Windows XP boot error

[acelenny]

Ok, so my grandfather (85) has recently developed this fault on his old windows XP HP desktop:


Verifying DMI Pool Data.............
Boot from CD:

Press any key to boot from CD
NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart

- This hyphen is flashing regularly and quite quickly (my comment)

That’s all then writing there is; the rest of the screen is black

This is as much as I know except that his computer shut down during us and rebooted with this. The computer had appently do some updates in the precious 48 hours. He has tried to boot using an old XP disc to no success. Any help would be appreciated vut please be as simple as possible as I will be attempting to pass this on to him and at 85 he has no concept of modern technology or computer terminology.

 

[johnb35]

Windows update will sometimes cause this issue. Could also be a failing hard drive. With it being XP i'm sure the drive is fairly old. I usually scan the hard drive for errors using the hard drive makers disk diagnostic utility and then if it passes, start working on either a system restore or possible windows repair. Do you know what brand of hard drive it is?

 

[acelenny]

I do not and won' be able to check for a few days, it came built in and has seen fairly intensive use though so that could be it.

 

[StrangleHold]

It doesn't by chance have the CD drive as first in the boot order and a CD in the drive? It should jump on over to the hard drive but I have seen it happen.

 

[acelenny]

Not sure about the boot order but the only disc in thecomputer is the windows XP original disc so even if the boot order is as you say, something should still happen but that error screen still comes up. As it ks not my computer I cannot be certain although from what I've been told it sounds as thought this error screen is the first message to appear on start up.