help windows\system32\config\system missing

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cyberrat

Icrontic Technician

52 Posts

27 Nov 2004, 2:30am

help windows\system32\config\system missing

im not an xp user but im trying to help out my daughter
this is what we are getting

windows could not start because the following file i mising or corrupt:
\windows\ytem32\onfig\system

you can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using the orginal setup CD-rom.
Selet "r" a the first sreen to start repair

will this delete all her downloaded files? is there a way to start xp in msdos mode and do a regedit instead? i had this happen with w98 and doing a regedit saved me anyone have any ideas
thank

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

27 Nov 2004, 4:32am

No this isnt win98 thank god.

Boot from the cd. Do NOT do a repair using recovery console. proceed like you were doing a fresh install but BEFORE you select which disk to install to it will look for previous installs and ask if you want to repair it. DO NOT INSTALL A NEW COPY! Hit "r" to repair bt only when it shows you the previous install disk/directory not at the revovery console prompt!

If it does not see the old install post back as the filesystem is just corrupt and it can't read the boot.ini and I'll walk you through that repair. It isnt hard. And no she isnt going to lose any files as long as the disk is operating properly!

I've done this maybe... A hundred times.

Tex

__________________ Never knock on deaths door.

Just ring the bell and run..... he hates that

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Tex edited : 27 Nov 2004 at 10:39am .

cyberrat

Icrontic Technician

52 Posts

27 Nov 2004, 7:40am

Hello this is the daughter in quetion in the above post. I'm really a computer newbie, so i have no idea where to begin on this. Can you post instructions / walk through that i'd understand? Thanks!

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

27 Nov 2004, 10:36am

Sure. boot from the XP cd. Can you do that? Or do you need more simple instructions that tell ya how to do that too? I'm not jacking with ya, just need to know how low to target the level of instructions. There is no need for me to go through and write down here a bunch of extra steps you may know how to do now.

If you can boot from the XP cd let me know and I'll start there or I"ll walk you through getting that far if you can't get at least booted from the CD.

If you can boot and the file system isnt corrupt you just let it keep booting. It makes you hit enter or something saying you want to install, then it asks if you want to repair using recovery console and for now say "n" a few minutes later it looks for your old installs and if the disk file system is OK it should show you the disk and directory on whcih XP is installed and ask if you want to repair the existing installation and at that point I think it makes you even hit "R" for repair.

If it ever asks you to format or create a partition DON'T DO IT ! It shouldn't ask you on a repair install. So if you see that in any way we have deeper problems. BAIL OUT. Do not proceed.

As long as you do a repair install it keeps all your files and programs etc... but its got to be a repair not a fresh install. And its the second prompt about repairing NOT the first one asking if you want to use recovery console. Its only a total of like three mouse clicks and hitting "R" to get the repair going!

You can even call me on the phone and I'll walk you through it while your on the phone if your worried or in a hurry. This sounds scary but its not. Will take 5 to 10 minutes to get ya going on the phone depending on if we have other problems etc.. Get the XP cd and let me know when your ready to start if you want phone assistance. Look at it this way. I do this professionaly and your getting $100 an hour free tech support for the price of a phone call. And yes thats a great reason to pass www.short-media.com along to your friends at school or college. Very few if any web sites will actually have profesionals willing to give out their phone number and offer free tech support to other members like this. And its one reason short-media is so very cool.

Tex

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Tex edited : 27 Nov 2004 at 3:02pm .

cyberrat

Icrontic Technician

52 Posts

27 Nov 2004, 9:26pm

cant get it to boot from the cd cd run and then we get the same message as before

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

28 Nov 2004, 12:39am

What kind of computer? Can you get into the bios when you boot (most computers that are not Dells or Compaqs you hit the delete key right as it starts to boot) and it will have a option to set the "boot drive order" usually in the second or third option on the main menu. Make sure the cdrom is before the hard drive in the boot order because its not booting from the cd but just the hard drive right now.

