the PC was able to Shut Down normally .

My suspicion is that Eraser wiped part of the file system or other vital data . 		Strommer (42)
343906 2005-04-12 00:04:00 Try this

support.microsoft.com 		Speedy Gonzales (78)
343907 2005-04-12 00:21:00 Possibly your Eraser ate the O/S too. Speedys link is helpful but I suspect you may find more than one file with a problem. You could attempt a repair rather than a reinstall.

However the first thing you say is your HDD is not being detected in the BIOS.
You need to find out why first. Check jumpers, cables etc. Is the HDD working?

You won't get anyway until you have a usable HDD on the PC. 		pctek (84)
343908 2005-04-12 00:52:00 Strange that it doesn't show in the bios,

If you hadn't said that it would just be a case of booting from the cd,choosing the console and typing in fixboot..... 		Metla (12)
343909 2005-04-12 01:33:00 Try this

support.microsoft.com

Thanks Speedy. It says:
"To resolve this problem, obtain a new copy of the corrupted file or reinstall Windows XP. If you continue to receive any one of the error messages that are described in the "Summary" section after you reinstall Windows XP, a hardware problem or a network problem may exist. "

How would I get a copy of the corrupted file - what file - how to install it? 		Strommer (42)
343910 2005-04-12 01:41:00 Possibly your Eraser ate the O/S too. Speedys link is helpful but I suspect you may find more than one file with a problem. You could attempt a repair rather than a reinstall. However the first thing you say is your HDD is not being detected in the BIOS. You need to find out why first. Check jumpers, cables etc. Is the HDD working? You won't get anyway until you have a usable HDD on the PC.

I am reluctant to open the case since it would invalidate the warranty. It is very suspicious that Eraser failed to stop just prior to this problem. If part of the OS was wiped, would this cause the BIOS to have the undetected Primary IDEs (I do not understand such things).

A virus and spy scan was done prior to defragging / erasing, with nothing detected. Anyhow, I am assuming that if a virus would be present then at least I could get into Safe Mode. 		Strommer (42)
343911 2005-04-12 01:42:00 I would say the only way you're going to copy it is to boot off the cd into recovery whatever it is . PRESS R when booting from the CD .

And somehow copy it from there to C: /windows/system32 folder . Well thats where it is on mine (ntdll . dll) .

Are you on MSN Steve? Maybe I can send it to you . If u can make a dos system disk from whatever PC you're on now, copy ntdll . dll to it then boot from it on this system that's dead .

To C: / windows/system32 folder? Might work! 		Speedy Gonzales (78)
343912 2005-04-12 01:44:00 [QUOTE=Metla]Strange that it doesn't show in the bios,QUOTE]

Are you referring to the HDD not being detected?
BTW, I have a second HDD in the PC, and the BIOS states that the Secondary IDE is detected. 		Strommer (42)
343913 2005-04-12 01:48:00 I would say the only way you're going to copy it is to boot off the cd into recovery whatever it is. PRESS R when booting from the CD.

Speedy - do you mean the WinXP CD?

You could email the file to me - click on my member profile.

BTW, will have to take off at 2 PM, until later this evening. Am heading down to Wgtn, from Masterton. I would have time to take it to Atech, where I got the PC, but this would mean being without the PC for a few days and then having to drive over the hills to get it and it still may need reformatting.

Anyhow, lucky that I can use my wife's laptop. :D 		Strommer (42)
343914 2005-04-12 01:59:00 Yup boot from the XP CD . Um I can send an email, to you, BUT u cant send attachments from the forum .

Well I cant see anything so u can upload a file to another user . PM me your email address, if u want or you could try and figure out the recovery console lol .

I wouldnt have a clue how to use it, I've never used it . 		Speedy Gonzales (78)
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