subject: Rectifying the 'NTLDR is missing' error in Windows Server 2003 system [print this page] Rectifying the 'NTLDR is missing' error in Windows Server 2003 system
NTLDR (NT Loader) is the most essential file that is needed by the Windows NT (Server 2003, XP, and Server 2000) systems to boot. It is run from the primary hard disk drive and contains the main Boot loader. The well-being of NTLDR is very significant for the boot process as if this file is missing, then your system would not be able to boot.
The NTLDR file may get missing or corrupted due to various reasons, such as virus infections, power outages, damaged operating system, etc. In such cases, you should consider taking appropriate corrective measures to rectify the problem. However, if you are unable to resolve the issue then you should use a third-party Windows hard drive recovery software to do the needful.
Consider a scenario wherein you have a Windows Server 2003 system. When you start the system, it fails to do so. An error message is displayed, that is:
"NTLDR is missing
Press any key to restart"
Cause:
For the aforementioned error message, there are following reasons:
The BIOS settings of the system are outdated
Any or all of the following files are either corrupted or missing:
boot.ini
Ntdetect.com
Ntldr
Resolution:
To resolve your computer system from the aforementioned problems and access the Windows system, you need to perform the following methods:
Check the BIOS settings: Verify the BIOS settings and check if the latest version of the BIOS is installed on your computer.
Repair the Windows repair environment: Repair the Windows repair environment if any of the aforementioned files is missing or damaged. You can perform it by using any of the following methods:
By using a boot disk that contains all the mentioned files.
By using the Recovery Console to copy the mentioned files to your computer.
By using the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM to repair the Windows Startup Environment.
The problem will be resolved using the aforementioned methods. However, if you are still not able to address the issue then you should use a third-party Windows hard drive recovery software to do the needful. Such read-only tools are able to recover the hard drive contents without overwriting the original contents.
Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is a hard drive recovery software that enables you to recover lost, deleted, or formatted volumes. It is able to recover trapped data from all sorts of data loss situations. This hard drive recovery tool is competent enough to recover more than 185 different file types from various storage media such as hard disks, external hard drives, iPods, etc. It is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and Server 2000.
