NLTDR missing

[Turbone]

Googled this and found this link to the old forum (I assume because its not here).
http://www.techwarelabs.com/communit...ad.php?t=11400

What I have is a Toshiba Satellite A35 I bought for $10 at a yard sale.
My problem is that any CD I put in spins but the computer will not run the program. I can get into the bios and set it to boot up with the CD, but nothing I put in runs.
Except once. I put in a HD config CD and got it to format the HD, but now I still get the NTLDR missing message with any boot CD I try.
I even tore the thing apart to get to the CMOS battery and reset it.
I tried a different HD from another laptop I have (Averatec) and it started to boot, but flashed a BSOD and shut down. Not sure if the Toshiba HD are proprietary or not?
So, should I source another HD or keep working (futilely) on this one?