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Article created August 3rd 2009 at 20:11

NTLDR is compressed. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart

Microsoft Windows XP Logo

Description

After switching on your computer or after restarting Windows XP you receive the error NTLDR is compressed on a black screen with white writing when trying to boot into Windows.

Common Symptoms

Error appears after performing a System Restore using the Destructive Option
You receive the following the following error message when starting or rebooting your computer:

NTLDR is compressed.  Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart.

Explanation

The above error is appearing due to a problem with the attributes of the Windows boot files. Continue below for your solution.

Solutions

Solution 1 – Attrib NTLDR

The NTLDR file must be altered in order to clear this error and correctly boot.

Boot into the Recovery Console
When the console asks you to choose a Windows install to work with, enter 1 and press Enter
When prompted, enter your Administrator password
At the command prompt, enter the following commands, pressing Enter after each:

cd \

attrib -c c:\ntldr

exit

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6 Responses to “NTLDR is compressed. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart”

Pingback from Windows Boot & Startup Troubleshooting Guide | proposed solution
Posted at: August 3, 2009 at 20:35

[...] Click here for the NTLDR is compressed troubleshooting guide Related Articles:Non-System Disk or Disk ErrorNTLDR is compressed. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restartNTLDR is missing. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restartMissing Operating System or Operating System Not FoundInvalid Boot.ini or Missing Windows/System32/Hal.dll [...]
Comment from Me
Posted at: September 27, 2009 at 00:16

those commands one after another look confusing to the average person. It should be:
at the C:\WINDOWS> prompt, type cd \
then type attrib -c c:\ntldr

if you just do attrib -c ntldr it won’t work.
Comment from Rosco
Posted at: September 27, 2009 at 07:07

Hi, Thanks for pointing that out. It was actually a problem with the formatting of the site since it was redesigned recently. I’ve updated the text now. I must check all my other posts! That could take a while

Cheers

Rosco
Pingback from NTLDR compressed
Posted at: November 23, 2009 at 17:44

[...] Welcome to WindowsBBS Without an XP install CD you are in real trouble – see if you can borrow one and boot to the Recovery Console and try the fix outlined here …. NTLDR is compressed. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart [...]
Comment from Trevor
Posted at: February 24, 2010 at 05:06

Wenever u do the attrib -c c:\ntldr and press enter itcsays invalid switch – -c
anybody know how to fix this?
Comment from Rosco
Posted at: February 24, 2010 at 07:34

Hi Trevor,

The -c switch is only valid when using the Attrib command from the Recovery Console. If you are trying to use it from a regular command prompt on XP Safe or Normal mode then you will get an Invalid Switch.

Hope this helps.

R.