boot floppy -- NTLDR is missing

Forum: Laptops
Topic: boot floppy -- NTLDR is missing
started by: dslrgm

Posted by dslrgm on Dec. 19 2007,05:03

I am trying to build a boot floppy per

< http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Boot_Floppies >

I keep getting (when booting from the floppy):

NTLDR is missing
Press day key to restart

I have tried first:

dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 count=1

and

dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 count=512

but still get the NTLDR problem.

Can someone point me to the right DD or other Linux command to build the floppy?

Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Dec. 19 2007,06:07

I think that's a Windows NT bootloader error...
Make sure you are setting your bios to boot off the floppy _first_, and that the floppy is in working order.

Posted by dslrgm on Dec. 19 2007,11:30

I did not mention that my laptop is a Libretto 100 and the floppy is the official Libretto boot floppy drive. The system IS configed to boot off the floppy 1st. And it is, as without the floppy, it boots off the drive into DSL installed on the HD. Also I DID build a floppy with the bootfloopy.img and that boots no trouble. This is trying to build from the pcmciafloppy.img so that I can access the Toshiba official PCMCIA CDrom... Oh, and there is little to set BIOS-wise on the LIbretto.

No the problem SEEMS to be that the floppy imgs for booting DSL (and or the DD command) does not clear out a MBR set on a diskette previously used for Win.

Oh, I have used a diskette and loaded tomsrbdt on it, and that starts booting no trouble, but it made the diskette a 1.7Mb format, and after the initial phase, it cannot read from the Libretto 1.4Mb floppy controller. Then I dd the DSL img onto that same diskette, and I get the NTLDR error....

Posted by john.martzouco on Dec. 19 2007,12:01

Quote (dslrgm @ Dec. 19 2007,06:30)

No the problem SEEMS to be that the floppy imgs for booting DSL (and or the DD command) does not clear out a MBR set on a diskette previously used for Win.

Have you tried to build the boot floppy on a fresh, clean floppy disk to get around this?

Posted by dslrgm on Dec. 19 2007,13:10

Problem is my box of floppies is a mess of ones I have used and not used.

I will probably just grab a handful and keep going until one works. Of course the system I use to make the floppy is in my basement NOC, and the laptop I am working on is in my upstairs office....

I hope I will eventually hit a winner (ie 'fresh' floppy), but it seems there is a magic formula to really make a bootable DSL floppy image even if the diskette was previously formatted for use with Win.

:rock:

Posted by curaga on Dec. 19 2007,13:16

format the floppy to 1.44M (sudo fdformat /dev/fd0)

Posted by dslrgm on Dec. 19 2007,19:21

OOPS!!!

I see the problem is with pcmciafloppy.img

It is not a bootable image....

You boot with bootfloppy.img, specify frompcmcia, and it prompts you to insert the pcmicafloppy diskette.....

Oh,

Now on to the REAL problem!