hi there,when i start my old computor with windows 98,it only gets as far as the first stage and I get a message NTLDR is missing,Ive no recovery disc to boot from,any help please,It was working untill I put a 40gb hard drive in inplace of the 2 gb,that was in in the first place,Ive swaped them back but still get the message NTLDR is missing,birdman1

"NTLDR missing" is a result of an attempted NTFS file system & associated O/S load. It stamps the Master Boot Record (MBR) and places NTFS system boot files onto the primary hard disk. Something obviously went wrong during the attempt.

If the primary hard disk in place has 98 on it, boot with a Win98SE Boot Disk*. Choose without CDROM support. (Not required at this time.)

At the A:\> prompt, type in fdisk/mbr and hit ENTER. (There will be no acknowledgement other than a return of the command promt. This resets the hard disk Master Boot Record to a FAT32 file system.)

Then type in sys c: and hit ENTER. You should see "System transferred". This transfers FAT32 boot files to the root of the C: drive. Pull the floppy boot disk and start normally. Windows 98 should start as long as the drive and O/S are intact.

Post back with your results and any other questions.



*The above bootdisk image file is a self extracting file and has to be executed (run) from a running Windows machine in order to create the actual startup diskette on one of your floppy disks. (This image file produces the same bootdisk which 98SE creates.) This downloaded image file will format the floppy disk to ensure its integrity, write the files to the disk, then verify the file write, so it'll take a minute or three to create the bootdisk.

Ensure the floppy drive is set as the first boot device in the bios.

NOTE: When you boot a machine with this boot floppy, it creates a RAMDRIVE in system memory to contain DOS system tools/drivers. Thus it will move your "normal" CDROM device/drive letter "up" one level. (If your CDROM is normally E: it will be F: when booting with this bootdisk.)

The path to the found CDROM will be set with the bootfiles, so entering A:\>f:\setup is the same as entering A:\>setup at the A:\> prompt. There is no need to include the cdrom drive letter. The CDROM device letter will be assigned near the end of the floppy boot process, right after MSCDEX is loaded.

thankyou for your help,Ive got it sorted out,followed your advice,birdman1

Your'e welcome.

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