let me know if I can help

Tex

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prolax23

New to the neighborhood

1 Posts

19 Aug 2005, 5:13pm

Quoting Tex

What kind of computer? Can you get into the bios when you boot (most computers that are not Dells or Compaqs you hit the delete key right as it starts to boot) and it will have a option to set the "boot drive order" usually in the second or third option on the main menu. Make sure the cdrom is before the hard drive in the boot order because its not booting from the cd but just the hard drive right now.

let me know if I can help

Tex

I am expriencing the same problem as the user your were helping in this thread. I have follwed all the above mentioned steps to no avail. I have tried changing the boot drive order but still the windows xp home cd will not load on startup and i am given the same message "windows cannot star because the following file is missing or corrupt : /WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/CONFIG/SYSTEM "

Your timely help would be greatly appreciated.

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profdlp

Off To The Gym

21,407 Posts

19 Aug 2005, 6:01pm

Can you give some info about your rig?

The motherboard brand and model would be particularly helpful.

__________________ ---Prof

**********************************
If it doesn't come naturally, leave it
- Al Stewart
**********************************
RIP Short-Media

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Shorty

Sniping teh enterpwise!

9,678 Posts

19 Aug 2005, 7:55pm

Quoting prolax23

I am expriencing the same problem as the user your were helping in this thread. I have follwed all the above mentioned steps to no avail. I have tried changing the boot drive order but still the windows xp home cd will not load on startup and i am given the same message "windows cannot star because the following file is missing or corrupt : /WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/CONFIG/SYSTEM "

Your timely help would be greatly appreciated.

Your "system" is your registry hive. It has become corrupt, probably from an improper shutdown. I have linked this several times in other threads and the success has always been good

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm

Any problems, please post and do let us know how you get on

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

19 Aug 2005, 9:25pm

I'm getting it from time to time right now with my DFI NF4 board (that I hate btw...).

The "corrupt : /WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/CONFIG/SYSTEM"

Won't install off the friggin XP cd. Just reboots in a loop after loading drivers....

I can turn it off for 4 hours and come back. Hit the power an it boots fine. Runs for 3 or 4 days 24/7. Then I get some BSOD and when I boot I get that error also. can't load a fresh windows from the cd or anything. You can mess around trying crap forever and it won't boot into XP.

If I unplug the sorry POS and just walk away and 3 or 4 hours, I come back later I hit the power it boots normal. And will run PERFECT for 3 or 4 days.

Now WTF is happening here?

Memory is Corsair Twinmoss. Tests perfect with a memory tester for 24 hours. Only card in it is a ATI x600 pci-e video. Bios is at all defaults. I have tried boosting voltage for memory, cpu, chipset etc... doesnt help at all.

I have the latest drivers from nvidia and ATI all installed. One dvd burner and one WD 250gb drive with a 530w psu. Voltages look fine. The machine isnt being stressed. Its used to surf the internet and burn DVD's mostly right now.

Tex

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Jadednorman

New to the neighborhood

3 Posts

23 Aug 2005, 5:54am

I think I have the exact same problem, only my file system is probably corrupt, It wont recognize my previous install when I try to repair the windows installation... could someone please help me! I've posted my problem on another thread here Thanks

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clivro

New to the neighborhood

3 Posts

23 Aug 2005, 3:38pm

Hi all,

I have been experiencing the same problem with the DFI Lanparty NF4 SLI-DR mobo on the machine I have just built. The problem seems to be that the registry hive .....\windows\system32\config\system is being corrupted due to an improper shutdown. I have not been able to trace the cause, but the following fix allows me to boot back into Windows XP. In my case this has worked every time and that must be at least twenty or thirty times now (I too am beginning to hate the DFI board)!

Boot from Windows XP Install CD
Press R for recovery console
Select the number for the OS (in my case 1. C:\WINDOWS)
This should result in a prompt C:\WINDOWS
At the prompt type "fixmbr" (no quotes)
A warning will display stating the mbr is not standard or corrupt (or words to that effect) do you wish to continue? Type "y" (no quotes)
the new mbr should then be successfully written to the hard disk.
Type "exit" (no quotes) at the prompt, the system will reboot and all SHOULD be well.

