Need a quick diagnosis

g048989h

Distinguished
Nov 17, 2009
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I have a DVR we use to record security cameras, a 16 channel unit using Aver Media cards. The unit has been unstable since we built it I thought due to me loading the drivers incorrectly. I formatted the HD, a WD 750gb HDD and am going to reload windows and the drivers. I get an error when the HDD is plugged in, system tries to boot then says "NTLDR Missing" . I tried booting from XP CD, but it refuses to boot and goes back to above message. Funny thing is, if I repeat the process with the HDD unplugged it boots into the install screen, but obviously later tells me there is no HDD. I have tried combinations of unplugging and then plugging in the HDD at various points during the process. I have used new SATA cables, moved the SATA plug to different ports on the MB. The disk drive is set to Boot. Nothing is working. I am wondering if HDD is bad, I have no internet connection due to company security rules on any of our DVR's.
Ideas??
 

killermoats

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Mar 2, 2008
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Check the SATA operation in the bios. If it's set to AHCI I found it can cause issues depending on the setup. Usually there is a SATA operation mode IDE or Native that works. Don't plug the HDD in while the system is on. HDD could be bad but if it shows the correct SN and compasity in the BIOS than we will assume it is ok. Especially if was previosly working.