Unbearable computer problems

[Fellowes]

What i call my 'good' computer has been down for a long time. One day it started acting up on me so i shut it down. Big mistake. Now when i try to boot it up it goes to the HP screen and then where the Windows XP loading screen is supposed to come up it says "NTLDR Missing,, press CTRL - ALT-DLT to Restart" on a black screen in grey test with nothing else on the screen but that. I tried using my restore discs that i made but i tseems that every pther file cannot be recovered. I orderee restore discs fomr HP and its the same thing. Every other file has an error during its recovery. This is really getting on my nerves and i was wondering if anybody knows whats going on or what my NTLDR file is?

 

Thanks

[Pangloss]

It's a file on your hard drive that starts the boot-up process for Windows NT-based operating systems (XP, 2000, etc, as opposed to 95, 98, etc).

 

That error message can mean a number of things, such as a bad hard drive or a damaged partition. If you made an emergency boot disk then you can boot off that and repair the partition. Otherwise you can make an emergency boot disk on another computer and boot off that. Another option is to boot off the Windows XP disk and go through some of the repair options in there (there's an emergency repair option that comes up automatically, as I dimly recall).

[5614]

Yup, if you boot off the XP CD then you can do a windows XP OS reinstall (or they call it repair) which allows you to get rid of the old XP, get a new copy and you dont need to format so you keep all your files and settings (including usernames)... the only thing you loose is the windows themes, unless you have saved it in which case you just need to reload it.

[Dave]

Moving this to computer science...

[Fellowes]

when you guys talk about the XP cd, is that just like my system restore discs?

[5614]

NO... it's the CD you use to instal windows with. If your computer came with windows preinstalled the CD would have been with the computer somewhere.

 

If you've got an illegal copy of XP then you're pretty buggered, unless you got a copy of that CD!!! Even then SP2 is cracking down on most of the illegal serial keys used... so it really is better to get a legal OS.

[Dak]

NO... it's the CD you use to instal windows with. If your computer came with windows preinstalled the CD would have been with the computer somewhere

 

if you got the computer with the OS pre-installed, then the OS disk that came with it might be a company one that will ONLY reformat and reinstall (eg, if it says something like HP windows xp system disk). make sure its an actual windows xp disk, should just say "microsoft windows xp OS" on it, and do what 5164 said to (hopefuly) fix your pc.

 

Even then SP2 is cracking down on most of the illegal serial keys used... so it really is better to get a legal OS.

 

apparently, windows xp SP2 works fine with pirated copys, as long as you leave automatic updates off (manually updating is fine), and arent stupid enough to try and register your copy.

[5614]

No.

 

SP2 will not instal if you have any one of about 15 (approx, I can't remember the exact figure) blacklisted XP serial keys... note that not many people put their legal XP OS serial key on the internet, 15 serial keys will stop thousands of users because there are not many different working serial keys around so people all have to use the same one.

[Dak]

serial keys as in the number that comes on the cd case and that needs to be entered whilst installing windows? i doubt that 15 would be enough to affect that many people, id assume that most people with pirated copies got a copy that was burned from 'a friend of a friend', in which case choosing not to register on line will stop anyone from knowing the copy is illigit.

 

anyway, all of this is acedemic as m$ are soon probably gonna require 'genuine Windows validation' for all of their updates, whereby you have to register your pc and serial number online to get updates or use any online m$ doobry.

[5614]

Yeah, the CD serial keys.

 

OK, it is 20 different serial keys blacklisted. Sure its not everyone who has an illegal version, but it's a lot of people.

 

I challenge you to find 20 different serial keys for XP on the internet! Most of them will be the same, often they dont work at all.

 

MS prob just went online and took the first load that they saw and blacklisted them... I bet you they got viruses through IE whilst they were looking for the serial keys!!!!

[Dave]

5614: There are keygens for XP. It hasn't affected anyone that I know of at all.

[5614]

Fair enough, I don't know any statistics to back up my argument... all I can say is that 20 codes were blacklisted, they were meant to be the most commonly used illegal keys, MS hoped it'd stop a lot of users.

[Dak]

they probably stopped alot of the pirate copys, ie illegal copys of windows xp that are sold to people with the claim that they are legit

 

most people who dont own a legal copy of windows simply have a ripped copy, ie a copy of a friends windows xp.

 

so if you payed for a copy which was illegal, sp2 might stop it, but if you copyed a mates CD for free you should be fine

[Dave]

I'd think the problem is a bit more widespread than that. A lot of people buy copies of XP from your local market thinking that the thing they're picking up at a "discount" price is going to be a legal version; obviously it won't be. Plus, you have to take into account the businesses that use illegal site copies. This is where they're losing most of their money.

 

I think the idea of having to pay for updates is just outrageous. It's more or less equivalent to blackmailing people - "if you don't pay for the updates then your machine will get h4x0rd!" What they neglect to mention is that most of these updates are security fixes for problems that have arisen during the development of their code; effectively they're charging you for fixing their mistakes.

 

Edit: didn't notice that nobody mentioned paying for updates, only that they might require product authentication. Whoops

[1veedo]

In Windows Longhorn you will have to pay for updates.

 

In both 98 and ME, M$ intentionally put bugs in thier products. Why? A new version of 98 was released, and a new version of ME was released.

 

These are typical M$ practices.

[5614]

Is there a source for the longhorn/update=cost thing?

 

... Just haven't heard of it so I wondered

[Dave]

I think that, for the moment, they're rumours. I've not read it at el Reg, which is pretty much bound to have that kind of thing.

[1veedo]

I think I saw it a slashdot, or in a thread someware.

 

Possible even at that ****micrsoft site.

[Silencer]

Um... do you have any floppies or cd's in your drives? Take any removable media out and then boot.

 

Yes, it really may be that simple. It's likely that your BIOS is set to boot from the floppy drive first. So if you left some silly data floppy in there it will try to boot without success.

 

If not, then do as the others have said and boot from one of your repair disks. To change the boot order, access your bios (usually by pressing delete when the system first starts up, it should tell you).

[Apple3.14]

Yes, but it will give you a "non system disc error" if it tries to boot from a floppy or CD.

 

 

Repairing it as described above "should" fix your problem. If not ... beat your computer with the biggest stick you can find. That always works.

[Dave]

(If, by always, you mean never )

 

You could also try booting up from the XP install disc, go to the recovery console and type fixmbr - this might do the trick. I don't know really.

[Fellowes]

ok, well there were no discs atall that i remember coming with the computer. the only thing i have tried so far are the two sets of restore discs. could it possibly be a hard error on my drive? rather than a soft one

[5614]

Maybe, it's just the whole ""NTLDR Missing" thing makes me think that maybe the NTLDR is missing!

 

http://www.buildorbuy.org/win2000ntldr.html

http://www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk/freehelp/ntldr_missing.htm

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm

 

All address the problem of a missing NTLDR, its some kinda win2000 part. NTL stands for new technology loader, its a windows thing, not sure what DR is for.

[Fellowes]

alright thanks, i checked out the last site and it seemed fairly helpful, i appreciate everybody trying to help so thanks to all. ill see what i can do fomr here. btw ive already contacted hp themselves and all they said was we'll send you a set of restore discs :s