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Hi. My problem's a bit complicated so I'll start from the beginning.
I reformatted my hard drive in order to remove my old copy of XP Home so I could put XP Pro on my computer. Now, however, when I try to boot up my computer to load XP on to it I get the 'NTLDR is missing. Press ctrl+ alt + del to restart.'
I looked online for a way to solve this trouble and was recommended to change the BIOS so it loads from the CD Drive instead of the HD but after doing that I still get the same error message.
Out of curiosity, I tried to force my computer to load from the CD Drive by disconnecting my HD and booting up my computer. XP starts up and tries to load itself. Obviously, with no HD it soon runs into trouble. I'm no techie, but this tells me that something's wrong with the HD itself.
Someone else recommended that I reset the jumpers on my motherboard. I've got an Azza KT600 ALX motherboard but I can't find the manual in my house, and I can't find it online either! I think they've been bought out by someone and don't do MBs any more. :(
Everything's plugged in correctly inside the computer.
So my questions are: would resetting the jumpers help? How do I do this? Is the trouble with my HD? Would buying a new one fix the problem?
Or, should I just throw the whole damn thing in the bin and buy a completely new computer?
I'd be very grateful if anyone could help me as I'm at my wits' end!
You should be able to change the boot order in the bios. If so, set the cd as the first unit it looks at.
Then try booting up, with the windows o/s cd in place.
I suspect you have not properly formatted the hdd. However, maybe this was not required. I would have tried (after secure copying all my info) installing the pro version over the home, it may have been treated as an upgrade.
Advise how you get on.
Good Luck -Keep us posted.
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I've already changed the BIOS with no luck, doing it again won't solve anything. The Windows o/s CD's been in my CD drive the whole time, too. :(
I've been able to reformat my HDD in another computer and it's still not working.
The reason I reformatted my HDD was because I couldn't install pro over home. I'd changed my DVD-Drive and been unable to validate XP Home because I'd lost the code and got locked out. So I bought a new XP Pro and that's where my trouble started.
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It doesn't sound like you properly formatted the harddrive. Was this harddrive partitioned into more than one partition?
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"I reformatted my hard drive in order to remove my old copy of XP Home so I could put XP Pro on my computer. Now, however, when I try to boot up my computer to load XP on to it I get the 'NTLDR is missing. Press ctrl+ alt + del to restart."
Is some information left out in the above? Like, did you ALSO install WinXP pro on the drive? If so, where was the drive installed when that was done?
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I tried to install Win XP Pro on the drive while I was locked out of XP Home because I didn't have the vaildation key. I just put my XP Pro CD into the CD drive and turned the computer on. However, it just kept bringing up the enter validation key for XP Home page when I booted my computer up.
The drive was in my PC when I did this. I reformatted it in my brother's PC and it's now back in my PC.
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You did not format the partition or you wouldn't be getting the message you are getting. The drive should be blank.
Referring back to response #1, you do not have the boot order set correctly, your CD drive is not configured right, or your WinXP pro CD is defective. When changing items in the BIOS you must save changes when exiting. CD needs to be prior to the HD in the boot order. Also you may need to press F6 in order to boot from the CD. Watch the screens for that prompt. Once you do get the computer to boot from the WinXP CD let it start the configuration. Eventually you will be offered some options. Choose to format using all available space and install XP to that partition.
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Hey. The BIOS boot order is as follows: First Boot Device: CD ROM, Second Boot Device: CD Rom and I always exit and save the BIOS by pressing f10. :)
The prompts I get when starting up are:
Boot from CD:
Press any key to boot from CDThanks for suggesting pressing f6, I'll try that.
Update: it doesn't work either.
My CD drive could be configured wrong, how do I sort this out?
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"First Boot Device: CD ROM, Second Boot Device: CD Rom"
Uhhhh, where's the HDD in the boot order? You're gonna need it eventually.
Why did you wanna replace XP Home with XP Pro?? There's really very little difference except for some addition networking & security features. It won't perform any differently if that was your reasoning.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...
Regardless, you obviously didn't format the HDD correctly. Make sure the HDD is connected & set it as the 2nd boot device. Boot off the XP Pro CD & partition/format your HDD. You didn't say how big your drive is, but don't make the primary partition TOO big...keep it managable. Split up the remainder as you see fit, then format as either FAT32 or NTFS. Do NOT do this in a different PC & swap the drive...do it in the PC the HDD is gonna be run in.
Here's a step by step guide with screenshots:
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noonday
My mistake, the message will be hit ANY key to boot from the CD. F6 is used to install third party drivers.
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Ok. The CD Drive is the first boot device, HDD is the second and I'm still getting the NTLDR is missing error message.
I can't boot of the XP Pro CD at all.
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Boot from CD:
Press any key to boot from CDAre you hitting the key quickly enough?
You only have a couple of seconds!Hit the 'Enter' key
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Additional comment not related to the XP Pro issue:
I see you have an AXP 2000+ w/DDR333 RAM. If you're running the CPU at 266MHz FSB & the RAM at 333MHz, you're taking a performance hit. Manually configure your RAM to run at 266MHz to match the CPU.
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"I'm still getting the NTLDR is missing error message"
Yes, because it's trying to boot off the improperly formatted HDD. Like aegis said, you have to "press any key" at the right time or it will bypass the CD & go to the HDD. Watch the screen! If the info is hidden by some sort of splash screen, try hitting ESC or TAB to reveal the POST screen.
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It could also be that your keyboard isn't being recognized. If it's a USB keyboard, it might have be enabled in the bios.
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I'm pressing the y key from the instant it says 'Boot from CD:' and keep pressing it while it says 'Press any key to boot from CD' and I still get the error message. Delaying trying to boot from the CD isn't the problem.
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Make sure the keyboard plug is fully in place & try another key next time. How about ENTER?
USB or PS/2 keyboard? If you played around in the BIOS you may have disabled it.
EDIT: I see you replied while I was typing. Check your BIOS settings. Correct that RAM setting while you're there too.
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Aegis (Jam too), I swapped my normal USB keyboard for my mum's computer's non-USB one (not sure what it proper name is) and so far my computer is managing to boot from the CD and windows is going through setup. So far everything is working.
I just want to say thanks to *everyone* for taking the time to answer my questions and trying to help.
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Hopefully you'll follow the other advice about your RAM settings & partitioning the HDD.
You never did say why you wanted to remove XP Home & replace it with XP Pro or what you expect to gain by doing so?
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Jam
Actually he did say in his second post, "been unable to validate XP Home because I'd lost the code and got locked out".
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i would like to chip in here and say "well done gents" in helping Noonday. a very interesting thread to read.
as a side note: i too had a similar prob when installing XPHome last year for the first time >>>> used a USB keyboard. out of dismay at the time, i wacked a PS2 keyboard on and the rest is history.
Noonday: "for my mum's computer's non-USB one (not sure what it proper name is) its called a PS2 k'board
good job
(previously Robmoski)
Central Coast NSW AussieThere are 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
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"been unable to validate XP Home because I'd lost the code and got locked out"
Totally missed it. There certainly are ways to fix that rather than buying/installing XP Pro...but what's done is done.
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