[Capnbob]

Hello,

So my computer has been running perfectly normal lately (with the exception of a Vundo trojan infection, which I removed about 2 days prior to this)

Last night I was burning a DVD (I do this all the time) and a couple hours later when I look at my computer it's at a black DOS-like screen that says the following:

"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32/Drivers/Ntfs.sys"

My computer is a Gateway, so I have their restore disk. I really don't want to have to reformat Windows though. Is there another way to fix this? I have the option to "Repair" using the Gateway restore disks too, but I'm worried that will either delete my files or screw something up. But I guess that may be my only option.

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

-Capnbob

[AcaCandy]

http://www.computerhope.net/issues/ch000876.htm

Try replacing the file as outlined there.

[Elvandil]

Without the normal CD, you have fewer options. The file may not be missing at all. It could be a problem with startup files or a disk error.

I'd suggest doing a chkdsk but you have no way of doing that, either.

You can make a Recovery Console CD and boot up with it, log in, and run chkdsk /r on your drive.

XP Recovery Console CD Image with autofmt.exe for formatting
Recovery Console ISO Image (original)

You can also check your drive with a bootable floppy:

NTFS Disk Check Floppy Image.
Download the file, put a floppy in your drive, run the program to create the bootable floppy, and boot the machine from the floppy you made.

You could also try bypassing your startup files by booting with one of these:

Bootable XP Sysboot Floppy
XP Sysboot CD Image

And finally, if you have an XP machine with an XP CD to use, you can make a bootable, small version of XP to recover your files or make repairs: UBCD4Win.

Without some tools, there is not much you can do. The Gateway recovery is supposed to save your files, but you are wise to be wary. You should definitely try to back them up before performing any major repair efforts.

[Elvandil]

Originally Posted by AcaCandy

http://www.computerhope.net/issues/ch000876.htm

Try replacing the file as outlined there.

Except for step 1:

"Insert the Windows XP CD into the computer and restart the computer."

[AcaCandy]

Perhaps a real XP CD can be "borrowed" from a friend?

[Capnbob]

Thanks guys. I don't have a floppy drive on my computer so I couldn't do a couple of these suggestions. Sorry to further complicate matters but my only other computer access is a Mac (which I have no idea how to use) and alas, it's CD drive is shot, so I think CD images are out of the question too. Taking a look at your suggestions, I think that running the command "copy x:\i386\ntfs.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers" option might be easiest but I don't have a Windows XP disk, just a recovery disk. Let's say I borrowed an XP disk from a friend, would it be possible to do this command then?

Thanks again.

[Elvandil]

That would make it easier to run the Recovery Console. Making the CD would give you one permanently.

(I'm not really being just contrary today, Candy .)

[Elvandil]

Originally Posted by Capnbob

Thanks guys. I don't have a floppy drive on my computer so I couldn't do a couple of these suggestions. Sorry to further complicate matters but my only other computer access is a Mac (which I have no idea how to use) and alas, it's CD drive is shot, so I think CD images are out of the question too. Taking a look at your suggestions, I think that running the command "copy x:\i386\ntfs.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers" option might be easiest but I don't have a Windows XP disk, just a recovery disk. Let's say I borrowed an XP disk from a friend, would it be possible to do this command then?

Thanks again.

That would work. And it may fix it. But chances are high that the file is not really missing.

Start there and see where you get.

[AcaCandy]

Originally Posted by Elvandil

(I'm not really being just contrary today, Candy .)

Sure you are I'll get even

[Capnbob]

So I borrowed a Windows XP disk from a friend. I'll put the disk in and boot to the CD. It then goes to a blue screen that says "Windows Setup" at the top right. At the bottom of this screen it says "Setup is loading files - *whatever files it's loading*" It does this for a couple minutes then it says "The file ntfs.sys is corrupted. Press any key to continue."

I've tried hitting 'R' to run the Recovery Console. Either it's not working or I've managed to time it wrong several times.

Any suggestions?

[Elvandil]

So it never makes it all the way to the screen where you can start installation?

(Too bad no floppy.)

Is this CD scratched or damaged in any way? Smudges?

[Capnbob]

Originally Posted by Elvandil

So it never makes it all the way to the screen where you can start installation?

(Too bad no floppy.)

Is this CD scratched or damaged in any way? Smudges?

It never gets beyond that point.

[Elvandil]

I think we are back at a parallel OS to work from. I recommend the UBCD4Win boot disk if you have an XP machine and CD that you can borrow for a while. In the worst case, you can use the CD to recover what you want from the drive. In the best, you can replace NTFS.sys. Either way, you will have an invaluable tool for some other time.

www.ubcd4win.com

[AcaCandy]

If you have a R option, and a USB keyboard, that may be why it's not working.

[Capnbob]

Originally Posted by Elvandil

Is this CD scratched or damaged in any way? Smudges?

It's immaculate.

As for the keyboard, I have a USB keyboard but I never even get to the 'R' option. When I said I was hitting 'R' in my previous post, I meant that I was just hitting it while it was loading the CD in hopes that it was something I needed to time right (like hitting F8 on boot for example)

I'm thinking I might just reformat. The Gateway recovery thing apparently puts all my files from my C:/ drive into a folder with a fresh install. I guess I'll just go from there.