'NTLDR is missing'

This really does sound like an outdated BIOS so you might need to get a floppy drive in the system one way or another. A simple fix you can try before that is to copy those files from the WindowsXP CD via the recovery console and to check the boot.ini file.

Boot from the WinXP CD, enter the Recovery Console when the option is given, then type:

copy <cd-drive>:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy <cd-drive>:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

If that doesn't help, load up windows, and go to run and type:

Edit c:\boot.ini

Make sure this line is under boot:

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

And this under operating systems:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP" /fastdetect

This specifics where the Windows folder is located and unless you installed windows on a different partition or drive and not at the default C:\Windows then this line should look exactly like this. If it doesn't, copy these lines and replace them in the boot.ini file and save it. Note the version of windows in quotes depends on the version being used. If this is the home version, it would say "Microsoft Windows XP Home." This really doesn't matter as it is simply a friendly name.

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Originally Posted by Metal Sphere

Damn, I can't even install Windows on said machine, let alone access it and I have no way of getting a floppy drive at the moment. So I'll try your first part, Cetra, otherwise I have an affordable pile of components sitting here.

Do I do the Windows part on the afflicted computer or on another in order to make the floppy disk?


Double Post:
Damn, I tried it Cetra, and it apparently found NTLDR on the drive and as I was installing Windows I got an error that was basically:

NTL_PARTS_NOT_EQUAL or something like that, and the installation shuts down to prevent damage to the computer. When I restart the computer, NTLDR is not found... once again. Someone told me to go to the recovery console and run CHKDSK and CHKDSK /p and it found 'one or more errors on the volume'.

What do I do now?
Does this mean the drive is bad?

This is sounding more and more like a BIOS issue. Is this a new computer with a new motherboard?

CHKDSK finding errors is somewhat expected, though I don't think the drive is bad, rather something is corrupting the file system.

One last thing you can try besides a BIOS update is to boot into windows safe mode, put the Windows XP cd in the drive it was originally installed from and go to Run and type:

sfc /scannow

This will do a scan of all windows system files and replace any files that are missing or don't pass a checksum. It will also use any service pack files so it isn't quite as a 'shotgun' fix as a repair install is.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah hold on to F8 after the system POST but before Windows starts to boot and a menu with the option to enter safe mode will come up.

Having those other missing files after another install seems strange though. Using new IDE ribbons and such with the disc drives? Almost seems like the data stream from the CD device is getting corrupted somehow.

Double check the hard drive as well making sure the SATA cable is secure and also double check the required BIOS settings for the drive. Some motherboards do set the SATA channel to the second IDE channel for older OS support, but with the problems you are getting it seems the SATA channel isn't configured correctly and/or the drive isn't be recognized as the primary drive after an install which is screwing up the NTLDR file.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.