A word of warning care should be execised if you multiboot into different OS's as this may prevent the system accessing a custom boot loader, but for single operating systems it should be fine. As I said before it works 100% of the time for me.

I still have to find the cause of the improper shutdown, but will post back if I have any success.

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Straight_Man

Playing with Virtual Painter

3,717 Posts

» Subscriber

23 Aug 2005, 4:11pm

Quoting Tex

I'm getting it from time to time right now with my DFI NF4 board (that I hate btw...).

The "corrupt : /WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/CONFIG/SYSTEM"

Won't install off the friggin XP cd. Just reboots in a loop after loading drivers....

I can turn it off for 4 hours and come back. Hit the power an it boots fine. Runs for 3 or 4 days 24/7. Then I get some BSOD and when I boot I get that error also. can't load a fresh windows from the cd or anything. You can mess around trying crap forever and it won't boot into XP.

If I unplug the sorry POS and just walk away and 3 or 4 hours, I come back later I hit the power it boots normal. And will run PERFECT for 3 or 4 days.

Now WTF is happening here?

Memory is Corsair Twinmoss. Tests perfect with a memory tester for 24 hours. Only card in it is a ATI x600 pci-e video. Bios is at all defaults. I have tried boosting voltage for memory, cpu, chipset etc... doesnt help at all.

I have the latest drivers from nvidia and ATI all installed. One dvd burner and one WD 250gb drive with a 530w psu. Voltages look fine. The machine isnt being stressed. Its used to surf the internet and burn DVD's mostly right now.

Tex

Sounds like overheating, possibly the HD embedded card components-- is that part of HD dusty, so no flow can occur to the ICs on that embedded card???

That would explain why HD sometimes finds data (system part of registry hive set) and then sometimes goes wonky...... ESPECIALLY if this happens mostly during the summer months.

I'm having to keep room temps below 80 to run XP and Linux (multiple computers) reliably for very long periods here. And my HDs get cleaned also to get dust off them-- air can type or air blower (Datavac blower\vac, ESD safe).

Fainter but possible for some folks is a HD with not enough power getting to it (so it is not spinning up to normal speed) because other components are grabbing too much from a marginally too small PSU, or overheating because damaged or not big enough PSU.

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

23 Aug 2005, 4:42pm

Its a TTGI PSU with 500 watts to power one ide drive and one dvd burner at the moment. Same psu powered my amd64 3200+ msi neo with two ide drives and two 15k scsi drives and a pair of cd burners.

Its a clear acylic case with zero dust. Side panel is off right now.

Temps (I live in the mountains) is never above 65 degrees in this room. The cpu is hitting low 40's. It runs 24/7 for days........... then I get a BSOD. Changes every time about exactly what its bitching about.

Then it won't boot. Says the file is corrupt.... Won't run the XP install. memtest will run perfect for 24 hours though.

Walk away for 3 or 4 hours and the SOB will boot up perfect. You know this is sort of a pain when its a work PC.

But if the file was actually corrupt then walking away wouldn't magically fix it.

I used to keep a small wooden stake, a cross and a real silver bullet in my brief case for fixing problems of this type.

I actually had an employee supply me with the silver bullet as a gift.

When your fighting problems of th "zombie/undead" is type they are invaluable tools.

Why do I think that a friggin new ASUS motherboard would end my nightmares? I hate this DFI board

Tex

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Tex edited : 23 Aug 2005 at 5:06pm .

Greg.

Getting settled in

5 Posts

1 Sep 2005, 10:12am

Quoting Tex

Its a TTGI PSU with 500 watts to power one ide drive and one dvd burner at the moment. Same psu powered my amd64 3200+ msi neo with two ide drives and two 15k scsi drives and a pair of cd burners.

Its a clear acylic case with zero dust. Side panel is off right now.

Temps (I live in the mountains) is never above 65 degrees in this room. The cpu is hitting low 40's. It runs 24/7 for days........... then I get a BSOD. Changes every time about exactly what its bitching about.

