NTLDR is missing..?!?

[Jenna0921]

hello. this morning when i turned on my dell XP computer, I received this message;

Loading PBR for descriptor 2...done.
NTLDR is missing.
Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart

and when i do restart, i go right back to that message! :/

I have not changed anything at all..the only thing i could think of was yesterday i installed a webcam for my computer. I am not sure if I have a CD that i can use to fix this that came with the computer???

I do have these disks included with my computer purchase;
*A Reinstallation CD Microsoft windows XP home edition, including service pack 2

*A CD For reinstalling V.9X/56K Data/Fac. Modern software for Microsoft windows.

*A wordperfect Productivity Pack
and

*Dell color monitor user documentation

I really don't know too much about this. I searched on google and I just didnt understand really. If someone could please help me get my computer starting I would be extremely greatful.

jenna

not sure if the reinstallation for windows xp is an actual os disk or just something that accesses a recovery partition on your computer. Let's hope it's the former. Insert the disk into your cddrive, and reboot your computer. You should be prompted to boot from the cd, do so. Then choose to do a recovery and get to a console. type fixmbr, it should work it's magic. reboot, taking out the cd and you should be good. search the forums for more specific info.

if the cd isn't an actual os cd but something that accesses a recovery partition, you might have some other options, but everything i'm thinking of uses linux, so probably not the best option. good luck.

[Jenna0921]

k thanks so much for your reply!!

but which disk are you talking about?

i dont understand when you said 'os disk'. sorry i'm a little on the slow side with computers.

[Jason425]

os disk means the CD that has windows on it.
It is likely either green or blue.

[Jenna0921]

ok thanks. um is it the disk that says "Operating System" at the top??? or the one that says "Drivers and Utilities" ?? im sorry if i sound dumb.

and could some one please explain to me like what to do once i put the cd in??

I had the same problem with mine, noone here would help me, so I just threw my computer in the ditch, some bum came and got it, and he fixed it too, but did not give it back to me. What you might need to do, is go into the BIOS change the boot order so that the cd-rom will boot first, and then save changes, put the Reinstallation CD Microsoft windows XP home edition, including service pack 2, in the cd drive, and restart the computer. Then what will happen next is that the system will boot off the cd, and from that point on, you can reinstall windows. But be warned if you do this then what will happen is your hard drive will be formatted, as this is how recovery disc’s work, delete all your information so that it can start over and reinstall fresh. If you had a OEM copy of XP then you would be able to reinstall without deleting. I believe on a Dell you press F10 to get in the BIOS, but if that is not right try F2. I believe you can avoid all this by simply performing a repair on the drive. To try a repair look here

1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter "E". This letter may be different on your computer.

copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot

This information was provided by John Kazer, my programmer.

[Jenna0921]

ok thank you..and im sorry about your computer!!

[Jason425]

Yes, it's the operating system disc, and you press f2 to get into the bios. But, you can simply press f12 to choose what device to boot from, so going into the bios is unnecessary.

Your welcome for the help, no problem about the computer, I have got a 286 33MHz now, much better then the Pentium 4 2.1GHz F12 to change the boot order on Dell systems only? Did not know that, wozzers learn something new everyday, thanks Japan man!

[Jason425]

heh.. yeah on dell's f12 takes you to a "boot order" screen.