NTLDR is missing

[jumargibbs]

I get this message while trying to do a clean install on a used Seagate 120GB drive. I know for sure the installation disc is good. I just installed 2K on an old junk HD to test it. The only difference is that the Seagate installation disc installed a Dynamic Drive Overlay so all 120GBs could be used. Any ideas?

[thelamberts]

Hi there and welcome

There are a few reasons this may have occurred. The most common fix is below; follow these steps and you should be ok.

Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer and turn your PC on or reboot if it's already running.
Your PC should then try to autorun the CD. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
The Windows XP setup menu should then load. Press the "R" key to Repair Windows.
Log into your Windows installation by pressing "1" and then hit enter.
You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
Copy the below two files to the root (c:\) directory of the primary hard drive. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter "D". This letter may be different on your computer.
copy d:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy d:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.

Here is a link with info on NTLDR

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm


Good luck and let us know how you make out

[jumargibbs]

Thanks a lot for the reply. I've been struggling with this thing all weekend and I'm too frustrated to fool with it right now. I did get Win2K installed, but the DDO didn't install....so I've only got 32GB available of the 120. I want to start playing with video and I saw some programs today that are .NET and require XP to run. So I guess I'll start all over Monday and load XP. I'm sure I'll be posting tomorrow afternoon. Again, thank you for your help. Ken

[thelamberts]

Hi there

good luck; will check back later tomorrow.........

[jumargibbs]

I would like to do a clean install of Win XP. My Seagate 120GB drive (currently the 'D' drive) requires that Seagate's "OnTrack" DDO be installed because of a drive size limitation in the BIOS. If I put the WinXP CD in the drive, boot-up, and wait for the "OnTrack" screen to be displayed (which is what the Seagate instructions tell me to do), it prompts me to hit 'c' to boot from CD. I hit 'c' and I get the message "NTLDR is missing". I just wanted to clarify that the DDO needs to be there or I'm left with 32GBs. Will adding the files you mentioned disturb the DDO?
Next question is: Can I just drag and drop these files into the D drive using Windows which is running on C drive?

[thelamberts]

I just wanted to clarify that the DDO needs to be there or I'm left with 32GBs. Will adding the files you mentioned disturb the DDO?
Nothing I have read regarding NTLDR repair should disturb the DDO

Can I just drag and drop these files into the D drive using Windows which is running on C drive?
No; it is a specific procedure to repair NTLDR.

I would however suggest you contact Seagate support and ask them; their opinion as well. http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/

Once again....good luck

[jumargibbs]

I've really screwed things up. I'm using the last (5th) hard drive I have that will work with this computer. It now has 3 copies of Win 2K on it but only one that will boot. Apparently I've been inadvertently asking for help on how to repair Win. All I want to do is delete everything on a Seagate drive so that it is just as it was when I bought it new. I've tried to delete with 2K and XP installation discs and they refuse to delete everything. If fdisk will wipe it all out, that's what I want to do. Can someone tell me how to enter DOS from 2K and what to type in?

[jumargibbs]

Well, I remembered the zero fill utility on the disc that came with the drive. I used it and it wiped the drive clean, but following the instructions exactly still led to the "missing NTLDR" message. I have to use OnTrack's DDO so I can use all 120GBs of the drive. If I skip that, I can load the OS but I end up with a 32GB drive. I know my Win disc is good, so where the heck is the NTLDR?

[Spider]

OnTrack's overlay is obviously not overcoming your aged motherboard's compatibility woes.

You need to flash (update) your motherboard's BIOS or buy a newer motherboard and CPU.

Download Everest (http://www.cybertechhelp.com/download/file/everest-home-edition)

Open up Motherboard and click once on Motherboard
What's the make and model?

Also...
Start
Run...
type cmd click OK
type debug hit enter
type d FFFF:5 L 8
what's the date on the far right?
type q hit enter
type exit hit enter

[jumargibbs]

It's an ASUS K8N-8 with a Sempron 2800+ 1.6GHz. I built this thing and it ran great with the overlay on the Seagate drive for several months. That's why I wanted to delete everything on the drive....it worked before. The NTLDR file is on the XP install disc. I verified that. When Seagate's "OnTrack" prompts me to hit 'c' to install from CD, I get the "missing NTLDR" message immediately after hitting 'c'. I'm thinking, for some reason, it's just not reading from the CD. I'm going to swap primary CD and see what that does.

[thelamberts]

Sorry...I have not been near my Pc since my last post. I guess I misinterpreted what you were trying to do; I should have asked more questions.

Thanks for stepping in Spider......

