missing ntdlr file

[Pitchblack1110]

hi. i recently tried to update xp service pack 2 to service pack 3, but for some odd reason it stopped half way and wouldnt finish. so i cancelled and restarted my computer. Well when i restarted it, xp wouldnt boot and it kept saying "File ntdlr is missing. press control + alt + delete to restart" (I believe that is the correct file name)

so if you do that it just continues to make a circle. is there any way i can use my xp disk to repair and add this file. if so, how?

or is there any alternate options.

thanks for the help.

 

[xu^]

there are many topics about this problem all over the net if u google it ,but tbh none of them worked for me when i had this problem ,i ended up having to do a full checkdisk/format and reinstall of XP to finally fix it.

restoring an image only worked until i rebooted and then it would throw up the same error again

try googling it and see if any of the many so called fixes work for you,u might be more lucky than i was.

 

[ktr]

Its an easy fix. You can do is pop in your XP cd, let the screen come up where it says you to press any key for setup. DO NOT press anything. The CD will look for the OS, and boot it. From there, just copy a fresh ntldr.

 

[AphexDreamer]

Yeah when I tried to copy the ntldr it wouldn't let me overwrite it.

Can't you just use the CD and do a windows Xp Recovery?

 

[aharvey]

Its an easy fix. You can do is pop in your XP cd, let the screen come up where it says you to press any key for setup. DO NOT press anything. The CD will look for the OS, and boot it. From there, just copy a fresh ntldr.

you can do that ^^ or if you do a repair install, that should work as well. put your xp disc in, act like your about to reinstall, but use the repair installation feature instead of clean install. it will roll back all your updates and stuff, but wont touch applications or files.

EDIT: i think that you have to use a similiar XP disc as you used for original install (i.e. a pro disc wont work for a home installation)

 

[ktr]

you can do that ^^ or if you do a repair install, that should work as well. put your xp disc in, act like your about to reinstall, but use the repair installation feature instead of clean install. it will roll back all your updates and stuff, but wont touch applications or files.

EDIT: i think that you have to use a similiar XP disc as you used for original install (i.e. a pro disc wont work for a home installation)

Yes, for repair you need the same exact version of CD. I personally don't like the repair, for it reverts many registry entries. But it can be a life saver to back up data.

 

[Pitchblack1110]

Its an easy fix. You can do is pop in your XP cd, let the screen come up where it says you to press any key for setup. DO NOT press anything. The CD will look for the OS, and boot it. From there, just copy a fresh ntldr.

i just got a quick questions on this method. am i booting from the disk or still from my hard drive?

 

[ktr]

i just got a quick questions on this method. am i booting from the disk or still from my hard drive?

Hard drive, but the CD temporary acts like the ntldr. You can also use this: http://tinyempire.com/notes/ntldrismissing.htm <---works great.