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Computer problem: NTLDR is missing
Hey Ashtray
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
What does this error mean? It's on startup, I get the motherboard screen, and then instead of loading Windows XP, I get NTLDR is missing Press Ctrol Alt Del to restart.
3.0ghz P4 Prescott
1GB DDR2
250GB SATA HD
Radeon x600 PRO
M-audio something rather.
It's about 4 years old, lately it's been just rebooting on startup randomly, but yesterday it was fine. Now I can't get past this screen.
Thanks!
EDIT: Actually, just realized there's two harddrives, other is an 80 GB Sata that I've had trouble with in the past, but has been working for the last year.
Also probably unrelated, I moved a cable inside to see something and the computer turned off, and it appears that unless the cables are in a perfect spot, the computer just restarts over and over. I think it's something to do with the connection to the power supply. Anyway, that was happening before the NTLDR, but I figured I'd give you more info.
3.0ghz P4 Prescott
1GB DDR2
250GB SATA HD
Radeon x600 PRO
M-audio something rather.
It's about 4 years old, lately it's been just rebooting on startup randomly, but yesterday it was fine. Now I can't get past this screen.
Thanks!
EDIT: Actually, just realized there's two harddrives, other is an 80 GB Sata that I've had trouble with in the past, but has been working for the last year.
Also probably unrelated, I moved a cable inside to see something and the computer turned off, and it appears that unless the cables are in a perfect spot, the computer just restarts over and over. I think it's something to do with the connection to the power supply. Anyway, that was happening before the NTLDR, but I figured I'd give you more info.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Hey Ashtray on
0
Posts
Devices that have failed don't always fail hard, that is, completely. They can still partipate on the interface in new and exciting ways that can cause other things to malfunction. Something like:
CPU: OK, who's out there on the bus?
250GB: Hi, 250GB hard drive
80GB: Banana!
CPU: Err, OK, I need the boot sector from drive zero...
250GB: OK here it...
80GB: ABABBBABABBBABABABAABABABABABAABAB
CPU: What?
250GB: Huh? Who said that?
80GB: GURBLENOXTRUBGAGGLE
And that's just one possible failure mode where a device just puts noise or nonsense out on the bus. There's certainly other failure modes where lines get shorted high or low, things like that. Failed hard drives taking out other drives at the same time isn't unusual at all.
When you removed the failed drive, you removed the source of the interference. It's dead, and like isn't worth trying to salvage unless what it held was very valuable to you (send it to a reputable data recovery lab in that case, as it will be expensive and will likely require drive surgery that will do more harm than good if they don't know what they are doing). Take it out back and beat it to death with something heavy; or, melt it down like a dead Terminator if you're really concerned about the data getting into the wrong hands.
This post makes me wish hard drives could talk.
I'm feeling really giddy at the moment, but "Banana!" made me laugh far harder than it should have.