files missing or corrupt

  • Thread starter Thread starter jch
  • Start date Start date
J

jch

For about the 10th time in a year I have received that message on
boot, pointing to \windows\system32\config\system folder.

The computer is dead in the water and I have to rebuild from scratch.
(at least this time I have used Norton Ghost to copy the system to a
stack of CD's). The rebuild ("r") option on the WinXP CD does not
help.

While I'm back up and running (again), I'm at a loss to find the
source of the problem. Obviously something is corrupting the files or
causing the machine not to find them. A few times when I got the
message I would cold start or just reboot and it the computer would
come up on the second try. If it's a software issue it seems to me
that shouldn't happen.

ABS Bravado machine. Athlon 1.8 GHz, 256 RAM. XP Pro, Service Pack 1
(think I had 2 on it in a prior lifetime). 2 40 Gig hard drives in
RAID 0 (could RAID have anything to do with this?).

Any ideas as to the cause and/or cure very welcome.
 
jch said:

For about the 10th time in a year I have received that message on
boot, pointing to \windows\system32\config\system folder.

The computer is dead in the water and I have to rebuild from scratch.
(at least this time I have used Norton Ghost to copy the system to a
stack of CD's). The rebuild ("r") option on the WinXP CD does not
help.

While I'm back up and running (again), I'm at a loss to find the
source of the problem. Obviously something is corrupting the files or
causing the machine not to find them. A few times when I got the
message I would cold start or just reboot and it the computer would
come up on the second try. If it's a software issue it seems to me
that shouldn't happen.

ABS Bravado machine. Athlon 1.8 GHz, 256 RAM. XP Pro, Service Pack 1
(think I had 2 on it in a prior lifetime). 2 40 Gig hard drives in
RAID 0 (could RAID have anything to do with this?).

Any ideas as to the cause and/or cure very welcome.
Click to expand...

When this occurs...
Try a boot into Safe Mode, by hitting F8 just before the "Starting
Windows" screen would appear (takes a bit of practice).
Choose LAST GOOD.

If that does nothing, use a working PC to read this first...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q823614
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm

Related info is here...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q307545
describes a three-step process to extract a copy of the registry
from the System Restore SVI folder.

Info on dealing with corruption issues...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822705

Reinstall/repair tutorials (if needed) are here...
http://WWW.WEBTREE.CA/windowsxp/
http://michaelstevenstech.com

After your system is restored, the ERUNT utility available here may
make it easier to fix the problem if it recurs...
http://HOME.T-ONLINE.DE/home/lars.hederer/erunt

If the problem persists, try swapping current RAM (even if it checks
good) for a single, high-quality 512Mb chip. XP reportedly is sensitive
to memory timing.
 
Greetings --

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry that Prevents Windows XP from
Starting
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545

To investigate the root cause(s) of the problem:

How to Troubleshoot Registry Corruption Issues
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822705

Personally, I think long and hard about replacing your RAM
modules.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
Back
Top