Cant boot to utility partition; Error: NTLDR missing

Question

While troubleshooting a floppy issue with Dell phone support, we discovered I was unable to boot to the utility partition and rec'd error:NTLDR missing :smileyindifferent:. The system boots fine to Win XP and all 3 original partitions are still there. Dell chat support told me that my warranty does not cover software support and I should contact Dell fee-based phone support :smileymad:. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dimension 4700
160GB HDD
512MB DDR2 Ram
Intel P4 3.0GHZ HT
WindowsXP Home SP2

lambdapro · Answer

Do you have a floppy in the floppy drive? David

mrrider64 · Answer

No floppy disk in the drive. I wish it were that easy :smileysad:.        Len.

shesagordie · Answer

mrrider64

Check the procedures in this post and the following article,

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_other&message.id=246811

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm

Bev.

shesagordie · Answer

mrrider64   It should not happen, for more information, read the following,     Have you tried using the PC Restore feature?   Bev.

rickmktg · Answer

@mrrider64 wrote:
I just tried the Dell Restore now and I guess it's too late.....I recieved this error: The Dell system recovery tool has detected an unsupported change in your MBR. The tool cannot run at this time. Please call Dell tech support for assistance. So, now I have 2 questions: 1) Can this be repaired? 2)If so, will Dell help me under my warranty or for a fee? Len.

1) Yes. Numerous posts. If the Symantec PC Restore utility won't work, but still resides on your computer, a Dell customer has figured out some ways to get it to work again. Note - If you removed this partition, it is not recoverable, cannot be downloaded from the internet, and cannot be shipped from Dell. Click here for ways to fix Symantec PC Restore. Users have also reported that the partition can be restored with Ghost 2003, and Ghost 9 using the '03 capabilities of it. If you boot to the Ghost 9 CD, select Advanced Recovery Taks, select Utilities, then Restore Legacy IMage it should work - but you want to verify the image before attempting the restore. It's in a folder called IMG.

2) Not under warranty, for a $99 fee they will try but not have the ability.

mrrider64 · Answer

I just tried the Dell Restore now and I guess it's too late.....I recieved this error: The Dell system recovery tool has detected an unsupported change in your MBR.  The tool cannot run at this time.  Please call Dell tech support for assistance.  So, now I have 2 questions: 1) Can this be repaired?  2)If so, will Dell help me under my warranty or for a fee?        Len.

mrrider64 · Answer

Thanks for that info. Bev.....I read some posts that said any repair or re-install of the OS from the CD may render my Dell Restore partition useless.  Is this also a possibility with the Recovery Console ?      Len.

mrrider64 · Answer

Thanks for the info. Rick......Any chance that repairing the Dell Restore partition will also fix the NTLDR Missing problem with the Dell Utility partition ?       Len.

shesagordie · Answer

mrrider64   No, correct the NTLDR missing error first, then try and repair the PC system Restore.   Bev.

mrrider64 · Answer

Thanks Bev :smileyhappy:  Will do, sooner or later.  I'll read it over a few times and wait til I have a day alone with no one to distract me.  Is there an expiration date for replying back with results ?       Len.

shesagordie · Answer

Len. As far as I know, there's no expiration date for replying.  There are times when a Moderator will 'Lock' a thread and when this happens, no more posts can be added to the thread. Bev.

mrrider64 · Answer

Bev.........OK,   I will try to let you and Rick know how I make out.  Thanks again for all your help.       Len.

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Cant boot to utility partition; Error: NTLDR missing

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