'NTLDR is Missing'

[HurricaneAndrew]

So, I bought a laptop from a friend for $60. It runs XP, has a gig of ram, 30gb hard drive. I figured it would be worth it to have a laptop just to browse with or play RA2 when I'm not home.

I was clearing of all the old files and programs left on it by the previous owner, and as I was clearing the empty folders out of drive C:, I remember that I deleted a file of an unknown type called "NTLDR".

Well, I guess NTLDR was of some importance... Now, when I start the laptop it says "NTLDR is Missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart."

Can I fix this somehow or have I bricked this laptop?

[COOLRUNNER87]

It's fixable. Here's a website containing 10 different possibilities of what exactly happened and how to fix it:

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

Best of luck on getting it fixed.

[Serge]

That error means the first stage Windows bootloader can't find the second stage bootloader. This could mean a couple of things:
- A very, very, very nasty virus infection
- A corrupted Windows installation

[nightcracker]

Well, it can be fixed but it's a pain. I would suggest to either reinstall XP (if possible), or otherwise put Ubuntu on it (this does mean you can't play RA2 on it, but the laptop will be blazing fast).

[HurricaneAndrew]

reinstall XP

This is what is going to happen.

After calling up my computer guru friend, he has told me that it is the easiest way to go about fixing the issue.