How to Repair Missing NTLDR on XP

If the NTLDR file on the "C:" drive of your computer becomes damaged or is deleted, your computer cannot boot correctly. By using the Recovery Console on your XP installation disk, though, you can reload the NTLDR file onto your computer's hard drive from the disk.

Things You'll Need

• Windows XP installation disk

Instructions

1. Boot up your computer and immediately insert your XP installation disk.

2. Press any key on your keyboard when the "Press any key to boot from CD" message appears.

3. Press the "R" key to boot into the Recovery Console. Log in to your operating system by pressing the "1" key, pressing "Enter," typing in your Administrator password and then pressing "Enter" a final time.

4. Reload the NTLDR file onto your computer by typing "copy d:\i386\ntldr c:\" where "d:" is the drive letter of your CD drive. Press "Enter" to execute this command.

5. Reload the file that is used to launch the NTLDR file by typing "copy d:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\" where "d:" is, again, the drive letter of your CD drive. Press "Enter," type "exit" and restart your computer to allow it to boot up normally.

Tips & Warnings

• Making frequent backups of your computer's data will minimize the risk of losing important information should this process fail to correct the NTLDR issue on your computer.

References

• Microsoft: Fix Missing NTLDR Error
• Computer Hope: NTLDR is Missing