How to Resolve “A kernel file is missing from the disk” Error and Recover Essential Hard Disk Data

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The Kernel is most essential part of a Windows operating system based computer as it works as a bridge between software applications and hardware components. The major responsibilities of kernel include memory management, task and process management, and disk management. Thus, if kernel or any of its crucial files get damaged then your Windows operating system can become unbootable. In this situation, the data stored on the hard disk of your computer becomes inaccessible and hence causing severe data loss. However, you can always recover your data from an updated backup but in the absence of proper backup, third-party hard disk recovery software can do the needful.

 

Consider a practical situation in which, when you try to boot your Windows NT based computer, your computer hangs after the Power On Set Test (POST), and you may receive the below mentioned error message:

“A kernel file is missing from the disk.
Insert a system disk and restart the system.”

 

After this unexpected error message, your computer fails to boot resulting which you encounter inaccessibility of your valuable data. However, to resolve the issue, you must know the grounds of this problem. Let us discuss them in brief:

 

Cause:

 

When the NTFS disk structure data contained in the Master File Table (MFT) is either damaged or fragmented then it prevents Windows NT boot loader (Ntldr) from being read or located. And thus, causes the issue.

 

Resolution:

 

To fix the issue, you may try out below mentioned resolution methods:

• Through Fdisk utility, verify whether the system partition is active or not. If this method fails to resolve the issue then continue with next step.
• Try to repair the Ntldr file by using Microsoft Windows Recovery Console through the Boot CD of Windows NT operating system. If this too does not resolve the issue then continue with the next solution.
• Through powerful and updated anti-virus software, detect and remove boot sector viruses from your computer system. If this too fails to fix the problem then continue with next step.
• If possible then try to access your Windows partition through Windows NT boot disk and create the backup of your essential data files. Then format your Windows NT based hard disk and reinstall Microsoft Windows NT operating system.

Note: If you are unable to access the system partition even by using Windows NT boot disk then NTFS MFT of your computer may be severely damaged and in that case your Windows NT based computer need to be reformatted. In case, if you have not previously backed up your data then condition of severe data loss occurs.

 

Thus, in this case of data loss only third-party disk recovery software works as boon. These software can recover lost, deleted, or inaccessible data from Windows Operating System based hard disk and other storage media. Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is one such software which can recover lost or deleted data and also data which is lost due to hard disk corruption or formatting. This efficient software is compatible with Windows NT (SP6), 2000, XP, Server2003, Vista, and Windows 7.