NTLDR

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Hi all,

just thought i'd post my thoughts on this job.
Lady has just bought new Vista machine, but wants her old machine repaired-XP Home. She said she tried to sys restore it but comes up with Win something! Brought it back, Ntldr is missing. OK, tried the repair option, replacing the files-Ntldr/Ntdetect blah, no good. I tried Last known good config and it boots to the resuming windows setup/left pane installing windows etc. I dont have a XP home original cd, thing is she has the COA on the pc. I asked her for the restore cd but cant find it! I said someone has tried to reinstall XP, but she says no one has!! Pretty obvious by the look. I've got all her files off by slaving it, but she wants XP back on it. Im just wondering will any XP home allow me to reinstall using her COA, does it have to be the full one, not OEM/Upgrade disc?

Kat

 

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Have you tried a fixboot / fixmbr?

EDIT: didn't read full post.

 

Hi Si,
yeh, went through that and just reboots to Ntldr missing...

 

Kat731,

Questions:

1. According to the computer case markings, which OEM manufactured the computer?
2. According to the COA, who is the OEM who installed the Windows XP Home Edition?
3. Is there a C:\WINNT folder on the hard drive?

 

have you tried the bootcfg /rebuild command? I dont think you will have missed this but have you checked the boot order in BIOS to make sure its not trying to boot from something else?

 

If she has a licence then i guess you can use *any* home xp to do a restore.. or so i was told...

 

Thanks lad's, will try those today.
Raff-Benn right through the boot order, as had a floppy with Simple Ntldr repair.
RHLee- Time (who went bust, but are now back again)
WINNT-will check
Dosen't say OEM on sticker like my one does.

 

But she does have a licence?

 

Any home xp disc will do the job. Only problem you might have, is if the key is for SP1 and you use a disc with SP2 on. Or if you use an OEM disc when the key isnt for OEM machines.

 

Zim,
its like trying to get info out of a stone!
Asked her, she dosent know what i'm talking about when i mentioned licences! Apparently she thinks one of her son-in-laws has taken the restore CD, although she cant be sure!
Raff-Tried Bootcfg /rebuild, found the Win installation, named the OS etc/fastdetect-reboot, Ntldr missing. Hope i did it right?
Kat

 

no COA anywhere on the machine?

 

Yeah, that sounds right to me.

 

Zim,
yeh, like i said she has the COA, the top pic, but without OEM on it.
K

 

alright so she has a licence then just get hold of a Win Xp Home cd and do a recover installation...

 

Zim,
i know, that was the solution right from seeing Ntldr/Last know-resuming windows. Gettin one is proving a pain, but i'll get one, no prob.

 

This is a position a lot of people I have been asked to help face. The problem being, most machines don't usually have the *full* XP disc, but an image of how it left the factory - if you are lucky!

Hope you find it Kev

 

Nice one Si, Cheers.
Kev

 

Yeah you need to be careful when buying pc's from places like PC Turd, they often flog you a machine with an o/s on it but no actual o/s disc. In my mind that's not providing you with a proper licensed version of the o/s and I advise people to avoid this type of setup.

Anyway, back to the NTLDR, hope you get it sorted Kat

 

Dell ask you for 5 quid if u want the disc otherwise u got the i386 folder... I remember when i was at my last job the IBMs and HP machines never came with discs... and our company had to burn discs for the customers not because we had to but time come to restore or reinstall we didnt have to get discs... just one of the things you learn..