Part 2: Windows unable to boot: No error message.
Part 1 : NTLDR is missing
NTLDR is short for NT loader - a program loaded from the
hard drive boot sector that displays the Microsoft Windows
NT startup menu and helps Microsoft Windows NT load.
When this file is missing or corrupted, Windows cannot boot.
Depending on your first boot device, CD-ROM drive,floppy
or there may be a flash drive attached to your computer
that is preventing Windows to boot from harddisk.
Don't panic! You don't even need to format your harddrive.
All it takse is just to replace the ntldr file. There are a few
ways of doing this.
The Microsoft recommended Method.
1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
This is your Windows XP Home/Pro installer CD.
(please read the notes at the end of this post)
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD,
press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP 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.
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 "E". This letter may be different on your
computer.
Copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
Copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the
CD from the computer and reboot.
Alternate Method: Taking out HardDrive
1. Remove the harddrive and either fix it to your computer
external enclosure or to the IDE/SATA connection to the
motherboard.
2. After booting up, you will see the drive icon in 'My Computer.'
3. Copy the two files, NTLDR and NTDECT.COM to the root
directory(Normally C-Drive) Be sure to use the
Windows Home PC copy for Windows Home file and Windows
XP PRO PC for Windows XP Pro file.
4. When prompted ' Are you sure you want to move system file
'NTLDR'? Select 'Yes'. Do the same for the NDDETECT.COM
file.
5. After copying both files, fix the harddrive back to the computer.
Part 2 : Windows XP unable to boot. No error message
In this scenario, you will have to copy the boot.ini file. Boot.ini is
one of the very first files that come into play when a Windows XP
system is started up. It is a plain text file that is kept in the
system root, so it is usually C:\boot.ini. Because it is an essential
system file, the attributes are set to hidden, system, read-only to
protect it. That means that it will not appear in the file lists in My
Computer or Windows Explorer unless the default Windows
settings are changed to show hidden files.
Follow the steps from 'The Microsoft Recommend Method'. From step '6', add in the command : Copy e:\i386\boot.ini c:\
These file NTLDR,NTDETECT.com and BOOT.INI files resides
in your C drive(root directory). You will need to do the following:
1. From My Computer navigate to 'C' drive>Tools>Folder Options
window 'Folder Options' will be launch.
2. Select the 'View' tab and under 'Hidden files and folders,' uncheck 'Show hidden file and folders.'
3. Also uncheck ' Hide extensions for known file' and ' Hide protected operating system files' as illustrated below.
Notes: The Windows XP installer CD contains these files: NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM. NTLDR is the boot loader. NTDETECT.COM to detect the Windows NT System file. Thses files are located in the i386 folder of the installer CD. It is advisible to copy the whole i386 folder into the root directory(normally C drive), jus incase you will need to replace these corrupted files and do not have an Windows XP installer CD in hand. You can also copy these files from a Windows XP Home/Professional computer system in the root directory to a flash drive or CD.
For other BSOD problems, visit the resource URL below:
http://aumha.org/a/stop.htm
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms789516.aspx
