I'm attempting to install Windows XP onto my new MBP and keep getting the "NTLDR is missing" error. I've seen that creating an ISO has worked for many others, so I've attempted to do so. The directions I see say to choose "Read Only" when creating the ISO, but I only have the option of "Read/Write" and "Sparse disk image". I've tried it a few times w/ "Read/Write" and it hasn't worked, should I be choosing "Sparse disk image" instead? Also, once I get that done, rename the file to .iso, and fire up Parallels, after changing the settings in Parallels should I be pressing the green play button to continue or am I missing a step? That's what I've been doing and I continue to get the NTLDR error. Thanks for your help, this is my first Mac so bear with me... V
To boot from a CD or image, the VM has to be set to boot from the CD first, and in many previous builds, the CD has to be on controller 0:0. I haven't tried CD boot on the latest build so that may have been fixed. It sounds as if you have a partially complete installation and the loader is either missing or inaccessible.
By the description it looks like you are trying to boot VM from the already installed Windows partition or some broken CD. Are you sure that you have correct bootable Windows installation CD and the VM Boot Sequence is correct? Also make sure that you select correct source of image creation in Disk Utility, generally it shows genuine Windows XP installation disks like "<size> MB Untitled" with a CD icon right next to it.