NTLDR is missing Press CNTRL + ALT + DEL

[THEGrizzCLB]

I used Active @ KillDisk to wipe the hard drive completely clean on a machine that was running Windows 7. After ejecting the Active @ disc, I restarted the machine with the Windows 7 disc in the cd/dvd drive, after already having changed the boot order to boot from the cd/dvd drive, and recieved the infamous "NTLDR is missing Press CNTRL + ALT + DEL" message.

I've tried multiple Windows discs (Xp, Vista, AND 7) to no avail. Still receiving the same error message. I can't even get to the stage of being able to run the Windows repair. Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated!

-Corey

 

[alexoiu]

Have you set in BIOS the DVD drive as the primary boot device?

 

[codecows]

Step 1 – Remove non bootable media
Remove any floppy disks, CD’s or USB sticks from your computer and restart.
If NTLDR is missing error appears again, proceed to step 2
Step 2 – Copy new system files
Boot the computer using a Windows 95/98/ME startup boot diskette or bootable CD – If you haven’t get one then use one of these Windows Recovery Discs
Backup MSDOS.SYS by issuing the following commands at the command prompt (pressing ENTER after each command):
attrib -h -r -s c:\msdos.sys

rename msdos.sys msdos.old

Now copy new system files across by issuing the following command and pressing ENTER at the command prompt:
sys c:

Note: Sometimes the above command fails if you are using a Windows ME boot disk. If it does following solution ERROR: Cannot find the system file in the standard locations on drive C

Rename MSDOS.OLD back to MSDOS.SYS by issuing the following commands and pressing ENTER after each at the command prompt:
attrib -h -r -s c:\msdos.sys

copy msdos.old msdos.sys

Remove the boot disk/CD and insert your Windows XP CD
Restart the computer by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL
Ensure you boot the system from the CD. The system will then boot into the Windows XP Setup.
At the welcome screen press ‘R’ to enter the Recovery Console
At the recovery console, select your Windows XP installation and enter your Administrator password if requested
At the command prompt issue the following commands and press ENTER after each command:
fixboot

fixmbr

Remove your Windows XP CD and restart the computer
If the NTLDR is missing error appears again after reboot, proceed to Step 3 below.
Step 3 – Windows Repair
After Step 2 above, it is sometimes necessary to run or re-run the Windows XP Setup repair process
If step 2 did not solve you issue re-insert your Windows XP CD and run Windows Setup again
If NTLDR is missing error appears again, proceed to Step 4 below.
Step 4 – Download & Run BCUPDATE2
Occasionally this NTLDR error is caused by too many files in the root folder and an issue with an out of date windows version.

BCUPDATE2 is an official Microsoft fix for the NTLDR problem but is difficult to find and cannot be downloaded directly from Microsoft without first contacting support.
This can be solved by downloading and running BCUPDATE2.EXE as follows:

Download BCUPDATE2.EXE by clicking here (this will open in a new window/tab)
Copy BCUPDATE2.EXE into the root folder of a Windows 95/98/ME boot diskette or CD
Boot the computer using the boot diskette or bootable CD
At the command prompt issue the following command and press ENTER:
bcupdate2.exe C: /F

When prompted to update the volume press Y
After you receive a confirmation message, remove your bootable diskette or CD and restart your computer.
Source http://www.codecows.com/

 

[the great randini]

shot in the dark. how many hard drives do you have in pc, could there be another harddrive with an old os on it that is marked as a system drive?

 

[ahnilated]

shot in the dark. how many hard drives do you have in pc, could there be another harddrive with an old os on it that is marked as a system drive?

+1, I bet there is another drive in there that has the MBR on and not seeing what it thinks should be the boot drive OS installed. If that isn't it then he has partitions that need deleting and formating.

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

Have you set in BIOS the DVD drive as the primary boot device?

Yes I have...to no avail. I am exploring the hard drive through the Active@KillDisk interface...can I initiate the setup for a new Windows install from there off of a Windows 7 disc?

 

[alexoiu]

Try using Active@ Partition Recovery
To fix or create a typical MBR:
1. In the Active@ Partition Recovery workspace, in the Local System Devices list, select a disk.
2. From the Tools menu, choose Fix MBR (Create Typical MBR). A Warning message appears.
3. Click Yes.
The MBR is fixed.

