This problem may occur if the basic input/output system (BIOS) on your computer is outdated, or if one or more of the following Windows boot files are missing or damaged:
Ntldr
Ntdetect.com
Boot.ini
To resolve this issue, verify that the BIOS on your computer is current, and then use one or more of the following methods, as appropriate to your situation, to repair the Windows 2000 startup environment.
Verify That the BIOS on the Computer Is Current
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Make sure that the latest revision for BIOS is installed on the computer. Contact the computer manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain, and then install the latest BIOS update that is available for the computer.
Method 1: Use a Boot Disk to Start the Computer
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- Create a Windows 2000 boot disk that contains the following files:
Ntldr
Ntdetect.com
Boot.ini
Ntbootdd.sys For more information about how to create a boot disk, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
301680 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301680/ ) How to create a boot disk for an NTFS or FAT partition in Windows
101668 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/101668/ ) How to use a Windows boot disk to prevent boot failure
- Modify the Boot.ini file to point to the correct hard disk controller and to the correct volume for your Windows installation. For more information about how to create a boot disk, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
311578 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311578/ ) How to edit the Boot.ini file in Windows 2000
- Insert the boot disk into the computer's floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer.
- Copy the Ntldr file, the Ntdetect.com file, and the Boot.ini file from the boot disk to the system partition of the local hard disk.
Method 2: Use the Recovery Console
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- Use the Windows 2000 Setup disks to restart the computer, or use the Windows 2000 CD-ROM to restart the computer.
- At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to repair the Windows 2000 installation.
- Press C to repair the Windows 2000 installation by using the Recovery Console.
- Type the number that corresponds to the Windows installation that you want to repair, and then press ENTER. For example, type 1, and then press ENTER. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
229716 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/229716/ ) Description of the Windows Recovery Console
- Type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.
- Type map, and then press ENTER. Note the drive letter that is assigned to the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows 2000 CD-ROM.
- Type the following commands, pressing ENTER after you type each one, where drive is the drive letter that you typed in step 4 of "Method 2: Use the Recovery Console," of this article:
copy drive:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy drive:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\If you are prompted to overwrite the file, type y, and then press ENTER.
NOTE: In these commands, there is a space between the ntldr and c:\, and between ntdetect.com and c:\.
- Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
type c:\Boot.iniA list similar to the following list appears:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
If you receive the following message, the Boot.ini file may be missing or damaged:
The system cannot find the file or directory specified.
- If the Boot.ini file is missing or damaged, create a new one. To do so, follow these steps:
- Use a text editor, such as Notepad or Edit.com, to create a boot loader file similar to the following boot loader file:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
102873 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/102873/ ) Boot.ini and ARC path naming conventions and usage
301680 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301680/ ) How to create a boot disk for an NTFS or FAT partition in Windows
- Save the file to a floppy disk as Boot.ini.
NOTE: If you used Notepad to create the file, make sure that the .txt extension is not appended to the Boot.ini file name.
- Type the following command at the Recovery Console command prompt to copy the Boot.ini file from the floppy disk to the computer:
copy a:\Boot.ini c:\
- Type exit, and then press ENTER. The computer restarts.
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