One of readers faced this trouble, when Windows XP refuses to boot due to changed or corrupted boot.ini file.

This error may appear if the Boot.ini file is missing, damaged, or contains incorrect entries of the operating system.

This is how error seems like at the time of boot: (see the image below)

Invalid Boot.ini

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

Lets see how can we repair the altered or damaged boot.ini file.

Fix:

Follow the procedure below to repair original boot.ini file

1. Firstly arrange a Bootable Windows XP setup CD.
2. Boot from bootable Windows XP setup CD and press R to enter recovery console which allows to restore the corrupted boot.ini file to original.
3. Now enter your administrative username and password, when you get the command prompt type the following command “bootcfg /rebuild” (without double quotes) and press Enter.
4. Bootcfg utility on the Windows XP setup CD will scan your drives for any Windows XP installations and then display the results which you can select to repair the corresponding boot.ini file.
5. The first prompt asks to Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All). type “Y” (without double quotes) and press enter.
6. The next prompt asks to Enter Load Identifier ” This is nothing but the name of the operation system which appears at the time of Booting ” :type Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition or simply Windows XP and press Enter.
7. Now it will ask to Enter OS Load options: type /Fastdetect and press Enter.
8. Take the Windows XP bootable CD out from the tray and Type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.

The above solution provided will help to fix the trouble!

This time your Windows XP should start normally with out any problems, if you still have any concerns regarding this problem or solution, please leave a comment.

This content is just a summary, read the full article at ©2010 TroubleFixers - All about fixing computer troubles. All Rights Reserved.

Windows does not start due to error message: " Invalid Boot.ini File" is a post from TroubleFixers - All about fixing computer troubles

Have you ever seen “NTLDR is missing, Press any key to restart” during boot up ? One of our reader got this problem suddenly at the time of booting windows. Due to this, the windows does not boot.

What is NTLDR ?

NTLDR (NT Loader) is the boot loader for all releases of Microsoft’s Windows NT operating system up to and including Windows XP.

This message NTLDR is missing indicates that the boot loader is either corrupted or missing due to some reason.

Let’s see how we can fix it.

Fix:

There are two approaches to fix the missing boot loader in windows XP.

If your Windows is installed on FAT32 Partitions:
1. Boot your computer with a Win98 startup floppy.

2. Now, copy the NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM files from the i386 directory on your floppy to your windows installation drive (e.g in “c:\” in case the windows is installed on c:).

If your Windows is installed on NTFS Partitions:
1. Arrange for the bootable Windows XP setup CD.
2. Boot from CD select R=Repair option, by pressing R key during the setup.
3. Select the windows installation.
4. You need to enter in the administrator password when requested, if you had not set any password for the administrator account just press enter without typing.
5. Type the following commands to repair the bootloader, where X is the drive letter for your CD / DVD drive.
COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\:
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\
6. Eject CD-ROM and type exit to restart.

We hope this helps to fix the trouble.

This content is just a summary, read the full article at ©2010 TroubleFixers - All about fixing computer troubles. All Rights Reserved.

NTLDR missing or NTDETECT.COM not found in windows XP is a post from TroubleFixers - All about fixing computer troubles