NTLDR

qiy3 · November 19th, 2002, 04:20 PM

I am trying to rebuild a Toshiba Tecra 8000 laptop from scratch. It was previously fdisk-ed and formatted but I can not get past this point.

I do not have the original Toshiba Companion Disk. When attempting to boot to a DOS disk I get the following:
-starting MS-Dos
-HMA not available. Loading DOS low
-Current date is [date] Enter new date [enter]
-Current time is [time] Enter new time [enter]
-A:/>

From here I can switch to C: and get C:/> and I can even format C: if I wish. Other than that, nothing else works and I cannt get past this point (C:/>).

If I boot to any other disks the 'NTLDR is missing' error appears.

Q: Is it even possible to do anything without the Toshiba Companion Disk?

Q: How can I get past this point to put the OS down?

Thanks for all the help I'm sure you'll provide! ~Q

.

maface · November 19th, 2002, 04:26 PM

Does it have a CD?

You could try FDSIK /MBR that will fdisk the master boot record

qiy3 · November 19th, 2002, 04:29 PM

I will try it now and reply back in a few minutes.

qiy3 · November 19th, 2002, 04:31 PM

okay, was able to run the command. I can boot to A: or C: but that's all. Now what?

sechs · November 19th, 2002, 06:15 PM

The any other disks are all setup to boot Windows NT. If you're trying to install DOS or Windows 9x, the fdisk /mbr should do the trick. Otherwise, clean install your OS.

qiy3 · November 19th, 2002, 10:39 PM

Excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by 'clean install'?

wingsfan · November 19th, 2002, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by qiy3
Excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by 'clean install'?

It means that you would start with a fresh install of whatever OS you are planning to use, i.e. formatting the hard drive to wipe it clean. What OS are you going to install?

qiy3 · November 19th, 2002, 10:48 PM

It means that you would start with a fresh install of whatever OS you are planning to use, i.e. formatting the hard drive to wipe it clean. What OS are you going to install?

I have formatted the HD but cannot boot to anything to install W98. All I get is an a:/> or c:/>.

wingsfan · November 19th, 2002, 10:54 PM

Are you trying to install from CD or floppy? If you are installing from a CD, does the laptop see the CD-ROM? If not, then you are going to have to load the drivers for it, if in fact you do have the drivers. If you don't, what kind of CD-ROM is it?

Gyro · November 19th, 2002, 10:58 PM

The reasom you NTLDR is missing is becaue the disk was formattd in NTFS, and at least the MBR thought it was. Since you have already formatted I would suggest running FDISK again and re-partitioning. If you are installing WIN98 OSR2 it is a bootable CD, however the previous release was not. If You dont have the right version, or dont have CD Boot support in your BIOS, Install DOS, wit CD Support, and install 98 that way.

R/
Gyro