Microsoft KB Archive/320397

= Windows may not start and you may receive an &quot;NTLDR is missing&quot; error message if Windows is not up-to-date and there are too many files in the root folder =

Article ID: 320397

Article Last Modified on 11/9/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

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This article was previously published under Q320397



SYMPTOMS
If too many files are copied to the root folder of a boot volume that uses the NTFS file system, you may receive the following error message the next time that you restart the computer:

NTLDR is missing

Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart.

If you remove files from the root folder, the master file table (MFT) allocation index does not reduce to its original size.

Note If you are using Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or you are using Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 (SP4), this is not your issue. View the &quot;More information&quot; section for similar issues.



CAUSE
This problem may occur if the MFT root folder is severely fragmented. If the MFT root folder contains many files, the MFT may become so fragmented that an additional allocation index is created. Because files are mapped alphabetically in the allocation indexes, the NTLDR file may be pushed to the second allocation index. When this occurs, you receive the error message that is described in the &quot;Symptoms&quot; section.

Typically, files are not written to the root folder. This condition may occur if a program regularly creates and removes temporary files in the root folder, or if many files are copied to the root folder by mistake.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, follow these steps:  Contact Microsoft Customer Support Services to obtain the Bcupdate2.exe utility. For more information about how to contact Microsoft Customer Support Services, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

 Create a boot disk for starting your computer. For more information about how to create a boot disk for a Windows XP-based computer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

305595 How to create a bootable floppy disk for an NTFS or FAT partition in Windows XP

For more information about how to create a boot disk for a Windows 2000-based computer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119467 How to create a bootable disk for an NTFS or FAT partition

 Run the following command at the command prompt to extract the Bcupdate2.exe utility from the software update:

Expand :\bcupdate2.ex_  :\bcupdate2.exe  Run the following command at the command prompt to update the boot code of the NTFS boot sector:

Bcupdate2.exe C: /F

Note Other command-line parameters are supported:

/q - Quiet mode (must include /y)

/y - Don't confirm

/f - Force update of in use volume

/t - Only test for old boot code

 Press Y if you are prompted to update the volume. You receive the following message after you successfully run this utility:

The boot code was updated successfully.



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STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

This problem was first corrected in Windows XP Service Pack 2.

This problem was first corrected in Windows 2000 Service Pack 4. For more information about how to obtain the latest service packs, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack

260910 How to obtain the latest Windows 2000 service pack

Note If you install the Windows XP service pack or the Windows 2000 service pack, you will not resolve problems with an existing volume. You must run the utility to update the boot code separately. The service pack will only write the correct boot code for new volumes.

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MORE INFORMATION
For more information about a related topic, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

318728 How to troubleshoot the &quot;NTLDR is missing&quot; error message in Windows 2000

886215 You may receive a &quot;NTLDR is missing press any key to restart&quot; error message when you upgrade a Windows 98-based computer to Windows 2000 Professional

816793 How to troubleshoot the &quot;NTLDR is missing&quot; error message in Windows Server 2003

842009 &quot;NTLDR is missing&quot; error when you try to run Automated System Recovery in Windows Server 2003

883275 You cannot start your computer after you modify the permissions in Windows Server 2003, in Windows XP, or in Windows 2000

315261 The computer does not start after you change the active partition by using the Disk Management tool

812492 Error message when you start your computer with a non-system disk

228004 Changing active partition can make your system unbootable

Additional query words: bcupdate

Keywords: kbresolve kbwinxpsp2fix kbwin2ksp4fix kbbug kbfix kbwin2000sp3fix KB320397

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