Then it won't boot. Says the file is corrupt.... Won't run the XP install. memtest will run perfect for 24 hours though.

Walk away for 3 or 4 hours and the SOB will boot up perfect. You know this is sort of a pain when its a work PC.

But if the file was actually corrupt then walking away wouldn't magically fix it.

I used to keep a small wooden stake, a cross and a real silver bullet in my brief case for fixing problems of this type.

I actually had an employee supply me with the silver bullet as a gift.

When your fighting problems of th "zombie/undead" is type they are invaluable tools.

Why do I think that a friggin new ASUS motherboard would end my nightmares? I hate this DFI board

Tex

Hey,

I'm aslo having the same problem on an older DFI board (AK74-EC) about 5 years old. I have 2 of these machines, and they've always been a bit ordinary, although in general have been much more useful under XP. Even so, this problem seems to be a NEW one. Both my boards had 750 MHz Duron until the weekend, when one was replaced with a 950 MHz Athlon. I did this as I suspected a faulty processor. Anyway, all was fine for about 4 days ..... then the crash (again!!!) and '/windows/system32/config/system missing or corrupt' message. Doesn't matter how long I leave it .... it doesn't repair itself! Managed to recover by booting on another drive, copying the 'repair' system file .... AND installing SP2 again, as some programs were screwy!

As only one of the machines is playing up it would seem to be something at the motherboard level causing the problem .... BUT WHAT!!! Having read your discussions I'm most suspicious of localised overheating of the processor ... maybe due to a poor quality socket or inadequate fan .... but don't really have a clue! If you come across any other likely causes I'd like to know!!!

Thanks,
Greg

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vivian

New to the neighborhood

1 Posts

8 Sep 2005, 12:10am

Hi, I have experienced the same problem and It lasts since I bought the computer. I'm now even wondering whether there is something wrong with my computer hardware instead of the windows xp software! I saw someone's comments on this problem b4 in a website and it says it is because of the poor quality RAM!! is that true? I'm very annoyed with this problem and my pc never runs ok. Thanks for any help.

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Greg.

Getting settled in

5 Posts

8 Sep 2005, 12:35am

Vivian,

Alll I'd say is that it COULD be the RAM. I've been reluctant to turn on my troublesome machine lately, as the other is working fine. At the moment, I know the problem machine is running with relatively new RAM, and I have been suspicious ... but I also know I have swapped RAM between the machines recently as well! The machine is so basic, RAM and processor were the only options. In my case, I'm still most suspicious of bad connections, either to the processor, RAM or drives.

When faced with a similar problem a while ago, I even resorted to spraying the CPU pins with CRC. I expected a disaster, but to my surprise that problem seemed to disappear. I wouldn't recommend trying this unless your quite prepared to invest in a new machine if necessary!!!! When you're talking 750MHz Duron, you don't have much to lose!!!!!

Greg

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clivro

New to the neighborhood

3 Posts

8 Sep 2005, 5:02pm

Hi all,

I found all my problems were caused by a particularly picky memory controller on my AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 'Winchester Core' and/or the ABIT AN8 motherboard. Now I have removed the second 512MB memory module, which was part of an OCZ matched pair, I have no further problems.

This saga with the Winchester core CPU started off life when it was in my other rig, which has a Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI motherboard. With 2x Corsair CMX512-3200C2 DDR400 modules bought as a TWINX1024-3200C2 kit the thing would not POST in dual channel mode. I tested the memory (memtest86 and windiag) no problems. So off I went and bought a matched pair of 2x Crucial Ballistix PC3200 512MB DDR400 memory modules and replaced the Corsair. Still no POST in dual channel mode. Tested the RAM, no problems. Fuming I then ordered an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 'Venice Core' and all my problems went away and I have 2GB of double sided RAM occupying all four slots at DDR 400!

I returned the AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 'Winchester Core' to AMD for replacement under warranty and the replacement is now I believe causing the problems in the ABIT rig. I realise that the ABIT board will only run at DDR333 with all four slots occupied, but I can't even populate two without severe memory corruption problems.