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

Step 1 – Remove non bootable media
Remove any floppy disks, CD’s or USB sticks from your computer and restart.
If NTLDR is missing error appears again, proceed to step 2
Step 2 – Copy new system files
Boot the computer using a Windows 95/98/ME startup boot diskette or bootable CD – If you haven’t get one then use one of these Windows Recovery Discs
Backup MSDOS.SYS by issuing the following commands at the command prompt (pressing ENTER after each command):
attrib -h -r -s c:\msdos.sys

rename msdos.sys msdos.old

Now copy new system files across by issuing the following command and pressing ENTER at the command prompt:
sys c:

Note: Sometimes the above command fails if you are using a Windows ME boot disk. If it does following solution ERROR: Cannot find the system file in the standard locations on drive C

Rename MSDOS.OLD back to MSDOS.SYS by issuing the following commands and pressing ENTER after each at the command prompt:
attrib -h -r -s c:\msdos.sys

copy msdos.old msdos.sys

Remove the boot disk/CD and insert your Windows XP CD
Restart the computer by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL
Ensure you boot the system from the CD. The system will then boot into the Windows XP Setup.
At the welcome screen press ‘R’ to enter the Recovery Console
At the recovery console, select your Windows XP installation and enter your Administrator password if requested
At the command prompt issue the following commands and press ENTER after each command:
fixboot

fixmbr

Remove your Windows XP CD and restart the computer
If the NTLDR is missing error appears again after reboot, proceed to Step 3 below.
Step 3 – Windows Repair
After Step 2 above, it is sometimes necessary to run or re-run the Windows XP Setup repair process
If step 2 did not solve you issue re-insert your Windows XP CD and run Windows Setup again
If NTLDR is missing error appears again, proceed to Step 4 below.
Step 4 – Download & Run BCUPDATE2
Occasionally this NTLDR error is caused by too many files in the root folder and an issue with an out of date windows version.

BCUPDATE2 is an official Microsoft fix for the NTLDR problem but is difficult to find and cannot be downloaded directly from Microsoft without first contacting support.
This can be solved by downloading and running BCUPDATE2.EXE as follows:

Download BCUPDATE2.EXE by clicking here (this will open in a new window/tab)
Copy BCUPDATE2.EXE into the root folder of a Windows 95/98/ME boot diskette or CD
Boot the computer using the boot diskette or bootable CD
At the command prompt issue the following command and press ENTER:
bcupdate2.exe C: /F

When prompted to update the volume press Y
After you receive a confirmation message, remove your bootable diskette or CD and restart your computer.
Source http://www.codecows.com/

I seen this original post through my initial search for a solution...I've gotten a hold of the 98 Boot Disc .img and am in the process now of burning it to a cd. This is my first time using Active @ and I just realized you can run other items through their interface. I've also downloaded BCUPDATE as well. I'm going to load them onto the machine and try this solution step by step. Thanks for your reply and I might be back in touch!

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

shot in the dark. how many hard drives do you have in pc, could there be another harddrive with an old os on it that is marked as a system drive?

Just one hard drive. There's 4 partitions...the "C" drive, the "E" 'Restore' drive, and 2 unallocateds. I formatted the "C" drive after wiping it clean with Active@KillDisk, set it to primary...all 'seems' to be in order as far as the drive and the partitions. I'm going to try "codecow's" solution and see where that gets me. Thanks for the response!

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

Try using Active@ Partition Recovery
To fix or create a typical MBR:
1. In the Active@ Partition Recovery workspace, in the Local System Devices list, select a disk.
2. From the Tools menu, choose Fix MBR (Create Typical MBR). A Warning message appears.
3. Click Yes.
The MBR is fixed.

I'm in the Partition Manager, I've selected the Hard Disk but am not seeing the Fix MBR option in the menu at the top. My only options are "Refresh", "Properties", "About", and "Exit". When I select the Local Disk (C, "Create", "Delete", "Format", and "Change Attributes" also becomes available in the menu but still no "Fix MBR" option

 

[alexoiu]

It's Partition Recovery not Partition Manager. It should be on the Active@Boot Disk.

 

[house70]

You mentioned you have 4 partitions on that HDD. But, after wiping the HDD with Killdisk, all the partitioning info should have been deleted, as well, leaving the HDD in a factory-like state.
I would repeat the wiping for the entire drive. If you want to keep the data from one partition, wipe the other 2 unallocated partitions as well as the primary partition, leave just the one with the data on it.

