Laptop problem

[go2guy]

My friend has a laptop and when he boots it up it says "NTLDR is missing" in the DOS application screen and it won't go to his desktop. He doesn't have an OS restore disk for his IBM Thinkpad and thinks when he was cleaning up his files he deleted an application he needs. He has searched online and came up empty so I told him there were some techies around here that may know what to do instead of paying Best Buy $70 just to look at it. Anybody know what to do?

 

[Labeeb]

I've never even heard of this, but came across the following:

http://tinyempire.com/notes/ntldrismissing.htm

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm

 

[TTinCO]

I've seen it before. It basically means that his OS is trashed-quite possibly due to a crashed hard drive.

 

[go2guy]

I've seen it before. It basically means that his OS is trashed-quite possibly due to a crashed hard drive.

So is it repairable or would he need to buy new hard drive for his computer or can he reinstall the OS and fix this problem.

 

[go2guy]

I've never even heard of this, but came across the following:

http://tinyempire.com/notes/ntldrismissing.htm

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm

Thanks for the help by the way fellas!

 

[TTinCO]

So is it repairable or would he need to buy new hard drive for his computer or can he reinstall the OS and fix this problem.

Depends. If the drive is fine, it probably just needs the OS reinstalled. Otherwise, he's looking at a new drive-may or may not be worth replacing depending on how old the laptop is.

Based on his story, the drive may be just fine.

 

[go2guy]

One last question TT, he does have the OS service pak and it is not reading (it's a burn so I don't know if it makes a difference). So I'm thinking it's the hard drive. Are these laptop hard drives hard to install or something he should leave alone?

 

[TTinCO]

The service pack isn't the whole OS-it's just a patch (and is not a bootable CD). Physically installing the drive isn't that big of a deal, but getting all the "unique" software & drivers that they need can be a real pain in the ass.

 

[go2guy]

Hey man thanks for your time, this is a prime reason why I buy new when it comes to computer because it seems like it can be a pain to the common man.

 

[go2guy]

Oh damn man I lied LOL One last question about my computer since we're on the subject. It (extender resource monitor) keeps telling me that my usage is low or some mess like that because I have too many programs open but I don't unless there's something funky going on in the CPU. I ran all my virus programs and spyware and it checked out fine but this bubble still comes up every 15 minutes warning me and I have realized my computer is running slower since I installed IE 7.

 

[TTinCO]

How much ram\memory does it have? That is most likely the issue.

 

[go2guy]

How much ram\memory does it have? That is most likely the issue.

How do you pull up the diagnostic in XP to see your numbers?? I have them wriiten down somewhere around here and it's on my paperwork but I think it's 512 MB, 2 something GhZ dual core some crap. I'll look it up

 

[TTinCO]

512 is all I need to know. Kick it up to 1gb or 1.5 & you won't believe the increase in performance. (you can go into task manager & see the usage #'s)