How does pressing “R” helps my computer without replacing my hard disk?

How does pressing “R” helps my computer without replacing my hard disk?

Hi CatherineO!

When an error message shows "NTLDR is missing pres CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart" it means that:

• Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS.
• Corrupt NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM file.
• Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file.
• Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
• Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable.

And from your case, it is basically caused by a seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP maybe due to a system crash during installation of your OS, to a bad installation copy of your OS, or to an error that transpired during installation.

SOLUTION 1

Pressing "R"  brings you to an alternative where you can access the hard drive. From there, you can recover your OS from times that it does not boot. Besides that, you can perform certain tasks using a command line interface. However, this method is only available where NTLDR loads. In your case, you can use this option to repair your problem.

1. Insert your Windows XP installation disc (bootable  which in most cd's are bootable)

2. When the screen displays "press any key to boot from the CD", press any key to continue.

3. Once you are in the Windows XP installation screen or the setup menu, press "R" to proceed to the recovery console and, repair your Windows.

4. From there, go into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and then press enter.

5. You will be asked for your administrator password. Enter the password.

6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. The format of the task would be:
 

<COPY command> <space> <drive letter of your CD/DVD drive and the location of the file> <space> <drive letter of your primary hard disk or your primary partition which in most cases is drive letter C>

For example,

             copy e:i386ntldr c:

             copy e:i386ntdetect.com c:

NOTE: Drive letters would vary in your computer.

7. After both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD and then reboot it.

SOLUTION 2

Another way would be reformatting your hard disk; however, it would be very risky since it erases all of your files. Having a fresh and new installation would probably get rid of this problem. Besides, it removes and deletes all the corrupt files that could run down and slow down your computer.

Either way, these solutions can repair your problem along with your OS.