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

It's Partition Recovery not Partition Manager. It should be on the Active@Boot Disk.

Thanks. I'm trying "house70"'s advice first because I do have all those other partitions left after my initial wipe. I've selected the entire drive instead of just a single partition this time and am "killing" the whole thing. It's still got 49 mins left, so it might be awhile before I can update you on my progress...

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

You mentioned you have 4 partitions on that HDD. But, after wiping the HDD with Killdisk, all the partitioning info should have been deleted, as well, leaving the HDD in a factory-like state.
I would repeat the wiping for the entire drive. If you want to keep the data from one partition, wipe the other 2 unallocated partitions as well as the primary partition, leave just the one with the data on it.

Working on "killing" the whole drive now...thanks!

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

I've wiped the entire drive clean and when I insert my Windows 7 install disc and restart booting from the cd drive, I'm now getting the original message "NTLDR is missing..." again!!! GGGRRRRRR!

 

[house70]

Was the BIOS reset to factory defaults?
Also, makes me think there could be a problem with the DVD you're tryingg to install Windows from, because it seems it boots from other CDs just fine (you just booted from Killdisk CD). Makes me think, that Windows DVD is not bootable...
You could burn another iso of that particular Win7 version (from Microsoft's source) and try to boot from that (or you could make that a USB bootable drive and boot from it, either way). Come to think of it, maybe the USB flash drive could be a better choice in your case...
Last but not least, try to repeat the installation on another HDD, if you have one laying around, that would rule out HDD-related issues.

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

Was the BIOS reset to factory defaults?
Also, makes me think there could be a problem with the DVD you're tryingg to install Windows from, because it seems it boots from other CDs just fine (you just booted from Killdisk CD). Makes me think, that Windows DVD is not bootable...
You could burn another iso of that particular Win7 version (from Microsoft's source) and try to boot from that (or you could make that a USB bootable drive and boot from it, either way). Come to think of it, maybe the USB flash drive could be a better choice in your case...
Last but not least, try to repeat the installation on another HDD, if you have one laying around, that would rule out HDD-related issues.

You were right, the disc I was using was an install disc and not a boot disc. I made a boot disc, got the "Press any key to boot from cd/dvd" but NOW after pressing the key and given the option of what to boot and after pressing English/64 bit, I get the message 0xc000000f error. I've done some research and the option I found that seem to describe the problem/solution best is http://think-like-a-computer.com/2012/04/17/boot-bcd-0xc000000f-windows-7/ The problem with this solution is that his very first instruction is to "Boot from your DVD and choose the repair option." I can't even get to the repair option to then follow the rest of his instructions. Any suggestions?

 

[house70]

You could make a bootable USB flash drive with Win7 and install from there.
Oh, and I would kill the HDD again before any attempts to install the OS.
I would: kill the HDD, then attempt to install from the bootable DVD. If no luck, repeat the kill and install from USB.
If still no dice, I would attempt to replace the HDD and see if that is HDD-related.

One more thing: apparently, people had problems using the USB drive when inserted in a USB3 port. Use a USB2 port for that.

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

Thanks. Will try those options. The hard drive worked fine pre-wipe. I had to wipe it because my sister picked up a trojan that I couldn't remove with the top 5 malware removal products and then some!

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

Best answer selected by THEGrizzCLB.

 

[THEGrizzCLB]

Was the BIOS reset to factory defaults?
Also, makes me think there could be a problem with the DVD you're tryingg to install Windows from, because it seems it boots from other CDs just fine (you just booted from Killdisk CD). Makes me think, that Windows DVD is not bootable...
You could burn another iso of that particular Win7 version (from Microsoft's source) and try to boot from that (or you could make that a USB bootable drive and boot from it, either way). Come to think of it, maybe the USB flash drive could be a better choice in your case...
Last but not least, try to repeat the installation on another HDD, if you have one laying around, that would rule out HDD-related issues.

@ house70 - Just want to say thanks one more time. Your advice sent me in the right direction. The kill was good, but the DVD I was trying to boot from was not bootable. THEN, the DVD copy of 7 that I made bootable, had a corrupted .dll file which is why I was running into problems from that stage. Got it all figured out and my sister's machine is up and running. And to everybody else who chipped in, thank you for your time and responses. You guys are what helps make the world go 'round!!!

 

[house70]

You're welcome, glad we could help, enjoy your system.