Having got hold of WinDBG, a Microsoft crash dump debugger I can now see that all my problems which Microsoft Error reporting variously described as a a bad device driver or a bad graphics driver, were in fact memory corruption problems. The only solution seems to me to be upgrade to at least a 'venice core', but as this is my test machine I'll carry on with 512MB of ram and total stability in the short term!

Regards,

Clivro

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clivro

New to the neighborhood

3 Posts

8 Sep 2005, 8:16pm

Hello again,

Well reading this thread motivated me to look at the problem again! Although I had tried all sorts of memory timings with the Gigabyte board it did no good because the previous CPU memory controller was defective.

However, I had left all the DRAM timings at auto on the ABIT board so I thought I'd give it a try!

Hallelujah, with 2x 512MB memory module kit OCZ4001024v3DC-K memory timings set at: -

CAS 3
(did have some problems at 2.5; screen freeze, and dreaded windows\sytem32\config\system missing or corrupt message so relaxed it to 3)
TRCD 4
TRP 4
TRAS 8

Command Rate 2T

It all seems really stable now with the 1GB dual channel memory configuration. I'm going to give it a hammering and will report any problems if they occur.

I hope this info might help somebody!

clivro

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clivro edited : 8 Sep 2005 at 8:23pm .

jradmin

I work for a living!!!

629 Posts

8 Sep 2005, 8:41pm

Tex, just break down and get the Asus board. I love my A8N

__________________ THE MANDALORIAN WARRIOR
AMD Athalon 64 4000+ San Diego (2.700)
Asus A8N SLI Premium MOBO
2GB OCZ Platinum
2x EVGA 7800GTX (510/1320 until they fix the 7900GT's)
Audigy 2 7.1
Cooler Master Aerogate II
Silverstone 550w PSU (38A, prefect SLI PSU)

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bernie

New to the neighborhood

4 Posts

9 Sep 2005, 4:00pm

Quoting Tex

No this isnt win98 thank god.

Boot from the cd. Do NOT do a repair using recovery console. proceed like you were doing a fresh install but BEFORE you select which disk to install to it will look for previous installs and ask if you want to repair it. DO NOT INSTALL A NEW COPY! Hit "r" to repair bt only when it shows you the previous install disk/directory not at the revovery console prompt!

If it does not see the old install post back as the filesystem is just corrupt and it can't read the boot.ini and I'll walk you through that repair. It isnt hard. And no she isnt going to lose any files as long as the disk is operating properly!

I've done this maybe... A hundred times.

Tex

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bernie

New to the neighborhood

4 Posts

9 Sep 2005, 4:01pm

Tex: I have the same problem but only have the MS-DOS startup disc available. My Sony came with OEM install and recovery discs only. How do I correct this?

Thanks,

Bernie

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

9 Sep 2005, 4:49pm

It wipes your disk out and restores to its original state.

I hate to ask but... You probably need to backup your stuff right?

PM or email me. Are you running XP home or XP pro now?

Tex

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bernie

New to the neighborhood

4 Posts

9 Sep 2005, 5:05pm

Fortunately I have everything backed-up but sure do hate to have to use the restore disk and lose all my other applications too. Quick question I have backed up my primary drive toanother hard disk which I am using now and have booted from it. I can download a Windows XP Pro edition for a reasonable fee. Can I just overwrite the Windows XP home edition with the Windows XP edition? Thanks, Bernie

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

9 Sep 2005, 5:14pm

You can't "upgrade" home to XP pro. You can basicaly erase the old one and reinstall. But that does not save the old installed apps and stuff. With XP you usually need to reinstall apps as they make a bunch of rewistry entries.

Why not just get XP home?

Tex

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bernie

New to the neighborhood

4 Posts

9 Sep 2005, 7:22pm

Will that overwrite the old one and save my other apps? You are really a great help and I appreciate your attention to my problem. Carl S.

