NTLDR is missing....

whitebloodcell · Jul 28, 2006

This started happening after I installed a third SATA HDD on a DFI Lanparty NF4 SLI. Immediately after installation it happened for 6 or so times, and what appeared to fix it was just changing the boot sequence in the Bios. However since then it has periodically come back again. For that past 4 weeks or so there have been no problems, however, today there is, any fiddling the boot sequence isnt fixing it, what is wrong?

What is NTLDR? And how can I fix this?!

The Drives are connected to SATA Port 1,2 and 4. The first two have worked perfectly for well over a year, problems only came when the new one was installed. They are all identical Hitachi Desktar 250GB SATAII drives.

This is one of two major problems the installation of this HDD has caused. The other being that it often causes Explorer to crash for no real reason.

wing · Jul 28, 2006

This is the best description of the full boot process and NTLDR's role. Hope it helps.

http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/unknownreference/articles/12284.aspx

jiggamanjb · Jul 28, 2006

Sounds like this new HD is corrupting your rig / windows install. I would check your PSU, maybe it isn't up to the task of one more HD? Maybe try a repair install of XP.

whitebloodcell · Jul 28, 2006

Thanks for the replies.

Tried the Windows Recovery Thing, although to be honest I am not entirely sure which ones I should be using.

It reported my Windows Installation as being on D: it should be on C: My other drives are listed as L: and K: in Windows. Should they correspond?

I got it to write a new boot sector - didnt fix the problem
Ran Chkdsk on the problematic drive, but no problems reported. (although it said something about /p)
Tried to Add a Windows installation to the boot menu, however after a few minutes searching for installations it came back and said it had an error, possibly caused by a corrupted drive.

Just disconnected the Problematic HDD and it booted up fine....
I have a spare PSU so I will try connecting the HDD to just that PSU. Although my Primary one is a Seasonic S12 500W, thought that would be enough.

Anymore thoughts?

jiggamanjb · Jul 28, 2006

I would think that Seasonic is plenty, but you never know.

Also, try using the Hitachi dirve check tool: http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm

You can always do a repair install of XP, but that may just be a waste of your time at this point since we aren't exactly sure what the problem is.

XP Repair install

Please read carefully and make sure you followed the warning links before initiating the Repair Install. You can print a text version for reference. repair.txt

Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order.
When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below
This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft
Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

Press Enter to start the Windows Setup. do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R", (you Do Not want to load Recovery Console). I repeat, do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R".
Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.
Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair. If Repair is not one of the options, END setup. After the reboot read Warning#2!
Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot. Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears. Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact.

Goshawk · Jul 28, 2006

Every time i've seen this on either my home machines, or the machines at work, the boot sequence has been goofed up. Each time this happens, have you been going into the BIOS and making sure the boot sequence is correct? I know you said you did it once, but are you doing it every time you see the NTDLR message?

~ Gos

whitebloodcell · Jul 28, 2006

Thanks for all the help all. Whether it was a conincidence or not but when I connected the drive to SATA3 the comp seems have booted fine. I guess only time will tell for when it decides to screw around again.

Ramlaen · Jul 29, 2006

next time boot into recovery system from an xp cd

here is what i try when i hit this error

chkdsk c: /p
fixboot
fixmbr

usually those catch the problem unless its a hardware issue

whitebloodcell · Jul 31, 2006

has started playing up again, so am gonna try your advice there Ramlaen.

Froggy · Aug 5, 2006

I had this problem, but my solution was that I had a USB thumb drive in a USB port that had something that the PC was seeing as bootable. Removed the thumb drive and the problem went away. I re-installed the thumb drive and re-booted to test and sure enough it said NTLDR missing.

NTLDR is missing....

whitebloodcell

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