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IF01115                    57 Vista Run Commands

Q.  Help Me Rectify A Missing Or Corrupt NTFS.SYS Error In XP.

A.  Windows XP can be formatted in two different file systems, FAT32 and NTFS. If you are running a machine with a FAT32 files system and then decide to convert to NTFS using the converts option - see How do I convert my FAT32 file system to NTFS - on rebooting you may get a missing or corrupt ntfs.sys error. Here is how to rectify this problem:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM and reboot your pc.

2. Allow the basic setup files to load into memory.

3. At the Welcome to Setup screen press R.

4. This will start the Recovery console and the list of Windows installations will appear.

5. As you only have one installation on your PC you need to press the number which is relevant to your installations location. This, obviously will typically be 1

6. You will need to enter your Administrator password. If you are using Windows XP Home edition the administrator password is blank by default so simply press Enter.

7. At the Recovery Console command prompt type: cd \windows\system32\drivers

8. Next press Enter.

9. The windows system 32 drivers directory will now open.

10. Now type: ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old

11. Again press Enter.

12. If a message appears telling you that the Ntfs.sys file was not found, then the file is actually missing rather than corrupt.

13. The above command will change the name of your corrupt file from Ntfs.sys to Ntfs.old

14. Now type the following at the command prompt substituting the X (after copy) with the drive letter of your CD and the X (after drive) with the drive letter of your hard drive. The hard drive usually being the C:/ drive.

15. copy X:\i386\ntfs.sys drive X:\windows\system32\drivers

16. Remove the Windows XP CD from your CD-ROM.

17. Now in the command prompt type: Exit

18. Restart your PC to make sure the problem has been rectified.

Let me know if you need anything else.

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