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

9 Sep 2005, 11:14pm

It probably will not destroy the "programs" directory but none of those programs are going to be installed anymore. That would be an "upgrade".

Your doing a fresh install and will start from scratch.

Tex

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b1llyw

New to the neighborhood

1 Posts

13 Sep 2005, 2:38am

Quoting Tex

No this isnt win98 thank god.

Boot from the cd. Do NOT do a repair using recovery console. proceed like you were doing a fresh install but BEFORE you select which disk to install to it will look for previous installs and ask if you want to repair it. DO NOT INSTALL A NEW COPY! Hit "r" to repair bt only when it shows you the previous install disk/directory not at the revovery console prompt!

If it does not see the old install post back as the filesystem is just corrupt and it can't read the boot.ini and I'll walk you through that repair. It isnt hard. And no she isnt going to lose any files as long as the disk is operating properly!

I've done this maybe... A hundred times.

Tex

Sorry to pull up this old post. I was referred to this site for help. I'm having a similar problem. Apparently, it does not see my old install. Can you walk me throught that repair? I'd be VERY grateful, lol.

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

13 Sep 2005, 3:13am

If it does not see the old install it's not seeing the boot.ini file in the root directory. It doesnt really look through the disks for previous installs it just reads the boot.ini.

Try running chkdsk on the root partitioin as it's probably corrupted and needs cleaned.

Boot from the XP cd. Go to recovery conmsole which is a command prompt. run chkdsk on the boot partition.

Tex

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Opicana

New to the neighborhood

1 Posts

1 Nov 2005, 1:19pm

Quoting Tex

No this isnt win98 thank god.

Boot from the cd. Do NOT do a repair using recovery console. proceed like you were doing a fresh install but BEFORE you select which disk to install to it will look for previous installs and ask if you want to repair it. DO NOT INSTALL A NEW COPY! Hit "r" to repair bt only when it shows you the previous install disk/directory not at the revovery console prompt!

If it does not see the old install post back as the filesystem is just corrupt and it can't read the boot.ini and I'll walk you through that repair. It isnt hard. And no she isnt going to lose any files as long as the disk is operating properly!

I've done this maybe... A hundred times.

Tex

I am having the same problem as the daughter in the original post. I have a Dell and I use Windows XP Pro. I have tried a few suggested methods like chkdisk and fixboot, but they have not worked. I tried following your instructions to get to the repair by...

Booting from the Windows XP Pro Reinstallation disk that came with my computer.

Then I get options to set up XP, go to the Recovery console and to quit. I hit enter to go to the setup.

I agreed to the license agreement. Then it gives me three options: Setup XP on a selected item, create partion and delete partition. Do I select C and choose setup?
Thanks!
-Opicana

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Greg.

Getting settled in

5 Posts

1 Nov 2005, 10:08pm

Hi there,

I resolved my repeatedly occurring problem

:

windows could not start because the following file is mising or corrupt:
\windows\sytem32\config\system

by enabling BIOS settings which had been previously disabled .... I assume for a good reason! To be honest I can't even identify which setting fixed the problem, as I turned on several as a desperate last attempt before scrapping the machine. I know they included BIOS shadowing and HD SMART settings .... but there were others. If anyone is interested I'll note the current BIOS settings. Since adjusting the BIOS the machine hasn't missed a beat. Prior to this it would run for varying lengths of time (up to 24 hours or so) and then crash with the warning above. I must have re-installed XP half a dozen times or more!! Machine has now been running fine for a few weeks.

Hope this is of use to someone.

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Siggy

Icrontic Posting Maniac

320 Posts

10 Nov 2005, 1:48am

OK i was getting this message when trying to load Windows XP (all explained in another thread) After reading this I changed my 2 (very expensive) 512MB RAM and all is now well again boot - enter BIOS - change BIOS everything is OK ------FOR NOW,

__________________ [folding_sig1]

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Greg.

Getting settled in

5 Posts

10 Nov 2005, 3:03am

Hi,

Are you saying that changing the BIOS settings fixed your problem as well?
Certainly fixed mine! Just a pity it took me so long to find the cause.

