"NTLDR is missing" help!

[ahhuman]

Hey there, how do you do?

i have this problem with my laptop. When i switch it on it goes straight to a black screen where it says, "NTLDR is missing". I have tried using my recovery disk but it gets to the end of the fresh recovery and says something like, "preload.tag invalid iniboot",(it doesnt say exactly that but along those lines) and then goes right back to "NTLDR is missing". I havent tried alot of things as im not that good on repairing computers.

i havent got a windows xp, the computer came with windows xp already installed. Is there anyway of repairing this without using an Windows XP disc?  Can i create a windows xp boot cd or something that could get me into windows recovery console? i have tried creating boot disks from different tutorials on the internet, but i am not sure i understand the concept of boot disks fully. I am lost anyhow, the computer just wont boot after "NTLDR is missing". I can go into a dos menu by pressing F2, but it is just not having it. i would appreciate your help...

laptop specs
Acer travelmate
intel centrino
256 MB RAM
60gb
1.5 GHz

thanks    :-?

[Dilbert]

The Recovery CD should allow you to get into a Recovery Console, where the drive can be formatted if necessary. Which kind of Acer Travelmate is this? As in, what model name? I ask because I'm looking for a recovery console tutorial, and I'm finding answers for all sorts of PCs.

[ahhuman]

thanks for the reply. it is a travelmate 2420. the recovery cd only lets me restore the computer to factory settings and at the end of doing so, it shows the second message about 'preload.tag boot.ini' or something.

[Saviour]

Before you reinstall anything...read the following article from Microsft.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318728

Best of Luck!