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Hi I bought a gaming computer awhile back like about 6months ago or so i'd say. When i first got it the hardrive which already had windows XP pro installed had trouble detecting the hardrive. Only after 30minutes or so of reconnecting the SATA cable that it was finally able to read the hardrive. Which brings me to my problem.....yesterday I felt like cleaning my computer so I opened it up and started blowing the dust etc etc. I am guessing that i must've pushed the SATA cord or something a bit and when I tried to boot up the computer which was working fine 2minutes before popped up the NTLDR is missing message. So I spent over an hour unplugging and replugging and trying different sides of the cables but nothing seemed to work. I then realized that one side of the cable had a crack so then I went to go buy a new cable today. I tried out the new cable and nothing seemed to work....I still get the NTLDR message that it cannot detect my Main hardrive but it can detect my other hardrives. Is there anyway I could fix this??? Please help me with this problem!!! much appreciated

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Dani AI

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Good catch by — that symptom is classic: the BIOS/boot sequence tried a nonbootable device first (an attached USB/external drive) so the system reported "NTLDR is missing" even though the main disk was fine. A short checklist for anyone who runs into the same issue later:

  • Verify the BIOS/UEFI sees the internal drive and make the internal drive the first boot device (or disable USB/external boot).
  • If the drive is not detected: power down, reseat the SATA data and power connectors, try a different SATA port and a different power connector, and use a known-good SATA cable.
  • If the drive is detected but Windows still shows NTLDR missing, the boot sector or NTLDR files may be damaged. From a Windows XP install CD Recovery Console, the common repair steps are:
fixboot
fixmbr
copy D:\i386\ntldr C:\
copy D:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\

(Replace D: with the CD-ROM letter; back up first and be cautious with MBR repairs.)

Preventive tips: use latching SATA cables, avoid moving internal cables while the system is powered, ground yourself when cleaning, and keep important data backed up. If intermittent recognition continues after swapping cables and ports, run the drive maker's diagnostics or consider imaging the disk and replacing it — intermittent visibility often signals a failing drive or controller.

Member Avatar for animeuchiha

turns out all i had to do was unplug my external hardrives and reboot with the main drive by itself and it worked....

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