missing or corrupt...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joe S.
  • Start date Start date
J

Joe S.

Attempting to boot I got a message saying something (wish I had written it
down) like this: " Windows C:\windows\system\...something...\system missing
or corrupt. " It said to do the recovery using the WindowsXP disk.
Strange because there is no sub-folders in the Windows\system folder. Then
again I could have the error message wrong. Next attempt at booting,
using the "last known good config.." option gets the same result. Further
attempts get me the same error.

Long story longer: I proceed to dig a floppy out of the back of the closet
to load my SATA drivers in WindowsXP set-up, get to the point where it says
hit "r" to use the recovery console, which I did. I find my machine at the
c:\windows prompt & clueless what to do next. I proceed to browse folders
for a bit, give up & re-boot.

Strangely enough, after this re-boot, Windows starts up just fine &
everything seems OK! hmmmmm
Anyone got a suggestion as what might be the issue & are they any
maintenance that I could do to minimize the risk of this happening again?

TIA!
 
Attempting to boot I got a message saying something (wish I had
written it down) like this: " Windows
C:\windows\system\...something...\system missing or corrupt. " It
said to do the recovery using the WindowsXP disk. Strange because
there is no sub-folders in the Windows\system folder. Then again I
could have the error message wrong. Next attempt at booting, using
the "last known good config.." option gets the same result. Further
attempts get me the same error.

Long story longer: I proceed to dig a floppy out of the back of the
closet to load my SATA drivers in WindowsXP set-up, get to the point
where it says hit "r" to use the recovery console, which I did. I
find my machine at the c:\windows prompt & clueless what to do next.
I proceed to browse folders for a bit, give up & re-boot.

Strangely enough, after this re-boot, Windows starts up just fine &
everything seems OK! hmmmmm
Anyone got a suggestion as what might be the issue & are they any
maintenance that I could do to minimize the risk of this happening
again?

TIA!
Click to expand...

when this happens it may be overheating (but you said it was at bootup so
i assume it was off), or a possible issue with RAM or the CPU.

a free RAM testing tool can be found here:
http://www.memtest86.com/

DanS
 
Joe said:
Attempting to boot I got a message saying something (wish I had written
it down) like this: " Windows C:\windows\system\...something...\system
missing or corrupt. " It said to do the recovery using the WindowsXP
disk. Strange because there is no sub-folders in the Windows\system
folder. Then again I could have the error message wrong. Next
attempt at booting, using the "last known good config.." option gets
the same result. Further attempts get me the same error.

Long story longer: I proceed to dig a floppy out of the back of the
closet to load my SATA drivers in WindowsXP set-up, get to the point
where it says hit "r" to use the recovery console, which I did. I find
my machine at the c:\windows prompt & clueless what to do next. I
proceed to browse folders for a bit, give up & re-boot.

Strangely enough, after this re-boot, Windows starts up just fine &
everything seems OK! hmmmmm
Anyone got a suggestion as what might be the issue & are they any
maintenance that I could do to minimize the risk of this happening again?

TIA!
Click to expand...


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

Once you've recovered, you might want to look here, as well:

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


--

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
 
DanS said:
when this happens it may be overheating (but you said it was at bootup so
i assume it was off), or a possible issue with RAM or the CPU.

a free RAM testing tool can be found here:
http://www.memtest86.com/

DanS
Click to expand...

Thanks Dan, could be heat, but to be totally honest, I was having an issue
with a front USB/Firewire panel that also serves as CPU fan controller. The
controller insisted the fan had failed & was giving off a horrible beeping.
I shut the machine down twice at the PS while diagnosing what was beeping.
Improper shut-down of Windows is the culprit (I suspect).
 
Bruce Chambers said:
How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry that Prevents Windows XP from
Starting
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545

Once you've recovered, you might want to look here, as well:

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


--

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
Click to expand...

THANKS! Improper shut-down is the likely culprit. Running chkdsk /r as the
guide you linked suggests.
 
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