[jumargibbs]

I used an old HP CD drive and it booted from it right away. XP is up and running. Now the question is: Should I not have been using an NEC 3550A DVD drive to run an installation CD? It would not boot from that drive. I'm wondering now if there's a problem with it. I've been getting a lot of errors when ripping DVDs lately.....but that's another topic. I'm impressed with XP. It took 1:48 for 2K to load from power on. It takes XP 14 seconds! I appreciate all of your time and advice. I'm too green to even be able to explain the problem.

[thelamberts]

Hi there; glad you got it sorted!

Sounds like you are not too green; we are all different shades of that colour when it comes to computer Tech stuff (LOL)

[quote=jumargibbs]Now the question is: Should I not have been using an NEC 3550A DVD drive to run an installation CD?quote]

No; not unless the installation media was on DVD.

Take care............

[Spider]

ASUS K8N-8

If you right-mouse Motherboard in Everest
Quick Report
Plain Text
and paste that here please.

That motherboard is not showing on Asus support site nor is it in the discontinued list.
I know it exists, I've seen pictures of one. I just want what Everest says about it "word-4-word".

Also I have no idea why a motherboard like that is showing a 120Gb drive as 32Gb. Your not
formatting the drive with FDISK are you?

If you've made changes to the BIOS then set it all back to default. First you can try looking
for LBA in the BIOS settings and if disabled...enable it.

[jumargibbs]

Sorry...ASUS K8N-E Everest sez:--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer RETIRED-M13CZQU
Generator joe blow
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2006-05-09
Time 12:20


--------[ CPU ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPU Properties:
CPU Type AMD Sempron, 1600 MHz (8 x 200) 2800+
CPU Alias Venice-256 S754
CPU Stepping DH-E6
Instruction Set x86, x86-64, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
L1 Code Cache 64 KB (Parity)
L1 Data Cache 64 KB (ECC)
L2 Cache 256 KB (On-Die, ECC, Full-Speed)

CPU Physical Info:
Package Type 754 Pin uOPGA
Package Size 4.00 cm x 4.00 cm
Transistors 68.5 million
Process Technology 11Mi, 90 nm, CMOS, Cu, SOI
Die Size 84 mm2
I/O Voltage 1.2 V + 2.5 V
Maximum Power 67.0 W

CPU Manufacturer:
Company Name Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Product Information http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118,00.html

CPU Utilization:
CPU #1 0 %


--------[ CPUID ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPUID Properties:
CPUID Manufacturer AuthenticAMD
CPUID CPU Name AMD Sempron(tm) Processor 2800+
CPUID Revision 00020FC2h
Extended CPUID Revision 00020FC2h
AMD Brand ID 0984h (Sempron 2800+)
Platform ID CCh (Socket 754)
IA CPU Serial Number Unknown
HTT / CMP Units 0 / 1

Instruction Set:
64-bit x86 Extension (AMD64, EM64T) Supported
Alternate Instruction Set Not Supported
AMD 3DNow! Supported
AMD 3DNow! Professional Supported
AMD Enhanced 3DNow! Supported
AMD Extended MMX Supported
Cyrix Extended MMX Not Supported
IA-64 Not Supported
IA MMX Supported
IA SSE Supported
IA SSE 2 Supported
IA SSE 3 Supported
CLFLUSH Instruction Supported
CMPXCHG8B Instruction Supported
CMPXCHG16B Instruction Not Supported
Conditional Move Instruction Supported
MONITOR / MWAIT Instruction Not Supported
RDTSCP Instruction Not Supported
SYSCALL / SYSRET Instruction Supported
SYSENTER / SYSEXIT Instruction Supported
VIA FEMMS Instruction Not Supported

Security Features:
Advanced Cryptography Engine (ACE) Not Supported
Data Execution Prevention (DEP, NX, EDB) Supported
Hardware Random Number Generator (RNG) Not Supported
Montgomery Multiplier & Hash Engine Not Supported
Processor Serial Number (PSN) Not Supported

Power Management Features:
Automatic Clock Control Not Supported
Enhanced Halt State (C1E) Not Supported
Enhanced SpeedStep Technology (EIST, ESS) Not Supported
Frequency ID Control Not Supported
LongRun Not Supported
LongRun Table Interface Not Supported
PowerSaver 1.0 Not Supported
PowerSaver 2.0 Not Supported
PowerSaver 3.0 Not Supported
Processor Duty Cycle Control Not Supported
Software Thermal Control Supported
Temperature Sensing Diode Supported
Thermal Monitor 1 Not Supported
Thermal Monitor 2 Not Supported
Thermal Monitoring Supported
Thermal Trip Supported
Voltage ID Control Not Supported

