system 32\config\system corrupted or missing file

  • Thread starter Thread starter K2007B
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K

K2007B

I have Windows XP home edition. On start up I am getting messages that the
system will not load because of a corrupt or missing windows\system
32\config\system file. I have tried the recovery CD but that only allows me
to either reinstall drivers or reformat the hard disc and reinstall the
complete operating system with loss of everything. There is no option to
repair so I think the back up CD is an OEM. Please could you advise if I can
repair the system without reformattng. Sometimes windows does start other
times it will just not load. Also the PC has become very slow. Many thanks.

KB
 
Thank you. I don't have a recovery console. Also the support site that you
referenced says that it should not be used for an OEM platform. Have I
misunderstood? Thanks,

KB
 
before manually repairing
the registry hive, see if
running the command at
the disk prompt>: chkdsk /r
can help and save you
some time.



--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

"share the nirvana" - dbZen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
actually, I meant
a chkdsk /p instead
of a chkdsk /r.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

"share the nirvana" - dbZen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
you boot up with any
windowsxp cd and
select the option to
repair to launch the
recovery console.

the recovery console
will then pull up the
disk prompt where you
can run commands
at the disk level.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

"share the nirvana" - dbZen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
K2007B

If you are not able to do as philo posted then unfortunately having that error you
will have to reformat. Remember to save your data and philo has told you the steps
on how to go about it.

BTW. Your Registry is corrupt when you see that error as you posted and there is no
other way around this except as per above
 
unfortunately for you,
a format is not the only
option left,

because a repair installation
will also rebuild the registry
hive.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

"share the nirvana" - dbZen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
K2007B said:
Thank you. I don't have a recovery console. Also the support site that you
referenced says that it should not be used for an OEM platform. Have I
misunderstood? Thanks,
Click to expand...

If you don't have a recovery console, and your install/recovery CD doesn't
have this, you can borrow and use *any* bootable XP CD. Home or Pro,
retail, OEM or VL, doesn't matter. But you often cannot do this with OEM
"recovery" disks.

The reason for the OEM warning is that some OEMs use different locations for
the original install registry, so you can't restore the original from the
"repair" folder.

Once you have read and understood what the directions in the KB article are
about, you can use other methods to do the same thing. You can attach your
drive to another XP system or boot from a Linux CD and gain access to the
System Restore folders, going pretty much directly to the last steps.

HTH
-pk
 
K2007B said:
Sorry: where do I go to get the disc prompt?!
Click to expand...

This is from the Recovery Console, but if you have only an OEM "restore CD",
which is not the same as an OEM or retail or VL XP Install CD, you won't
have it.

You can use any other XP install CD that you can borrow for this purpose.

Once you have that, you can follow the directions in the KB article.

BTW, chkdsk often won't help with this as it won't bring back the corrupted
registry file. Better to follow the KB directions.

If you have data on the drive that you want to keep, you can recover it at
this time. Simply attach your system's drive to another XP system, and
copy the data off. You do not need to have fixed the problem to do this.

However, while you have the drive attached to the other system, you can
adapt the directions in the KB article to do a manual copy of a recent
registry set from the System Volume Information folders to the location the
registry actually uses. Read the KB article till you understand what the
steps are doing, and you'll see how to adapt it.

HTH
-pk
 
the registry are no different
than any other files.

if the mft is not snycronized
with the file system, then
the registry files can not be
found.

how do you think the registry
files or any files are called
by the operating system
if the mft is corrupted?

if the registry files are
corrupted as the error
states, how do you think
they became corrupted?

please don't undermine
my suggestions in the
future.
--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

"share the nirvana" - dbZen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
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