Computer Setup:
C:\ drive Windows Vista x32 SP2
D:\ drive Windows XP x64 SP2

My D:\ drive no longer boots Windows. I get an NTLDR is missing error because I'm an idiot and disconnected the D drive while installing Vista on my C:\ drive.

I have tried every NTLDR fix I could find to no avail. The error must be something specific to the fact that I disconnected the hard drive.

Any ideas on how to break back into my D:\ XP without having to re-install everything?

Thanks for your help

Run repair from the XP CD to reinstall/repair boot files.

You can boot to your Win XP cd and go into recovery console.

You can restore the missing file or you can try running chkdsk /f, fixboot, fixmbr.

I would run the commands before doing the restore.

I did both things and they both failed.

If someone can link me to a step-by-step guide for the recovery console I'll do it again and post the error I get here.

before you try anything is the partition active
Fixmbr
Repairs the master boot record of the boot disk. The fixmbr command is only available when you are using the Recovery Console

fixmbr [device_name]

Parameter

device_name

The device (drive) on which you want to write a new master boot record. The name can be obtained from the output of the map command. An example of a device name is:

\Device\HardDisk0.

Example

The following example writes a new master boot record to the device specified:

fixmbr \Device\HardDisk0

Note

• If you do not specify a device_name, a new master boot record will be written to the boot device, which is the drive on which your primary system is loaded.

• If an invalid or nonstandard partition table signature is detected, you will be prompted whether you want to continue. If you are not having problems accessing your drives, you should not continue. Writing a new master boot record to your system partition could damage your partition tables and cause your partitions to become inaccessible
http://www.microsoft.com/resources [...] x?mfr=true

RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, replace the Windows XP Ntldr and Ntdetect.com files. Follow these steps: 1. Start the Recovery Console, type fixboot at the prompt, and then press ENTER.
2. If the Recovery Console does not appear, follow these steps:a. Use one of the following methods to start the computer so that you can access the file system of the boot partition:%u2022 Specify another operating system on the Boot menu.
%u2022 Start from the Windows XP CD-ROM, and then at the Windows Setup screen, press "R" to use the Recovery Console to repair the Windows installation.
%u2022 Use a Windows NT 4.0 boot disk that also contains the Windows XP boot files.
%u2022 If your boot partition is a basic disk that is formatted with the FAT file system, use an MS-DOS boot disk.

b. Copy the Ntldr and Ntdetect.com files from the I386 folder on the Windows XP CD-ROM to the root folder of your boot drive. The boot drive is typically drive C.

If you are using MS-DOS to perform this file replacement, you may have to remove the System attribute, the Read-only attribute, and the Hidden attribute from the files by using the attrib command. To do this, type the following lines at the MS-DOS command prompt, and then press ENTER after each line:
attrib ntdetect.com -r -s -h
attrib ntldr -r -s -h
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315233/en-us



save a little reading copy and paste this for ya

Replacing a Damaged Boot.ini
If your system fails to start because of a damaged Boot.ini file, use the following methods to replace the file or to correct errors.

The bootcfg command is a new addition to the Windows XP Professional Recovery Console.

To use the Recovery Console bootcfg command to rebuild a Boot.ini file (Automatic Method)
1.
Start Recovery Console.

2.
At the Recovery Console prompt, type bootcfg /rebuild.

Windows XP Professional scans the hard disks on your system and checks for Windows installations. You can then rebuild the Boot.ini file.

Note The Recovery Console bootcfg command is not the same as the Windows XP Professional Bootcfg.exe command-line tool. Bootcfg.exe resides in the systemroot\System32 folder and is a standalone command-line tool that you cannot use in Recovery Console.


To use Recovery Console to create a new Boot.ini file (Manual Method)
1.
Start Recovery Console.

For more information about installing and using Recovery Console, see %u201CUsing Recovery Console%u201D earlier in this chapter and Appendix C, %u201CTools for Troubleshooting.%u201D

2.
From the Recovery Console prompt, type:

map

A list appears containing hard disk and partition information for Windows XP Professional and other operating systems, such as Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0. Record and use this information to correct errors to an existing Boot.ini file, or to create a new Boot.ini file by using a text editor, such as Notepad, on another computer. (You must use another computer because Recovery Console does not provide text-editing tools.)


When you are trying to copy an existing Boot.ini file to a floppy disk to edit on another computer, be aware that floppy disk write access is disabled by default. For information about using Recovery Console to enable write access to floppy disks; see Appendix C, %u201CTools for Troubleshooting,%u201D in this book; and article 235364, %u201CDescription of the SET Command in Recovery Console,%u201D in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at
http://www.microsoft.com/germany/t [...] 21675.mspx


http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources

Thanks for the response but windows help really confuses me. I'm a hardware guy, not a windows guy, so I need real step-by-step idiot-proof instructions when I start delving this deep into things like MSDOS prompt.

I'm confused, I read all that twice and still don't know what I'm supposed to do.

I type:
fixmbr \D:\HardDisk0

is that right?

"b. Copy the Ntldr and Ntdetect.com files from the I386 folder on the Windows XP CD-ROM to the root folder of your boot drive. The boot drive is typically drive C."
I don't know how to do this.


when I'm doing

attrib ntdetect.com -r -s -h
attrib ntldr -r -s -h

Do I need to do
attrib ntdetect.com -r
attrib ntdetect.com -s
attrib ntdetect.com -h
or is all together fine?

In the command prompt type the cddrive d:\ assuming d is your cdrom then at the d:\prompt type in cd\i386
d:\i386 copy ntldr c:\assuming your xpcd is d if not assign the proper drive of your cdrom
d/i386 copy ntdetect.com if you get a protection error you will have to use the attrib commands
you can attrib all the same time -r -s -h however you will have to do the 2 commands ntldr then do ntdetect individually
-r : Clears the read-only file attribute
-s : Clears the system file attribute.
-h : Clears the hidden file attribute.
your in the i386 folder on the xpcd now type in
D:\attrib ntldr -r -s -h
D:\attrib ntdetect.com -r -s -h
I dont know if this command can set the attribs if its from a cd or not because the attributes of the file cannot be written on a cd

fixmbr \Device\HardDisk0 type exactly as showen you should be able to go fixmbr /device the command will assume the area the master record is I check the bootloader for my boot record and it shows HD0