NTLDR Missing

Related errors:

Below are the full error messages that may be seen when the computer is booting.

NTLDR is Missing
Press any key to restart

Boot: Couldn't find NTLDR
Please insert another disk

NTLDR is missing

Press Ctrl Alt Del to Restart

Causes:

1. Computer is booting from a non-bootable source.
2. Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS.
3. Corrupt NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file.
4. Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file.
5. Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32.
6. New hard disk drive being added.
7. Corrupt boot sector / master boot record.
8. Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
9. Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable.
10. Failing to enable USB keyboard support in the BIOS.

Solutions:

1. Insert the Windows Bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password or else press Enter Key.
   
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter, which in this case is "e." This letter may be different on your computer.
   
   copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
   copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
7. Then type the following command, and then press ENTER to check Boot.ini
   type c:\Boot.ini Then you get a list similar to the following:

8. [boot loader]
   timeout=30
   default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
   
   [operating systems]
   multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
   

9. Or else If you receive the following message, the Boot.ini file may be missing or damaged:
   The system cannot find the file or directory specified.
10. Type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press ENTER.
11. When the Windows installation is located, the following instructions are displayed:
    Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)
    [Type Y in response to this message.]
    
    Enter Load Identifier:
    [This is the name of the operating system. Type Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition.]
    
    Enter OS Load options:
    [Leave this field blank, and then press ENTER].
    After you perform the preceding steps, restart the computer, and then select the first item on the boot menu. This should allow Windows XP to start normally.
    
    After Windows XP has successfully loaded, the Boot.ini can be modified to remove the incorrect entry