Ok... I have wracked my brain, and talked to everyone that I know, and I am at a total loss here. Sunday morning when I woke up and turned on my computer, it wouldn't boot up. Instead I got a message telling me that the "NTLDR is missing"! Where it went, or how it got there I have no idea, all I know is that it is gone! I looked online, and discovered that it may be possible to copy the file from my XP setup CD by going into the Recovery Console. This would be wonderful, and the description that I found sounds very easy... except... I don't know my Administrative password, and I can't get into the console without it!! (second-hand computer... guy I got it from doesn't remember it... and I have 3 Years worth of stuff... pictures, music, etc. saved onto it... formatting the HD, or reinstalling the OS is not something I even want to think about!!) Can someone PLEASE help me?? Is there a way to reset the password, or bypass it? I can't stand the thought of losing 3 years of pictures of my daughter... she will never be 8, 9, or 10 again!! Thanks... Amtamburo Happy ~uh huh~ owner of a $2,000 lawn ornament! Happy ~uh huh~ owner of a $2,000 lawn ornament! Happy ~uh huh~ owner of a $2,000 lawn ornament!

firstly put ur hard drive into another machine and get your documents off then start messing around with it

Hi, This might help you.... http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q314057&ID=KB;EN-US;q314057 Daisymay

Another sad tale of no backup. Always back up your hard drive regularly. That said, there are ways to disable the password by changing certain jumpers on the motherboard. I don't know how to do this, but you will hear from those who do, and I would leave your hard drive where it is until there's no alternative. You may be able to do a system repair with what you have. The only point of this message is to tell you to hold on until you hear from those who know what to do next. Of this I am sure: you will be able to recover.

I have never had to try this but here is a tip I found>>> The Ultimate NT Hack, Part I- for when you loose your admin password. There is a way to recover the Administrator account, but it's tricky and requires physical access to the server. First, you must have the following: · A regular user account that can log on locally to your NT machine. (If you already have an alternate installation of NT on the system to be recovered, skip ahead to the command prompt instruction in Part II.) · The NT CD and s etup disks. Use the winnt /ox command to create the setup disks from the CD. · Enough room to install a temporary copy of NT (Workstation will suffice, even on a Primary Domain Controller). · The latest Service Pack ( http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/PNP281.asp ). The Ultimate NT Hack, Part II First, boot up from the setup floppies you created and install a copy of NT in the \TEMPNT directory on any drive. Add the latest Service Pack. Make sure the Scheduler service is running and boot the alternate installation. At a command prompt, type AT HH:MM /INTERACTIVE CMD /K where HH:MM is 10 minutes from the current time, in 24-hour format. This opens a user- interactive command prompt that will allow you to log on. Setting it for 10 minutes should give you enough time to do the recovery operation. The Ultimate NT Hack, Part III Edit the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\ Services\Schedule key in the Registry. Double-click on Schedule and select the subkey under Schedule. Double-click on the Schedule value name in the right-hand pane and copy the REG_BINARY string to the Clipboard. Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and Load Hive from the Registry menu. When prompted for a hive file, go to your original installation's SYSTEM32\CONFIG folder and select the System hive. When you're prompted for a Key Name to mount the hive under, type ORIGSYS. When ORIGSYS appears under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, open the Select key. Write down the value for the Current entry (usually 0). The Ultimate NT Hack, Part IV Browse to ORIGSYS\ControlSet00n\Services\Schedule and make sure the value for Start is 0x2. Add a new subkey named 001 under Schedule and add to it the type REG_SZ with the value CMD /K; add the type REG_BINARY with the Current value you recorded from the previous step. Select ORIGSYS and Unload Hive from the Registry menu. Under Control Panel/System/Startup/Shutdown, select the Startup option that boots your original NT installation. The order in which the items are listed in the drop-down menu is the same as it appeared in BOOT.INI, so the original boot will probably be the first entry. Shut down and restart, booting your original installation. The Ultimate NT Hack, Part V Finally, log on as your user account and wait for the scheduled event (as detailed in Part II) to take place. When the command prompt opens, it will be under the context of the Schedule user (the user who set the schedule), as either the System account or an administrative account. If this machine is not a Primary Domain Controller, type MUSRMGR.exe. If it is, type USRMGR.exe. (If you get an error, click Yes and type your domain name.) Set the Administrator password and log off. Log back on as Administrator. You can delete your temporary NT installation.

I've worked on a few computers with this issue, and as sad as it is to report, I think I've had to format each one. Check this site out - see if it gives you any leads: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm

I should have added that your System Manufacturer is not Microsoft, but is HP or Dell or Gateway or Toshiba or whatever. That info might be helpful to the person who knows how to disable the password.