The MFT (Master File Table) is a repository in the NTFS file system that keeps the record of all the file data including file name, creation date, access permissions, and contents, etc. To view any type of information related to the files, you can refer to the MFT. However, at times the MFT itself gets corrupt due to too many files. Because of this, you may not be able to even start your system. You can use the 'Bcupdate.exe' utility to get rid of this problem. If that tool is unable to recover partition data, then you should use a third-party partition recovery software to overcome this situation.
Let us consider a situation in which you are using Windows XP and are unable to start it after the boot process gets over. In this case, the following error is displayed:
“NTLDR is missing
Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart.”
Cause:
Such problem can occur if the MFT root folder is severely fragmented because of too many files. If the folder contains several files, then the MFT becomes so fragmented that an additional allocation index is created. As the files are now mapped alphabetically in the allocation indexes, the NTLDR file may get pushed to the second allocation index. Because of this, the NTLDR is not found during the boot process and the given error is displayed.
Resolution:
To resolve this problem, you should use the Bcupdate2.exe utility. For this, the following steps are required:
Contact Microsoft Support to obtain the Bcupdate2.exe utility.
Create a Boot disk so that you can start the system in recovery mode.
Run the following command to extract the Bcupdate2.exe utility from the software update.
Expand drive_letter:\bcupdate2.ex_ drive_letter:\bcupdate2.exe
Run the following command to update the boot code of the NTFS boot sector:
Bcupdate2.exe C: /F
Press Y when you are prompted to update the volume. After it is done successfully, you will receive the following confirmatory message:
The boot code was updated successfully.
However, if the provided solution does not solve the purpose then you should use a third-party partition recovery utility to retrieve all the inaccessible Windows files. Such data recovery tools are capable of recovering all types of data using non-destructive scanning algorithms.
The most efficient Windows partition recovery software among all such tools is Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery, which recover partition from FAT, NTFS, and exFAT file systems. Capable of recovering data from various memory devices such as pen drives, memory cards, etc, this partition recovery software is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.