So, recently many of us encountered with an error in our Windows Operating system which is related to NTLDR (New Technology Loader), wherein computer is asked to either restart or insert disk containing the NTLDR file at the time of Boot. This error is common in Windows XP but is also reported in several other versions of Windows too like in ME Edition, 2000 or even in the older versions like Windows 95 and in Windows 98.
Some of the very common errors are as mentioned below:
“Boot: Couldn’t find NTLDR
Please insert another disk”
“NTLDR is missing
Press any key to restart”
“NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl Alt Del to restart”
Basically, when the computer starts, BIOS which is Basic Input Output System which finds the primary hard disk drive’s active partition and for reading the first sector of the Master Boot record it uses the particular set of information so that it can load the remaining part of the operating system. What exactly happens at the stage when you see that error message out of above mentioned list is either it didn’t find the right drive or the right partition in which it was active where NTLDR is located.
Causes of “NTLDR is missing” boot time error
There are several causes for the missing of NTLDR in the boot time like computer may be booting from a non-bootable source, hard disk is not properly setup in BIOS, corrupt NTLDR and its associate files, misconfiguration of boot.ini file, corrupt boot sector or corrupt master boot record or even faulty IDE/EIDE hard drive disk cable are the main causes of NTLDR error.
So, let’s check out how you can fix the error of NTLDR on Windows ME, XP and even in Windows Vista.
Fixing of NTLDR Error in Windows ME/XP :
- First you will have to Load Windows ME/XP CD into CD/DVD drive and then you need to head towards boot priority option in the BIOS and make sure that the first boot priority sequence is set to CD/DVD ROM.
- Now, boot the computer from Windows setup CD/DVD and once you see he message Press any key to Enter setup then go ahead and press any key to proceed.
- Also, in menu, press R to load Recovery Console and select the installation which is to be fixed.
- With the help of instructions mentioned below we are assuming that CD/DVD-ROM is labeled as drive F and the hard drive is labeled as drive C. Just replace the letters accordingly as mentioned below.
- Key in “COPY F:\i386\ntldr C:\” and press ENTER.
- Key in “COPY F:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\” and press ENTER.
- After modifying the instructions, remove CD and type EXIT and press ENTER, this will reboot the computer.
Fixing NTLDR is missing in Windows Vista :
- First, insert the Windows Vista installation DVD disc in the DVD drive, and then press any key when you are prompted to select the language, time, keyboard or an input method and then click on Next to proceed.
- Now, select the Repair option and also select the operating system which you wish to repair and then click on Next.
- In System Recovery Options dialog box, click on the Command Prompt.
In the Command prompt window type bootrec /FixBoot command and hit ENTER. Since the boot process is different compared to Windows XP and Windows Vista the process for fixing NTLDR is different.