Hi.

Some three weeks ago I purchased a new Dell Aspire 5315 Laptop. It has Windows Vista Basic installed.

I do not like Vista at all it is a resource hog and the computer is quite slow. So I decided to REVERT to Win XP.

I insterted my "real" XP disk and now all I can get on the screen is NTLDR is MISSING Press CNTRL+ALT+DEL to restart.

I have checked The Boot setting & it is correct. I have also tried using Microscope, a utilities disk, other versions of windows and Vista borrowed from a friend who has a computer shop.

I even tried to get a fix for this by WAY of downloading something from the internet (http://www.tinyempire.com/notes/ntldrismissing.htm) using a pen drive on my other Laptop, I then installed it on my pen drive. When I rebooted my FS Laptop it had taken out the NTLDR on this Laptop also. I have had to use the recovery disk that came with my Fujitsu Siemens and start from afresh with a new installation.

Meanwhile my Dell is still not working. I was given no recovery disk with my Dell and I think that I may probably need it. The problem is I purchased it in Spain and I am now back in the UK.

Any idea's or help would be appreciated.

What do you mean your "real" XP disc? Is it real or not? Does it have a holographic surface and say MICROSOFT on it?Apologies. It is an OEM disc, not a copy.The boot settings should be CDRom first if you are trying to do a Restore from an OEM CD....
WARNING: You realise after this all your data will be gone correct ? ?Thanks patio. The problem was with the cd-rom drive itself. I have installed a new one and all is now working as it should be.

Great forum this by the way.Dell don't make Aspire laptops, Acer do. Perhaps you mean Inspiron?

If you've not gotten it to work, you may need to wipe the hard drive with a tool such as GParted.

Also, if you are using an OEM verison of Windows XP that came with another computer, and the STICKER says something like

A lesson to all: Do not buy a computer with Vista Basic installed: one of many giveaways taht the system is underpower.