NTLDR is missing after Install. Please help!!

[Yvo]

Hey Guys,

I'm stuck with a slight situation. I bought Windows 2000 Server with a 5 client license and I can't get it to install on my system. Now I don't want to waste a precious Microsoft Tech Support call (you only get 2, then they start charging). I know you guys can help . I am putting it on a K6-2 500 PC with 384MB of RAM. It is good enough for a small network.

I tried it on 3 different hard drives, hard drives that work fine in other systems. I used 2 different CD drivers, also these work fine in other systems. I tried to install it on an even older Compaq (k6-2 400) or on a PA-2013 motherboard (that I have laying around). I even tried a different CD (I cloned it because I thought the CD was bad).


Now I tried installing it via CD. This is a total no go. It copies the files and reboots and freezes. Then I tried by installing it via a Windows 98 boot disk. That was a no go either. Then as last result I tried to do it via the 4 floppy disks. Now when I use the disk method it restarts and when its supposed to load up Windows it reports: NTLDR is missing. Now I normally get this error when it really is missing. So I insert a boot disk and check. It still there. I restart again and again... but it comes up with the same message every single time.

Anyone have any ideas on how to remotely solve this issue. Any KB articles I overlooked perhaps or should I use one of those MS support phone calls. I surely don't hope so .

Yvo van Doorn


CC: Operating Systems Forum

 

[Adul]

specks on hardware would help. Might be something that is incompatible.

 

[Utterman]

I had the same problem, so I feel your pain.

If your hard drive is connected to a PCI controller card or onboard promise controller, I would switch it to the regular IDE master bus.

That solved the missing NTLDR file for me. Some people suggest installing the NTLDR file that is found on the startup disk I think, but I could be wrong.

A good knowledge base article is Q255220


Hope this helps ya

 

[LordOfAll]

Need more info. Like

what kind of drives and cdrom?
how are they partitioned and when and with what?

Some stuff to try would be to set the drive you want to boot off of as the first boot option in your bios.
selecting "copy all setup files from the cd to the hard drive" in the advanced options after the licensing agreement might get you around the installing from cd problem.

Sounds like a hardware problem as ntldr is the very first thing loaded on a 2000 boot.

 

[Yvo]

Oh man, I can't believe I forgot the specs!!

I'll elaborate some more.

System specs
FIC PA-2013 rev 2.1 (latest bios, ran Windows 2000 Professional fine)
AMD K6-2 500
3x 128MB of Crucial PC100 RAM
20GB Maxtor Hard Drive
12GB Quantum Hard Drive (tried installing off of both)

Tried CD-ROM drives:
Toshiba 24X CDROM drive (system's default)
Sony DVD-ROM 5X Speed (32X in CD speed, I think)
HiVal 45X Speed

2 complete partitions (no extended partition tables). Tried both FAT32 and NTFS.

Hope thats everything,

Yvo