CPUID Features:
36-bit Page Size Extension Supported
Address Region Registers (ARR) Not Supported
CPL Qualified Debug Store Not Supported
Debug Trace Store Not Supported
Debugging Extension Supported
Fast Save & Restore Supported
Hyper-Threading Technology (HTT) Not Supported
L1 Context ID Not Supported
Local APIC On Chip Supported
Machine Check Architecture (MCA) Supported
Machine Check Exception (MCE) Supported
Memory Configuration Registers (MCR) Not Supported
Memory Type Range Registers (MTRR) Supported
Model Specific Registers (MSR) Supported
Page Attribute Table (PAT) Supported
Page Global Extension Supported
Page Size Extension (PSE) Supported
Pending Break Event Not Supported
Physical Address Extension (PAE) Supported
Secure Virtual Machine Extensions (Pacifica) Not Supported
Self-Snoop Not Supported
Time Stamp Counter (TSC) Supported
Virtual Machine Extensions (Vanderpool) Not Supported
Virtual Mode Extension Supported

CPUID Registers (CPU #1):
CPUID 00000000 00000001-68747541-444D4163-69746E65
CPUID 00000001 00020FC2-00000800-00000001-078BFBFF
CPUID 80000000 80000018-68747541-444D4163-69746E65
CPUID 80000001 00020FC2-00000984-00000001-E3D3FBFF
CPUID 80000002 20444D41-706D6553-286E6F72-20296D74
CPUID 80000003 636F7250-6F737365-38322072-002B3030
CPUID 80000004 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000005 FF08FF08-FF20FF20-40020140-40020140
CPUID 80000006 00000000-42004200-01008140-00000000
CPUID 80000007 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000039
CPUID 80000008 00003028-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000009 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 8000000A 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 8000000B 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 8000000C 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 8000000D 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 8000000E 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 8000000F 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000010 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000011 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000012 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000013 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000014 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000015 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000016 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000017 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000
CPUID 80000018 00000000-00000000-00000000-00000000

MSR Registers:
MSR C0010015 0000-0000-0800-0000


--------[ Motherboard ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID 63-0113-000001-00101111-062705-ATHLON64$A0342003_BIOS DATE: 06/27/05 14:26:50 VER: 08.00.09
Motherboard Name Unknown

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type AMD Hammer
Real Clock 200 MHz
Effective Clock 200 MHz
HyperTransport Clock 800 MHz

Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 201 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 402 MHz
Bandwidth 3215 MB/s


--------[ Memory ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Physical Memory:
Total 1023 MB
Used 299 MB
Free 723 MB
Utilization 29 %

Swap Space:
Total 2460 MB
Used 215 MB
Free 2245 MB
Utilization 9 %

Virtual Memory:
Total 3483 MB
Used 514 MB
Free 2969 MB
Utilization 15 %

Physical Address Extension (PAE):
Supported by Operating System Yes
Supported by CPU Yes
Active Yes


--------[ SPD ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

Motherboard 63-0113-000001-00101111-062705-ATHLON64$A0342003_BIOS DATE: 06/27/05 14:26:50 VER: 08.00.09
Motherboard DMIMOBO: ASUSTeK Computer INC. K8N-E
Motherboard DMISYS: ASUSTek Computer Inc. K8N-E
Motherboard Unknown
PCI/AGP 168C-FF96: Unknown


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

[jumargibbs]

BIOS reports that LBA is supported and the setting options are Disabled & Auto. It's set to Auto.

[Spider]

It's an ASUS K8N-8

You have an K8N-E

You'll need this BIOS update tool Afudos BIOS update tool V2.11 (http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/flash/AFUDOS211.zip)

The latest (non-ßeta) is 2005/09/13...I still need the BIOS date I asked for previously from the Command Prompt

Also...
Start
Run...
type cmd click OK
type debug hit enter
type d FFFF:5 L 8
what's the date on the far right?
type q hit enter
type exit hit enter

[jumargibbs]

That's 06/27/05

[Spider]

I'll post this Asus K8N-E BIOS flash update tool you'll need again...Afudos BIOS update tool V2.11 (http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/flash/AFUDOS211.zip)

...and your present BIOS date is 06/27/05 so the latest Asus K8N-E BIOS update is 2006/03/07 (http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock754/K8N-E/K8ne0411.zip)

You'll need a Windows 98/ME boot floppy (I like the Windows ME boot disk (http://www.cybertechhelp.com/download/file/windows-me-oem-bootdisk) better, more cd-rom drivers on it than Windows 98)
and one other floppy to put the BIOS flash tool and the BIOS flash image file on.

Don't run that flash just yet.
I'd also like to know how you formatted the hard drive before. What program/CD did you use?

[jumargibbs]

I used the Seagate install CD that came with the drive. It installed OnTrack's Dynamic Drive Overlay and formatted the entire 120 (114) GBs NTSF in one partition.

[jumargibbs]

Whered'ya go?

[Spider]

What you want to do is delete the partitions and format the drive with the Windows CD.
The drive should show the entire size after that.

Your motherboard is not that old and 120Gb shouldn't be a problem. Leave the
overlay out of the picture in otherwords.