How to Fix NTLDR is Missing?

[TopGun]

I was working on a friend's PC (or actually had her HDD hooked up to my PC to run Norton scan, Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware, and SuperAnti-Spyware) trying to get rid of the "Best Malware Protection" virus. After I ran the scan, I unhooked my regular win7 hdd and tried to boot up from her hdd to see if the virus was gone. I cannot get past the scan disk or w/e it's called. It will get to about 83% then freeze up.

I tried hooking up her hdd to an older PC I have that was running xp (which is what is on her hdd). I get the "NTLDR is missing press any key" prompt and can't get any further.

Where do I go from here? I do not have an install disk.

 

[PhilFrisbie]

First, it is a VERY bad idea to boot up a copy of Windows on different hardware if you do not intend to keep it there. Perhaps Safe Mode would be OK, but that is still risky.

The missing NTLDR message in the older computer may just mean the hard drive is too large for it to properly read. You need to move it back to the original computer for further testing.

 

[TopGun]

OK, I have the tower coming over tonight to try it again in there.

Can you explain why "it is a VERY bad idea to boot up a copy of Windows on different hardware if you do not intend to keep it there."? I'm not saying it isn't, I just like to know the why of stuff.

 

[PhilFrisbie]

Because Windows will sense it is on new hardware and automatically change drivers and settings. At the least you end up with more drivers loaded using more memory, and at the worst you may have driver conflicts which can brick Windows.

 

[0shadow]

I was working on a friend's PC (or actually had her HDD hooked up to my PC to run Norton scan, Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware, and SuperAnti-Spyware) trying to get rid of the "Best Malware Protection" virus. After I ran the scan, I unhooked my regular win7 hdd and tried to boot up from her hdd to see if the virus was gone. I cannot get past the scan disk or w/e it's called. It will get to about 83% then freeze up.

I tried hooking up her hdd to an older PC I have that was running xp (which is what is on her hdd). I get the "NTLDR is missing press any key" prompt and can't get any further.

Where do I go from here? I do not have an install disk.

you shouldnt have connected any hdd with a new system. The most secure way is to repair the windows xp installation. But you could have a look at this link..

http://tinyempire.com/notes/ntldrismissing.htm


good luck!

 

[faizanshakyboy]

i suggest you to Restore your system

 

[0shadow]

i dont think you would be able to use that option as it will not boot at all...

 

[TopGun]

It works in her old tower. It's just a matter of getting the "Best Malware Protection" virus off her system now. Any tips for that? I've run Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware so far and currently running Spybot Search and Destroy. The guide I read said to do Hitman Pro 3.5 next. Anything else?