NTLDR is Missing

Symptoms

The following error messages may be seen when the computer is booting.

* NTLDR is Missing
  Press any key to restart

* Boot: Couldn't find NTLDR
  Please insert another disk

* NTLDR is missing
  Press Ctrl Alt Del to Restart

Cause

Computer is booting from a non-bootable source

Corrupt NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file

Corrupt boot sector / master boot record.

Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

Resolution

Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the Mac.

Open Configuration Editor, find the CD/DVD-ROM options, choose the "Default CD/DVD-ROM" and make sure the "enable" and "connect at startup" boxes are selected. Click OK to close Configuration Editor and save the changes you've made in the VM configuration.

Start the virtual machine.

Press any key when prompted.

In the Windows XP setup menu, press the "R" key to repair Windows and open the Windows XP Recovery Console.

Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.

You will then be prompted to enter your administrator password.

Copy the two files below 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:\

Once both these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot. Your computer's hard disk drive may have a corrupted boot sector and/or master boot record. These can be repaired through the Microsoft Windows Recovery console by running the fixboot and fixmbr commands.

Additional Information

For more information, please read this article: NTLDR is Missing - REFERENCE NUMBER - CH000465 - Direct Link: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm