Corrupted SYSTEM file

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Guest

Running W2K SP4

One of my children switched-off the power to the computer.

On the next reboot, I got the message that Windows could not start because
\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM was corrupt or missing.

I tried using the Emergency Repair Disk with the installation CD, but that
did not fix the problem.

I booted from a different hard disk to have a look at the disk that would
not boot, and the file is there with the time stamp of the time when my
daughter snapped-off the power.

From the Repair Console, I copied the SYSTEM file from the disk that booted
onto the failing disk.

It gets further along the boot, but never displays the task bar.

Is there any way I can repair the SYSTEM file without having to re-install
windows?
 
Westbrook said:
Running W2K SP4

One of my children switched-off the power to the computer.

On the next reboot, I got the message that Windows could not start because
\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM was corrupt or missing.

I tried using the Emergency Repair Disk with the installation CD, but that
did not fix the problem.

I booted from a different hard disk to have a look at the disk that would
not boot, and the file is there with the time stamp of the time when my
daughter snapped-off the power.

From the Repair Console, I copied the SYSTEM file from the disk that booted
onto the failing disk.

It gets further along the boot, but never displays the task bar.

Is there any way I can repair the SYSTEM file without having to re-install
windows?
Click to expand...

Try pressing F8 early during the boot phase, then select
"Last known good configuration".
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
Try pressing F8 early during the boot phase, then select
"Last known good configuration".
Click to expand...

Tried F8, selected SAFE MODE, got the same error message about a corrupt
SYSTEM file.
 
If the system hive is corrupt, and assuming you already tried LKG (F8 and
choose Last Known Good), It may be possible to rename the system hive found
in
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
to system.old
then rename
%systemroot%\system32\config\system.alt
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system

You can also try using the most recent backup found in
%systemroot%\repair\regback

If that fails you haven't much choice but to copy/ use the
original-as-installed system hive from
%systemroot%\repair\system
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
You'll need to reinstall the device drivers for any hardware added since the
original OS install.

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks. At
the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Press F10 or R to repair a Windows 2000
installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The Recovery
Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do not have
the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the registry is corrupted
or missing or no valid installations are found, the Recovery Console starts
in the root of the startup volume without requiring a password. You cannot
access any folders, but you can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot,
and fixmbr for limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated,
you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer: drive
root, %windir% or %systemroot%


--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Tried F8, selected SAFE MODE, got the same error message about a corrupt
| SYSTEM file.
|
 
Westbrook said:
Tried F8, selected SAFE MODE, got the same error message about a corrupt
SYSTEM file.
Click to expand...

You could try installing Windows over the top of the
existing installation. If successful then it would preserve
your existing settings and applications.
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
You could try installing Windows over the top of the
existing installation. If successful then it would preserve
your existing settings and applications.
Click to expand...

I tried that, too, but the installation disk said that there was already a
WINNT folder on the disk and that, if I continued with the installation, all
its contents would be destroyed, including applications, settings, and My
Documents folder. I have a very recent backup of all my data, but it looks
like I would have to re-install all my applications if I re-install W2K.
 
Dave Patrick said:
If the system hive is corrupt, and assuming you already tried LKG (F8 and
choose Last Known Good),
Click to expand...

I didn't try Last Known Good. I tried Safe Mode, but it wouldn't boot. I
will try Last Known Good first.
It may be possible to rename the system hive found
in
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
to system.old
then rename
%systemroot%\system32\config\system.alt
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system

You can also try using the most recent backup found in
%systemroot%\repair\regback

If that fails you haven't much choice but to copy/ use the
original-as-installed system hive from
%systemroot%\repair\system
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
You'll need to reinstall the device drivers for any hardware added since the
original OS install.
Click to expand...

I will try this if LKG does not work.

Thank you.

I'll let you know how it goes.
 
I renamed SYSTEM to SYSTEM.OLD and renamed SYSTEM.ALT to SYSTEM.

I was able to boot, but Outlook Express would not work. I saw a message that
said, "Cannot Load msoe.dll". I went looking for that file, and found it in
the Outlook Express directory.

Also could not run any of my MS Office applications. Got a message that said
I needed to re-install MS Office, but when I tried, it said that the CD was
not a valid installation disk. This is a Site License disk provided to me by
my employer to work at home, and I have installed from it on this computer
successfully more than a few times, a disk crash, a motherboard upgrade, and
to install more features.

Also got a message to insert my Turbo Tax CD, so I did that and pressed OK.
But on the next reboot, I got the same message again.

I tried using the SYSTEM file from \repair\RegBack, but got the same results
as listed above.

I haven't tried using the SYSTEM file from the original installation in
\repair, but I'm at the point where I'm thinking of upgrading to XP so I
don't have to re-install everything I've bought and downloaded in the last
three years.
 
These other problems are software hive corruption. Depending on the date of
your last backup this may help.

If the software hive is corrupt, it may be possible to rename the software
hive found in;
%windir%\system32\config\software
to software.old
then copy the most recent backup found in
%windir%\repair\regback
as
%windir%\system32\config\software

If that fails you can copy/ use the file
%windir%\repair\software
This file is an image of the hive at the time the OS was installed, so you'd
have to reinstall all software. This being the case you might just as well
blow it away and start a new install. (note: this would at least allow you
to start the OS to make any necessary backups prior to wiping the drive.)

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
|I renamed SYSTEM to SYSTEM.OLD and renamed SYSTEM.ALT to SYSTEM.
|
| I was able to boot, but Outlook Express would not work. I saw a message
that
| said, "Cannot Load msoe.dll". I went looking for that file, and found it
in
| the Outlook Express directory.
|
| Also could not run any of my MS Office applications. Got a message that
said
| I needed to re-install MS Office, but when I tried, it said that the CD
was
| not a valid installation disk. This is a Site License disk provided to me
by
| my employer to work at home, and I have installed from it on this computer
| successfully more than a few times, a disk crash, a motherboard upgrade,
and
| to install more features.
|
| Also got a message to insert my Turbo Tax CD, so I did that and pressed
OK.
| But on the next reboot, I got the same message again.
|
| I tried using the SYSTEM file from \repair\RegBack, but got the same
results
| as listed above.
|
| I haven't tried using the SYSTEM file from the original installation in
| \repair, but I'm at the point where I'm thinking of upgrading to XP so I
| don't have to re-install everything I've bought and downloaded in the last
| three years.
 
Thanks, Dave.

Your words were prophetic.

After buying and installing XP Pro Upgrade, everything started working
except one thing: my ActiveCard VPN security USB device. No matter how many
times I un-installed and re-installed the drivers and software for this
device, I cannot get it to work. I am always getting the following message
when I try to start the service for it.

Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.

My IT guys are telling me that my system is hopelessly corrupted and that I
will have to install everything from scratch.
:(

Regards,
WB
 
Start|Run|regedit and navigate to;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\YourService
then check to see what is displayed in 'DependOnGroup' and 'DependOnService'

Also check Event Viewer for error details.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
|
| Thanks, Dave.
|
| Your words were prophetic.
|
| After buying and installing XP Pro Upgrade, everything started working
| except one thing: my ActiveCard VPN security USB device. No matter how
many
| times I un-installed and re-installed the drivers and software for this
| device, I cannot get it to work. I am always getting the following message
| when I try to start the service for it.
|
| Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.
|
| My IT guys are telling me that my system is hopelessly corrupted and that
I
| will have to install everything from scratch.
| :(
|
| Regards,
| WB
 
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