Boot problem-"NTLDR is missing"

In my SY-KT333 Dragon Ultra Pt./AthlonXP 2100 I have replaced a failed
Maxtor 30 with a new Maxtor 30. On boot I get the message "NTLRD
missing" and instruction to restart. I have tried booting directly to
WinXP disc but get the same message. I built machine last Feb. and
have not flashed BIOS. In Feb. I booted directly to WinXP and got
smooth install and subsequent good service. With this new HDD I used
the Maxtor instal. disk, followed instructions and subsequently tried
all remedies in th instr. book for this boot problem problem. Any
assistance will be greatly appreciated.

 

Try booting the Windows XP CD-ROM, and then when the installer loads, select
"Repair Windows Installation" (or something similiar). This might fix your
problem, since I believe it will re-write the MBR. Hope this helps!

 

I've seen this problem with bad memory also. Try re-seating the memory and
if you have multiple sticks, try using a single stick, one at a time.

mike in montana

 

Thanks, but as I indicated in my post it will not boot to the CD and
does not get to the installer.

 

Article Number S1220

NTLDR Loader Missing or Corrupt


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To resolve this issue:

You may receive this error message under the following conditions:

1. The Windows operating system has become corrupt or the hard drive
is going bad. Try reinstalling Windows or replacing the hard drive.

2. The boot order has changed and the motherboard is trying to boot
from the CDROM. Change the boot order in the BIOS setup and set the
first boot device to your hard drive. (Please refer to your manual on
how to change the boot order in the BIOS setup.)

Please read the following article from Microsoft's website for more
information.

Article 255220

From the SoYo website

 

Sorry, I posted that message in a hurry....

You may be able to run the repair tool from a Windows XP installation floppy
disk set. I haven't used them myself, but I'd imagine that it's possible...
If you don't have access to another Windows XP machine to make the disks,
you should be able to find the entire set (4 total, I think) at
http://www.bootdisk.com

 

Thanks Sam, but as I indicated in my post it won't boot to the WinXP CD.

 

The responses I have received indicate that I didn't make myself clear
in my first post. The boot doesn't get beyond devices scan and "Verify
DMI pool data..." At that point I get "NTLDR Missing, Press
Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart". If I set BIOS to boot from CD I get "Press
any key to boot from CD" and when I press a key I get "NTLDR
Missing",etc. I am working with a new hard drive and the Maxtor
Powermax disk checker says it is good. Windows has not been installed.
Everything I have read in the support pages anticipates that there is
an operating system-or something-on the disk that I can work from and
there isn't one. Any help will be greatly as this old machine is mud
slow and is driving me crazy.

 

Do you have access to a floppy drive? Try the method I recommended in my
second post. The Windows XP Floppy Disk set should give you access to the
Windows installer as well.

 

Hmmmm my KT333 boots from the CD drive. Wonder why yours doesnt. Any
rate, if you can get a bootdisk to load the cd rom, just copy over the
ntldr file from the cd in the i386 folder to the c drive. That will
work 100% of the time unless your boot.ini and io.sys files are also
FUBAR.



Good Luck

 

So can you boot to a floppy?
--
-denny-

Some people are offence kleptomaniacs -- whenever they see
an offence that isn't nailed down, they take it ;-)
--David C. Pugh, in alt.callahans

 

I don't think the comments were too far off base. Many things should be
checked including the things mentioned above. Here is a list of possible
causes.



Virii- This may have been a boot sector virus. Your computer may have been
hijacked and won't boot up.

Do you have a Norton CD on you? Try booting with that AFTER you've looked at
the bios to make sure the CD is being booted first.



Bios- This really looks like a bios problem. It almost sounds like your bios
battery might of died or the bios lost your settings for the HD. It should
have said, "CMOS Error," or something like that, if that was the problem.



Memory- Soyo is like a spoiled brat when it comes to memory. I know it
worked before, but memory, because of the heat, could have dislodged or you
could have just found out how badly the Soyo board hates your memory.
Sometimes memory works for a while and the MB gets finicky suddenly.



Video card- Check and see if it didn't pop out of its GPA slot.



Weather- Here comes the cold months! Maybe a card or something popped out
because of the cold weather interchanged with heat from your fireplace or
heater. A very common problem, expansion and contractions may have occurred
because of the heat and cold mixture. Check those cards.



Testing and Switching- Probably the only way this is going to get resolved
is to start testing and switching parts out with another computer. I would
pull all parts off the board (cards, ram and cables,) and test it in another
computer. Once that's done, if you didn't find anything, reseat everything
back onto you board.



HD- That HD is suspicious. You may want to test that in another computer
(especially is it has stuff on it you want to recover.) As a last resort,
and if at all possible, try to format the HD (if everything else failed)
with the installation diskette from Maxtor (that should boot fine.) Follow
the instructions and make sure you select "Windows XP" with "bootable drive"
checked (it's on the same screen menu at the bottom.) After that, throw in
the XP CD and see if it wants to install.



Joe

 

I forgot to mention safe mode. Did you try the F8 command. The problem
may be new software you installed. Basic mode will shut off the startup
software. If it boots, something you (or the internet) installed stops the
boot sequence.
Joe

 

I had the same problem a couple weeks ago. I had purchased a new
Corsair 512 MB 2700 ram and plugged it in, because the ram I was using
wasn't on SOYOUSA's recommended ram list.

I started getting these errors, so when I checked, I saw that I had
not seated the chip all the way in. One I assured that the clips
snapped completely down, I've had nary a problem!
Chalmers

 

That should have been Crucial! I got rid of Corsair cause it was
causing major headaches! The Crucial chips has worked like a charm!

 

NTLDR Missing

You need to go to the BIOS Menu and set all boot devices to "Disabled" except CDROM. That would solve your problem...

FYI...

 

I just fought my way through this identical problem with an MSI board.

I began swapping things and rebooting until it finally booted to the cd-rom.

It turns out the keyboard was the (first) culprit. I was using a usb keyboard that worked great in the bios, but somehow really ticked off the bootloader.

I plugged a PS2 keyboard in and off it went.

Then, after a successful install of WinXP Pro I "tidied up" and put the case together only to find after booting I got a "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" error.

THAT turned out to be the slave ide drive. Moved that slave drive to the second ide chain and all is well.

Hope that helps someone out there.

Cheers,
Charlie