[Beanbandit27]

Got a computer that won't boot up. It says that NTLDR is missing, press ctrl+alt+del to restart the computer. I tried the xpquick on a floppy solution, but that didn't help. I tried the recovery console, but it doesn't detect and hard drives on the computer. Of course I tried the default and optimum setups in the bios and still no hard drives detected. Can someone help me figure out what I need to do to get this thing running again? I'm lost on this one.

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Open the computer and make sure that the flat cables and power cables are firmly connected to the motherboard and hard disk(s). Disconnect them and reconnect. Make sure the HD jumpers are set corrcetly.

[The Skeptic]

Open the computer and make sure that the flat cables and power cables are firmly connected to the motherboard and hard disk(s). Disconnect them and reconnect. Make sure the HD jumpers are set corrcetly.

[Beanbandit27]

Done. Double checked all connections. All wires connected properly and jumpers are also in order. This machine was working fine previous to this error.

[The Skeptic]

Do you have the hard drives detected in the BIOS when set to Auto?

What do you mean by saying that the disks are not recognized in Recovery Console? Can't you reach a point, after entering installation number (usually 1) and administrator password, where you see c:\windows\ on the screen?

Usuallt you repair NTLDR in the recovery console in one of the following procedures:

1: Option 1: Run chkdsk /r and let the computer run the entire process.

2: option 2: At the prompt type:

COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C: and press Enter
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C: and press Enter.

Take out the CD and type exit

Note: X should be replaced by the drive letter of the CD drive in which the XP disk is.

3: Option : Corrupt boot sector.

At the prompt type fixboot and press Enter
At the prompt type fixmbr and press Enter

[Beanbandit27]

I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. I tried the boot from disk option. When I was done, I had 3 options; install, repair existing installation, and exit. When I tried the repair option, windows could not detect any hard drives connected to the computer. However, the bios does detect them when I start the computer. What should I do next??

[The Skeptic]

Two options:

1: Use this link to create a bootable cd of BartPE which is a small operating system that loads only to the memory of the computer. Boot the computer with BartPE and run A43 file management utility. Can you see the missing drives now? If yes, go to System > Storage > Check Disk. Run Check disk and see if the problem is solved.

2: Take the system disk from your computer and connect it as slave on another computer. Is it recognised there? If yes, right-click the damaged disk in My computer > properties > tools > error checking > check now. Check the two boxes and start the process.

[Beanbandit27]

I sucessfully created a BartPE disk and used the A43 file management. Still no detect on the hard drives. So I'm going to option 2. But since my other computer is IDE, I have a cable on order so I can hook it up to my other computer. I'll probably be a few days before I reply again to tell you how this step went. Man, I am learning a lot from this experience....

[Beanbandit27]

Sucess! I got my SATA to USB cable in and ran a disk check and also replaced the ntldr and the ntdetect which were missing from the system HD. Computer runs like it should. Thank you for all your help and thank you for the new piece of knowledge that I have learned! :-)

[The Skeptic]

Thanks for letting us know.