Is my hard drive damaged?

The home PC (Dell dimension 5150 with XP) crashed last night and won't restart. I get the message:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
System32\Drivers\ntfs.sys

It says insert the original XP CD-ROM and do a repair, but IIRC it didn't come with an XP disk, it was all pre-loaded (hunted around for one last night but couldn't find it with the original documents and stuff)

Is there a diagniostic tool I can download and use instead? Does it mean my drive could be on it's way out?

Any guidance appreciated as my wife uses the PC a lot and she is not a happy bunny.

Cheers Keith

Its usually a button at startup to boot to an installation partition, it was F12 on my dell.

F11 on yours i think

"There should have been a Dell recovery partition on the hard drive that you access with CTRL/F11"

You will need to backup your files though as that will wipe them, you could try copy ober the missing file from a windows cd instead.

Thanks for the quick reply - I have an XP disk from my son's machine - can I use that to repair it or will it only work with the CD that was mnatched to the Dell?

Any disc.

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/comp...in-windows-xp/

For the recovery console you will need to change the keyboard input language type if you admin password has symbols etc, try blank password if you cant remember.

That's a really good link - thanks - will follow the tips from there.

Cheers Keith

If for whatever reason you cant get it working and need the files off it, buy a cheapo 2.5" hdd caddy for the hdd

Well..........All these efforts to repair have failed, so it looks like I now need to re-install XP. As the computer didn't come with an XP disk do I need to buy XP? or can I use any XP disk? Doesn't the code on the sticker attached to my computer have to match the one on the disk - I heard they have changed the way it works and this is not required any more.

If anyone has an idea I'd be grateful as my wife is still not a happy bunny!!

Cheers Keith

[the_lone_wolf]

Code on the sticker might be a unique Dell one, but I've used an OEM Vista disc to install Vista on a Dell notebook

Have you tried attaching the HDD as a slave to another PC? - It doesn't sound like the drive is failed, so you should be able to get your documents off...

[Kalessin]

The product key on the label on the computer is the one you should use. It doesn't have to match the WinXP CD.

Did you try accessing the recovery partition?