XP: Corrupt system file... NO BOOT! HELP!

[rheteric]

So I go and power up my system and I get this heart-stopping message:

"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the original Setup CD-ROM.
Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair."

So I proceed as instructed, get to the options screen and I press the 'r' key to enter the recovery console. When it asks what installation I'd like to log into, I select #1, C:\WINDOWS (the only option). After pressing enter it just gives me a C:\WINDOWS prompt, no action taking place otherwise.

The other thing I tried is to F2 into the ASR console. Then it asks me to insert my ASR diskette, which like 99% of other unassuming users, I don't have. (This will change)

Is there an way I can fix this without reformatting?? Is there some sort of generic ASR disk out there? Your help is much appreciated!

-rheteric

[twistedbrntucker]

Possibly bad RAM.Try swapping for another stick or have the stick(s) tested.

[bailey]

boot to the cd and do a install repaire.
it will fix all the system files and you will not loose any data.
you will need to reinstall sp1 and any other updates you had.

[rheteric]

Originally posted by bailey
boot to the cd and do a install repaire.
it will fix all the system files and you will not loose any data.
you will need to reinstall sp1 and any other updates you had.

Isn't this what I attempted by pressing the 'r' option at the install options screen?

[bailey]

no I don't think it the same thing.
like you first installed it
seet bios to boot from the cd.
and do a install, it will detect that ita already installed and ask if you want to do a repaire install
this is differant as it won't take you to a command line.

it will redo the install and not change the data

[rheteric]

Thanks Bailey, I'll try that in a moment.
I also did some other stuff that ruled out the RAM as being the problem.

[John Prophet]

yeah..you dont do the first "r"..as you say, that is just the repair console....you choose to install windows instead and it will do "searching for prev versions" blah blah..it will find your current install...then you will have more options...one of them will be to repair the current install.

[rheteric]

More bad news..... I tried the re-install trick and it says, "setup cannot find a previous version of windows installed on the system." Nor does it find a Windows XP campatible partition, so it wants me to reformat/repartition.

Short of doing a reformat, do you think it's possible to install XP on another hard drive and retrieve my important docs/files from the original drive in a slave mode?

[TM12]

To answer your last question, you should be able to access your data with the drive set as Slave. But, it looks like the main problem is a corrupted registry entry. Hard to say why - mem, ps, or hd but it happened. If you want to fix it you'll have to take the long route to restore your system to an earlier restore point. You'll need 7 floppies, 6 for the boot disks and 1 for the batch files. You need to search the MS Knowledge Base for the exact error, I don't have the article numbers here at home. Then you'll need to find the link within the correct article that will let you download a file to create the boot floppies. They're different for XP and XP w/SP1. Follow the instructions to the letter. I can't explain it better except to add make sure you know how to execute a batch file, i.e. at a command prompt type - Batch "filename.ext". You'll understand after you read the article. I've had to do it twice on office computers. Hope it helps.

[rheteric]

TM12,
I am going to search the Knowledge Base; but first, out of curiosity, are these the floppies that I am going to need?
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...7-4FED408EA73F

I found this link on another TechIMO thread located here: http://www.techimo.com/forum/showthr...stem+recovery.

Thanks!!!!