The NTFS (New Technology File System) file system is extensively used in the Windows NT and later versions. This file system scores over its predecessors such as FAT (File Allocation Table)and HPFS (High Performance File System) over a lot of issues such as disk space utilization, reliability, security, performance, etc. Having said that, at times a system having NTFS file system is unable to start citing kinds of error messages. In such cases, you should look into the matter to resolve the issue failing which you must use a third-party NTFS partition recovery software to perform NTFS data recovery.

Think of a situation in which you are starting your Windows XP system but it does not start. An error message is getting displayed in this regard, which is:

“c:\windows\system32\drivers\ntfs.sys is missing or corrupted.”

Cause:

The sole cause of this startup problem is that the ntfs.sys file is either missing or corrupt. You need to restore this file.

Resolution:

As mentioned in the 'Cause' section, you should restore the 'NTFS.sys' file to be able to boot the system. To do this, the following steps are required: • Modify the boot preferences so as to start the system using a boot CD. • Start the system with the Windows XP CD-ROM. • Press the 'R' key to enter the Recovery Console for repairing Windows XP installation. • Type the following commands and press the 'Enter' key after every command: cd \windows\system32\drivers ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old • If the NTFS.sys file is present but incorrect or corrupt, then you will be prompted to overwrite the file. And if the file is not present, then nothing will happen.

• In the command prompt, enter the following command and press the 'Enter' key: copy X:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers

• Eject the Windows XP CD-ROM and type 'quit' and press the 'Enter' key to exit Recovery Console. • Restart the system. It should start properly now. However, if the system is still inaccessible then it is a very vulnerable proposition as you would not be able to access the important files and folders. In such cases, the use of a third-party NTFS data recovery software becomes the only step for redemption. The use of non-destructive scanning algorithms to recover data is one of the most striking features of such NTFS file recovery tools.

The most recommended NTFS partition recovery software that works for NTFS and NTFS5 file system is Stellar Phoenix NTFS Data Recovery. Capable of recovering more than 185 different file types, this do-it-yourself software performs NTFS data recovery in Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.