NTLDR is missing of HP pavilion 750n

[planet]

I bought a HP pavilion 750n PC 8 to 9 years ago. The hard disk died one year ago. I got a new hard disk, and tried to install a Windows XP on this new hard disk. After the system copied all the installation files into the hard disk, and the PC re-starts from the new hard disk, and then the screen shows "NTLDR is missing". I could not install the Windows XP on this new hard disk. I did this several times, but always got “NTLDR is missing”.

Does anybody know how to install a Windows system on the new hard disk?

 

[PhilFrisbie]

How large is the partition you are installing to? Is this the base XP disc, or does it have a service pack included?

 

[planet]

Thank you for the response. The partition (I am installing) is 20GB, and the XP system disc is a base XP disc. I have no problem to install the XP system on this hard disk with this XP disc on another PC.

Thanks again!

 

[PhilFrisbie]

The partition (I am installing) is 20GB.

OK, is this new drive larger than 128GB? If so then you have run into a BIOS limitation, and you either need to update the BIOS or use a drive smaller than 128GB.

 

[planet]

It is an old 20GB drive, and this drive is in good condition with no bad section.

 

[PhilFrisbie]

Strange. Here are some more things to try:

Change the IDE cable, make sure the drive is set to master, and that it is connected to the END of the cable.

In the BIOS, make sure the drive is set to auto, and make sure there are no other hard drives installed until AFTER you can boot correctly.

When you try to reinstall, make sure you perform a full format as NTFS.

 

[planet]

Thanks for the tricks PhilFrisbie!

Actually I did nearly everything you mentioned before, but didn’t reformat the hard drive. This time I selected the reformatting when I installed the system, and it resolved this problem. The XP system was installed on that hard drive successfully.

Thank you again!

 

[PhilFrisbie]

When I install XP to a known good hard drive I also skip the format. But if there are ANY problems, or the hard drive is not known by me, it gets a full format.

I am glad to help, and if you want, feel free to mark my last answer as the best.

 

[planet]

Best answer selected by planet.