Greg

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

10 Nov 2005, 10:45am

no he swapped the ram. suggesting the spd settings on some high end ram probably is causing probs with some bios settings. And slowing down the ram timing settings probably helps.

Tex

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Siggy

Icrontic Posting Maniac

320 Posts

10 Nov 2005, 11:48pm

Quoting Greg

Hi,

Are you saying that changing the BIOS settings fixed your problem as well?
Certainly fixed mine! Just a pity it took me so long to find the cause.

Greg

No Tex is right - I swapped my 1GB high end Ram with generic ram and it is running perfectly well now - touch wood.
I have no idea why it suddenly decided that it didnt like it after 6 months of running perfectly well??????

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Wombato

New to the neighborhood

1 Posts

14 Nov 2005, 2:26am

Now I've done it! I'm a new member, semi-sophisticated but know just enough to be dangerous. So I had the old windows\system32\config\system missing error. I have a Sony Vaio with a crazy "System Restore" disk that offers to totally reformat your harddrive and nothing else. I brilliantly grabbed the XP disk from another Dell I have to get in to recovery console. Played around a bit and read some forums before deciding to do a "fixmbr" in the recovery console. Seconds after I hit enter, I remembered the this hard disk had a partition on it. I have this bad feeling that I am dead meat now. My question to all you helpful souls:

1) should I try something else to get this PC working?

or

2) I have one of those external shells that I can put the broken PCs hard drive in to. If I do that, will I be able to access any of the files or will my "fixmbr" action keep that from working?

I'm more concerned about getting the data than getting the PC working again.

All help appreciated?

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profdlp

Off To The Gym

21,407 Posts

14 Nov 2005, 2:30am

Try TestDisk. (See Post #10)

Good luck.

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sherazad

New to the neighborhood

2 Posts

15 Nov 2005, 9:07am

Hi

A search on "Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" guided me to this site. I hope i'll find a solution with u guys. I get that error too when I boot my PC. I tried booting it form the CDROM, to try a new installation and then install Windows on another partition, but I get a Stop error message on a blue screen:
Stop:0xc0000135 (sth like this..with a long text before, I dont really remember what it said :P)

It's like Im really stuck there. I tried installing Linux on another partition, but it wont boot from linux. Im only trying to backup all my data on C and then format the whole thing to start all over again. I found a few things I could try out here on this thread. I'll do it and then get back to u guys with the details.

In the meantime, if anyone could help me out with another solution, I'd be grateful.

Thanks a lot

Cheers

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Shorty

Sniping teh enterpwise!

9,678 Posts

15 Nov 2005, 11:54am

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm

You know what, I've posted it this many times.. Im going to put it in my signature!

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sherazad

New to the neighborhood

2 Posts

16 Nov 2005, 7:35am

Sorry, I didnt read all the posts. Thanks. I'll try it.

cheers

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Shorty

Sniping teh enterpwise!

9,678 Posts

16 Nov 2005, 8:27am

Quoting sherazad

Sorry, I didnt read all the posts. Thanks. I'll try it.

cheers

It's turning into a long thread

Im not surprised

That should do the trick mate

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lailla

New to the neighborhood

1 Posts

17 Nov 2005, 8:32pm

Quoting Shorty

It's turning into a long thread Im not surprised

That should do the trick mate

Ok I know you guys must be sick of all this by now, but yes - I am having the same trouble. I did try the stuff from http://kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm but it didn't work. (couldn't do the dir system part from /windows/system32/config/ cos apparently it couldn't find it)

However, before trying anything else I reinstalled windows xp professional on the computer on seperate partition so I could copy/back-up my files before i had to use my back up discs (which basically removes everything)

Also my laptop is a tablet pc(acer c320) so my partition running windows xp professional is kinda useless as I can't use any of the tablet options (the computer didn't come with windows xp tablet edition disc, but was already installed with it)

So I have no idea what to do now, considering i've tried so many things.

