Hi. My daughter has told me you have helped her many times and this is the only site I should go to for help. Now, the problem… My husband has a laptop and I am using a tower type computer. We shut them down as normal last night. I got up and turned my on and all I get is this message. NTLDR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart. It is my daughter in laws computer and she lives far away and she doesn't have the windows disc anymore. I am going frantic as to how to fix it or how it happened. Can you possible help me please? I am 54 years old and can get around a computer some but not as to that type problem and all the sites talking about how to fix it is just mumbo jumbo to me.
Hi Sue and welcome to the WTT forums. Sorry to hear of the NTLDR problem on the Win XP computer. 1 There are quite a few things that need to be checkedor completed to get the computer up and running, its possible that a simple reboot may do the trick for example, or at the other end of the spectrum a complete reload of Windows might be required(and for this you will need the correct disc.(so it would be as well to ask your Dil to commence a very thorough search for it or to start asking her chums if they have a correct disc that she could borrow.
2 The next step is to consider the back up situation….Is there anything on the computer (that she or you would not to lose permanently) that is not included in the back ups? if there is important stuff that is not properly backed up then this becomes a priority that should be addressed before any repair attemps are made. You could remove the drive and slave it to another computer and try to access the drive from this other computer to copy stuff off, alternatively a USB hard drive caddy (or drive mounter) can be purchased for very little money and this used to copy off important files…. another approach would be to use a live distro of Linux (Puppy Linux is good) boot from this on your computer and see if Puppy can mount your drive and allow the important stuff to be copied off. (post back if you need detailed instructions on how to do this….
3 If your back up position is solid and 100% accurate, reproducible and comprehensive and with at least 1 extra copy kept safe offsite on removable media then you can go ahead and attempt the repair and I will provide you a link shortly that will make some suggestions on how you can proceed.
4 However before I do this are you both aware that Windows XP reaches the end of support from Microsoft within a couple of months (8th April 2014) from then on no further security updates will be issued and Win XP will quickly become more vulnerable and liable to attack by the bad guys and unsafe to use on the Internet without taking extra ordinary precautions?
I have my own windows xp disc I had tried to get the file from but it wouldnt work when i picked recovery. I am trying to get up with her to see if I can just redo windows. She and I will lose alot of stuff but I am on a fixed income and can't afford much as far as other drives for it. I will let you know what we find out and go from there. Thank you.
I have found someone with an external hard drive.. Can that be used to save anything on it or not since I can only get to the first black screen? Also if we do redo the windows can I use my registered windows xp disc? And thank you both for replying to my post. My daughter says you guys are the best around so I trust what you tell me to do.
My daughter says you guys are the best around so I trust what you tell me to do.
Aw Shucks! …Rich ( Ztruker) and I have gone all boot faced at your daughter's kind words…
1 Yep, you can use the external hard drive as a store for copying anything that is important on your computer that is not already backed up/copied somewhere safe…
The sort of files that spring to mind, may be treasured photos, or pieces of music, important documents you have created or scanned into the computer over the years a note of all the passwords that you use and user names. dont forget the log in details for your router if you have protected this with a password (as you should have!)
Whilst you are checking all this make sure you have a note of the Microsoft Windows XP product serial key that is on the COA (Cerificate of Authenticity) that will be fixed somewhere to the outside or bottom of the computer's case…… The COA will show the version of Windows XP you have installed (there are 3 versions that we generally come across) and these are:
XP Professional
XP Media Centre Edition
XP Home Edition
Each version has its own Microsoft Windows XP installation disc (they are not interchangable) so make sure you have the correct disc as you may need it to effect the repair.
Yes its Ok to use another persons Microsoft Windows XP installation disc (as long as its the correct version) and you use your own Product serial key As shown on the computers COA the key is a 25 character key in 5 groups of 5 characters seperated by hyphens.
If you want to use a live distro of Linux to try and copy off your stuff then either Linux Puppy as I suggested or Linux Mint as susggested by Rich will be fine….
Once you are happy with the stuff you have copied off then try the procedures as set out in the link in my previous post.
If you get stuck on anything or need help on anythying just post back and one of us here will be pleased to help.
One final point, when replying it would be very helpful if you could tell us the exact make and model number of your computer….we have data sheets on most models manufactured over the last 10 or more years that can be of great help when repairing this kind of fault.
It is a Dell computer and the model # is N375P-00 and I connected the external hard drive up to it and I still only get the first black screen about the NTLDR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart.
You need to make the Linux bootable CD then boot it and follow the directions on how to save data to the external USB hard drive. Just connecting up a USB external hard drive won't help it to boot.
Okay I have gone to a few sites that explained how to do it but apparently I havw to be able to get on the computer to get the md5sum and I can't get on it till I make the Linux boot cd. A catch 22.
You make the Linux CD on a different computer. md5sums is just a hash that allows you to check the validity of the download. Not required unless you have problems with the CD.
