Corrupt system file

Raftor

Hi, I have a Dell Inspiron 250n smart pc. I was running xp and recently got an error :

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

i can get into DOS through the reinstallation cd.
I have had too much grief from XP now with corrupt files and i just want out at this stage, is there any way i can transfer files to an external hard drive or burn to an external cd burner. There are very little commands avaliable in this interface. It offers alot less than DOS.
I tried to put in a memory key to see if it would pick up an external drive but it did not.
Is there any way to transfer the files by connecting to another computer, how would i set up a connection to my C drive.

str8_away

Simular thing happened to me once,
"chkdsk" in dos mode solve the problem for me at the end.

mambo50

You could use knoppix or another cd linux distro.
Using Knoppix you can then read your windows NTFS partitions and burn whatever data you want to keep from these partitons (provided you have a cd-burner).
After this you can blank you HD and install a real OS ;-)

OfflerCrocGod

Emm stick that HDD inside a computer with a HDD that can back up all the stuff on your drive, make it slave so it doesn't try to boot. Then when the computer boots you will have a C drive and next to it you will have a.....F or G drive depending on your drives. You can browse this drives like your normal drive so copy paste all the info you wanna back up on to the C drive.

ando

yea bad sectors on the HD were causing that problem on a PC that i was working on. Ended up getting a new HD

milltown

Don't give up on it yet. Stick in your xp disk and load the recovery console. Either fixmbr or fixboot is the command, but running both does no harm.

OfflerCrocGod

Try this

http://www.jsifaq.com/SUBF/TIP2700/rh2783.htm

By the way milltown I dont see how the mbr has anything to do with this.

milltown

Didn't make much sense to me either but it fixed this exact problem on a mates PC during the week, well either the MBR or the Fixboot did it. Those two commands were all I ran and presto chango, a working windows box again!

My theory is the entry pointing to the system file, rather than the system file itself was corrupt or missing.

Either way, it worked for me so it must be worth a shot.

Xithus

Iv had this problem once or twice and chkdsk form recovery has always fixed it for me.

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by Raftor
Hi, I have a Dell Inspiron 250n smart pc. I was running xp and recently got an error :

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

IIRC that is the registry folder. - So not good
If you have a backup of the reg you could try that.

Note: a lot of file not found messages are because the OS is looking in the wrong place not because the files are missing.

NTFS or FAT32 ?
'Cos the only thing that will reliably clean up NTFS is another copy of windows - you could install a parallel copy in another folder - c:\weirdos
But you could boot from a 2K or XP cd into dos console to see how far you get.

GUI

unless u have a registry backup

or know someone with the same model make, similar h/w spec and windows build,

recovery console or parallel windows install seem only logical route,

i have after MUCH searching found a ms utility to repair registries,
hidden in debts of microsoft.com

im gonna give it a whirl over xmas,
let ya know how i got on

dod

Try this:

Reboot using the XP CD
Use the Repair Option, then enter the Recovery Console
Log on to the Windows installation using the administrator password

Change to the %windir%\System32\Config\ directory:

chdir system32\config
ren system system.old
copy %windir%\repair\system

Type exit to leave the recovery console & reboot windows (don't forget to remove the XP CD).

If this doesn't work, at least you have your old system file to allow you to try some other approach.

GUI

dod,
that will work but
it will restore the windows installation to its original (windows installation registry)

and no applications using the windows installer will work..

and many other applications that use registered ids and guids, etc

wont run either

so its pretty much useless