I tried fixboot from recovery console but that didn't work. I was also gonna try fixmbr but its got me worried that I may lose my files. (it says Fixmbr may damage your partition tables if you proceed. This could cause all the parititions on the current hard disk to become inaccessible.)

I also booted from the cd and did what Tex said about doin a fresh install - and then to see if it checks for previous installs - but unfortunatly it didn't do that. So whats that mean? something wrong with boot.ini?

I suppose i could try the back-discs but for some reason i can't copy my files, tried to copy to external drive but it just doesn't detect it, tried writing to dvd error comes up, tried putting the files on the network - also doesn't work.

Its like, I can see my files - but I can't do anything with them!!! Help please.

I would love to call someone to help, for free

But I'm in london, england - any technicians/helpers here in the UK?

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lailla edited : 17 Nov 2005 at 8:40pm .

etienne

Getting settled in

6 Posts

19 Nov 2005, 9:19pm

I got a problem and hope that anyone can help me out.
On boot up, PC shows this error.
There is no way for me to access DOS since when I press a key it just reboots.
Thus I put a Windows XP Pro SP2 CD and it boots up from CD. But it also does not boot up as when I press a key for the PC to boot up from CD, very often it just switches off immediately or else it displays
the Windows Setup page (Blue screen) but after a few seconds it shows such an error (one of):
File \i386\NTKRNLMP.EXE could not be loaded
The error code is 768
Setup cannot continue
Press any key to exit

If I press a key it turns out to the same process.
I downloaded the Windows XP SP2 Boot disks and on installation it stopped on Disk 4 with similar errors.
Can you help me?

My setup:
Gigabyte GA8-SIMLH Motherboard
Pentium 4 2GHZ
GeForce FX5200-TD128LF

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

19 Nov 2005, 9:23pm

list more info on your exact hardware.

Then make a boot floppy from a memory tester. Doc mem is free and so if memtest.

Runb the full tests for an hour or so..

Tex

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etienne

Getting settled in

6 Posts

19 Nov 2005, 9:24pm

Updated info

2x256MB

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etienne edited : 19 Nov 2005 at 9:25pm . Reason: Memory

etienne

Getting settled in

6 Posts

19 Nov 2005, 9:31pm

How can I run Memtest if I have no control on PC?
You mean I have to fix the memory on another PC, right?

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Tex

Tex Support

4,131 Posts

19 Nov 2005, 10:00pm

no I want the make/model of computer and whats inside etc...

And no you do not test the memory in another computer. That doesnt really do the job. You may need to go make the memory tester boot floppy disk on another computer... maybe the one you are posting these messages on?

make the test floppy.

Tex

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etienne

Getting settled in

6 Posts

19 Nov 2005, 10:23pm

Quoting etienne

I got a problem and hope that anyone can help me out.
On boot up, PC shows this error.
There is no way for me to access DOS since when I press a key it just reboots.
Thus I put a Windows XP Pro SP2 CD and it boots up from CD. But it also does not boot up as when I press a key for the PC to boot up from CD, very often it just switches off immediately or else it displays
the Windows Setup page (Blue screen) but after a few seconds it shows such an error (one of):
File \i386\NTKRNLMP.EXE could not be loaded
The error code is 768
Setup cannot continue
Press any key to exit

If I press a key it turns out to the same process.
I downloaded the Windows XP SP2 Boot disks and on installation it stopped on Disk 4 with similar errors.
Can you help me?

My setup:
Gigabyte GA8-SIMLH Motherboard
Pentium 4 2GHZ
GeForce FX5200-TD128LF

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etienne

Getting settled in

6 Posts

19 Nov 2005, 10:25pm

I have done a Floppy Start Up Disk and have extracted Memtest.exe on it.
When I typed A:\>memtest
it replied
This program cannot be run in DOS mode.

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profdlp

Off To The Gym

21,407 Posts

20 Nov 2005, 2:35am

Memtest runs under linux and makes its own boot disk. Get a blank floppy, extract the memtest files, then double-click install.bat to make the disk. It will tell you what to do from there.

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