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Get the fix to the <strong>NTLDR is corrupt</strong> boot error message affecting <strong>Windows XP</strong><strong>.</strong>
<h2>About the "NTLDR is corrupt" error</h2>
[kbintro]
<h3>Description and Symptoms</h3>
The error messages, alerts, warnings, and symptoms below are tied to this error.
<h4>Symptom 1: NTLDR is corrupt error screen on startup</h4>
When a computer is turned on, the BIOS picks an eligible, bootable hard drive and then calls code stored in the MBR at the start of that hard drive. That MBR code in turn loads the bootsector from the active partition. On Windows XP, this bootsector code is tasked with loading NTLDR (the Windows XP bootloader) and its dependencies, which are used to load the operating system kernel and start up Windows. The NTLDR file is normally located in the root directory of the active partition on the first boot drive. However, if the NTLDR file or any of its dependencies are corrupt, the loading process halts and the "NTLDR is corrupt" error screen appears.

For more information on <a href="http://neosmart.net/wiki/mbr-boot-process/">how computers start up</a> and <a href="http://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-xp-boot-process/">how the Windows XP boot process works</a>, please refer to the respective pages in our extensive wiki and knowledgebase.

<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/05/NTLDR-is-corrupt.png"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4021" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/05/NTLDR-is-corrupt.png" alt="NTLDR is corrupt error screen" width="720" height="400" /></a>
<pre>NTLDR is corrupt. The system cannot boot.</pre>
<h3>Causes of this Error</h3>
This error has been known to occur as a result of the following cause:
<h4>Cause 1: NTLDR-related files are corrupt</h4>
On Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 2003 Server this error may appear if any of boot-related files(Ntldr, Ntdetect.com and Boot.ini) are missing or corrupt. These files are normally hidden and system protected, but they can still go bad because of user errors, power outages, or virus attacks.
<h2>Fixing "NTLDR is corrupt" on Windows</h2>
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<h3>Fix #1: Rebuild NTLDR via Easy Recovery Essentials</h3>
<div class="content dynamic_content_max_width"><span class="message_body">Easy Recovery Essentials’ one-click automated system repair corrects issues caused by misconfigured NTLDR bootloader files by recreating them from scratch on the active bootable partition for Windows XP, 2000 and 2003 Server. Alternatively, on newer versions of Windows, EasyRE writes the correct bootsector code to the partition to make sure that the newer BOOTMGR bootloader is correctly installed and configured. This is done automatically as part of the automated repair process, and requires no manual action or user intervention.
</span></div>
[easyre error="NTLDR is corrupt" bootscreen="xp" guaranteed="true"]
<h3>Fix #2: <span id="Fix_1_Replace_NTLDR_and_NTDETECT046COM_files">Replace NTLDR and NTDETECT&#46;COM files</span></h3>
Windows XP users can replace the required files for NTLDR to load correctly by using your Windows Installation Disc. The files are named NTLDR and NTDETECT&#46;COM.

Here are the steps to replace these files:
<ol>
 	<li>Insert the Windows XP install CD in your CD drive</li>
 	<li>Restart the PC and boot from the CD</li>
 	<li>Press any key to boot from the CD</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>R</kbd> after the Windows Options menu is done loading to access <strong>Repair Console</strong></li>
 	<li>After this step, log into Windows by pressing <kbd>1</kbd> using the Administrator password</li>
 	<li>Use the following commands to copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT&#46;COM files from the Windows installation disk to the hard disk:
<pre>copy D:\i386\ntldr C:\
copy D:\i386\ntdetect&#46;com C:\</pre>
Where <code>D:\</code> is the install CD’s drive letter and <code>C:\</code> is the Windows XP partition’s drive letter</li>
 	<li>Once these files are copied, remove the Windows installation disc from the disc drive</li>
 	<li>Restart the PC</li>
</ol>
Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once NTLDR and NTDETECT files are properly restored:

[caption id="attachment_3906" align="alignnone" width="720"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/NTLDR-NTDETECT-copy.png"><img class="wp-image-3906 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/NTLDR-NTDETECT-copy.png" alt="Replacing ntldr and ntdetect&#46;com files" width="720" height="396" /></a> Replacing ntldr and ntdetect&#46;com files[/caption]
<h3><span id="Fix_2_Rebuild_bootini_file">Fix #3: Rebuild boot.ini file</span></h3>
The next steps are to rebuild the <code>boot.ini</code> file:
<ol>
 	<li>Insert the Windows XP install CD in your CD drive</li>
 	<li>Restart the PC and boot from the CD</li>
 	<li>Press any key to boot from the CD</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>R</kbd> after the Windows Options menu is done loading to access<strong> Repair Console</strong></li>
 	<li>After this step, log into Windows by pressing <kbd>1</kbd> using the Administrator password</li>
 	<li>Enter the following command when Command Prompt appears:
<pre>bootcfg /rebuild</pre>
</li>
 	<li>When the systems prompts about whether it should add an identified Windows installation to the boot list, answer "Y"(Yes)</li>
 	<li>Enter "Windows XP" as Load Identifier and "/fastdetect" as OS Load Options.</li>
 	<li>Remove the install CD</li>
 	<li>Restart the PC</li>
</ol>
Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once the boot.ini file is properly restored:

[caption id="attachment_3905" align="alignnone" width="720"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/Bootcfg_rebuild.png"><img class="wp-image-3905 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/Bootcfg_rebuild.png" alt="Fixing Boot.ini file" width="720" height="396" /></a> Fixing Boot.ini file[/caption]
<h2>More Information</h2>
<h3>Linked Entries</h3>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/mbr-boot-process/">MBR boot process</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-xp-boot-process/">Windows XP boot process</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/bootsect/">Bootsect</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/bootcfg/">Bootcfg</a></li>
</ul>
[partial name="partial_moreinfo" versions="xp"]