Jackie68 said:
My computer won't boot and I get the message,
windows/system32/config/system is missing or corrupt. I've booted into
the recovery console to follow the support.microsoft repair
instructions but I can't gain access to windows and system32. Is there
a way to solve this? Thanks.
Use a BartPE Bootable CD to repair your system. Follow the directions on how
to create a BartPE Bootable CD from their website.
Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
Boot the computer with the BartPE CD.
Navigate to this folder on your Hard drive:
windows\system32\config
Copy the following files to a temp folder, if present:
system
software
sam
security
default
Then delete the above files from "windows\system32\config".
Navigate to the following folder:
System Volume Information\_restore{D86480E3-73EF-47BC-A0EB-A81BE6EE3ED8}
NOTE: _restore{D86480E3-73EF-47BC-A0EB-A81BE6EE3ED8} will have a different
name on your computer.
Now there should be folders with names like RP1, RP2, RP3 and so on. Open
the folder with the highest RP# then open the "Snapshot" folder.
Copy the following files to "windows\system32\config":
_REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM
Rename the file in "windows\system32\config""
Rename _REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT to DEFAULT
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY to SECURITY
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE to SOFTWARE
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM to SYSTEM
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM to SAM
Reboot the machine and see if you can use Windows.