Bad or missing command interpreter

I have a Dell xps m/140 that I bought second hand and it was working up until about 2 months ago in which I received a message NTLDR is missing. I then had my brother in law work on it and when I received it back it was working again. I backed up the computer to my external hard drive (note: I did not go on the internet to cause anything), I installed fix it utilities 8 professional after which the message appeared NTLDR is compressed.

I contacted fix it utilities 8 to ask what to do and they could not figure out what was going on or what to do about it. I then went to Spotmau and purchased the download of PowerSuite Professional and when put on the laptop it takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours to boot and then the message comes up (on a black screen) bad or missing command interpreter.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this problem? PLEASE HELP!!

 

Do you have the original XP CD than came with the system or another legal one?

 

Here are download links for creating XP Diagnostic Boot Disks:

One download is a zipped ISO file that your burner software can use to create a boot CD. You need to follow the instructions for your particular burner software for creating a CD from an ISO file.

The other download is an executable file that you can double click and it will give you screen directions for creating a boot floppy.

Either of the above will provide you with a boot media that will give you a boot choice menu for booting several different drive configurations. Start with the top one since it's most common. Try others in their order, if necessary.

These boot media contain the three necessary boot loader files that will be used in place of your own versions. It will also allow booting without polling the MBR on your hard drive. Booting with either of them will tell us if your problem is in that area or something more serious.

Boot with either one of your choice in the drive bay. You may have to reset your BIOS/CMOS boot sequence to poll the removable disk first, before it checks the HD.

Boot CD ISO file


Boot Floppy Creator file

 

No, I bought it second hand and do not have an xp cd original or otherwise.

 

Bought it second hand and do not have an xp disk original or otherwise, also do not have have a floppy drive,however I do have a pc but it operates on vista. Is there a way to burn a bootable xp cd from windows vista, or should I contact dell the maker of the laptop to see if they would send me a recovery disk?

 

The iso file I linked can be used on any system that has a CD burner to create a bootable CD for an XP system. Just unzip the downloaded file and you'll have the .iso file. Open the burner software and follow the software directions for creating a CD from an ISO file.