How to Fix an NTDETECT Failure With a Flash Drive
NTDetect errors prevent Microosft Windows from booting up. This can be a great inconvenience as most workers in the modern world need to access their PCs. If the broken computer's BIOS supports booting from a flash drive, the error is easy to fix.
Using the Windows XP or Vista CD to fix this problem is an option, but it is not necessary if a flash drive with Windows already installed is available. (Programs such as Bart PE allow a user to set a flash drive up with a valid Windows XP installation.)
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Things You'll Need
- A flash drive with a working copy of Windows installed
- A BIOS that supports booting from a flash drive
- Windows XP or later
Instructions
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1
Place the flash drive in the computer with the Ntdetect error. Press control-alt-delete to restart the computer after you see the Ntdetect error message.
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2
Let the machine boot into Windows. The use of a flash drive with a working Windows installation allows you to use the file manager and many common Windows tools. Go to the root directory of the flash drive.
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Select "Options" from the Tools menu in Explorer. Make sure that you can view hidden files. Exit options.
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4
Find ntdetect, ntloader, and boot.ini from the list of files in the root directory. Hold down the control button and right click on these three files. Select " Copy" from the Edit menu.
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Use the start menu to find "My computer," and click on the C drive. You want to be in the root directory of your hard drive. (This is not your desktop folder. The Root directory is designated c:\>. The C:\ designation is a holdover from the days of MS-DOS.) Paste the files into the root folder of your hard drive.
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Select system shut down from the start menu. Choose "Restart" to reboot the computer. Remove the flash drive from the PC.
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