"NTLDR is missing" when booting BT4 on my laptop

[AnonymousJohn]

Hi! I'm almost completely new to Linux. I got a book on Linux for myself earlier this year, which introduced me to many different forms of Linux, and it included a live-DVD with Backtrack on it, among other releases. It didn't have an install for it, though, so I came here to grab some form of an installer. I got an iso file, but that worked i suppose. I downloaded it with the download button, put it on a blank hard drive, and attempted to boot from it. I got this message every time:

NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

I thought it strange; perhaps the iso file was corrupted somehow. So I came back here and downloaded the torrent version instead. I got the iso (much faster I might add), put it on my hard drive replacing the old one, and got the same message.

NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

I have never installed any form of Linux on a computer before. The only OS I have installed is Windows XP on the internal hard drive of my who-knows-how-many-years-old laptop, and that was from an old install disk my dad had lying around. The hard drive I'm attempting to use is 80 GB large and fits in the module bay of my laptop. What am I doing something wrong?

[whitelisted]

The iso is supposed to be burned onto a DVD.

If you don't have any DVD burning software, then imgburn is a good free tool for windows.

Once you've burned the iso to a blank dvd, boot your PC off of that. If you want to do a harddisk install, then there will be an icon on the desktop to help you through that process.

[AnonymousJohn]

Oh, that would probably be the problem. Thank you for clearing that up for me... but then, that actually causes problems. See, this laptop is extremely old, and it has one USB port and two module bays: one for the battery and another for a CD/DVD/Hard drive, etc. Is there any way to just burn it straight to the hard drive?

[halfdone]

No, you have to boot BT4 from DVD to install BT4 to hard drive. check tutorials

[Archangel-Amael]

No, you have to boot BT4 from DVD to install BT4 to hard drive. check tutorials

So you are saying one can not boot from a usb stick and then install BT4? If so you might want to rethink your position.
If I have misunderstood you then my apologies.
OP in your first post you state "I downloaded it with the download button, put it on a blank hard drive, and attempted to boot from it."
Well that looks to be your problem. This is never going to work. You need to either use a dvd or USB stick as an install medium, from there you can install BT to the HDD.

[halfdone]

Ok you can also use usb stick and untebootin, but it seems that that laptop is old and it may not boot from usb, so I just taught that it would be easier to use DVD to install bt4. I also recommended to read tutorials HowTo | BackTrack Linux - Penetration Testing Distribution how to install BT4.

who-knows-how-many-years-old laptop

[ravenrose]

If i was you i would try to boot to WinXP just to make sure it is still possible.
what follows is from my book:
,,Windows2000/XP require the three system files in the root directory of the system partition,,
,,When the system boots up, the master boot record (MBR) or MFT on the hard drive starts the NTLDR program.The NTLDR program then launches Windows 2000/XP or another OS. To find the available OSs, the NTLDR program must read the BOOT.INI configuration file ......,,

Which makes me thinking that you managed to screw up that MBR or that your old blank (really blank?) HDD contains all this files and thus non booting Windows thanks to missing or corrupted NTLDR.

Once you find out what is wrong would you let me know? I would like to make sure i am right (don't get me wrong, please.)

[gunrunr]

Just a side note what's the model of the laptop that would give us an idea, and you can check the backtrack Hardware Compatibility list too see if its been done before...there are plenty of older models there...

here's a link!
HardWare Compatibility List
if its not there you can view the old lists to get an idea
HCL:Laptops - Offensive-security.com

[crweedon]

that hcl is outdated and innaccurate, it was meant to be the HCL for BT3b + F not BT4 check the forums for BT4 HCL

[Barry]

that hcl is outdated and innaccurate, it was meant to be the HCL for BT3b + F not BT4 check the forums for BT4 HCL

If it worked for backtrack 3 it will work for backtrack 4.