Regarding the password, it may have been blank, as in don't type in anything.
As for it mysteriously working again after an incomplete attempt at running Setup, it could be this: During the early stages of Setup, Windows does a couple of preliminary tasks like examining your Hard Drive, copying a few basic boot files, and generally preparing the system for the installation. It's the digital equivalent of spackling holes in the wall before applying a fresh coat of paint.
My guess would be that your whole problem was due to having one or more of those basic files become corrupted during the unsafe shutdown you mentioned previously. When you started the Setup process they were replaced, getting you right back in business.
Well, needless to say I am a victim too (man, I feel like this is a support group). Before I get into where I stand, here are my specs: (home built rig 2.5 - 3 years old)
AMD 1900+ on Soyo Dragon plus board.
Originally (prior to problem) 2 sticks generic pc2100 512 MB (slots 1 and 2)
ATI All in Wonder 9700
Soundblaster Audigy 2
3 HD, 2 40G WD, 1 160G WD
Sony dual layer DVD/CD burner (dru 810a).(currently running as secondary slave)
XP PRO
All was going well until I tried to add another stick of 512 MB into slot 3. Began to get reboots (I imagine the heat was just pushed too far). I pulled out the new stick after getting the above error, with of course no change. I then went so far as to put in just one stick (alternating which one I used) in all 3 slots.
I tried to change the bios to read the cd first without success (still showed the error page and any keystroke rebooted the computer.)
Changed all boot devices to the cd at which time I received an error that my cd was not a system disk and that I should change it and hit enter.
So...
I have read the entire string...can I use the download from MS on the floppies INSTEAD of the cd? (I have to get floppies....have not used them in forever). Is there a reason it is not seeing my PRO disc as a system disc? If I borrow someone else's, will I possibly get better results with the cd? If I am not able to get this repaired, is it possible that I can hook up the hard drive as a slave on another computer and at least get the data? (I don't think the drive is dead according to what I am reading here). Are there any questions I am missing? Can you give me the answers to the missing questions?
Any help that can be offered would be much appreciated. I don't mind getting a new drive if that is what it is going to take, but I would like to be able to get the data back...there are pictures on there that have been added since the last backup (about 2 weeks ago) and I really want to get them as they cannot be replaced.
I have a system that is doing this same crap to me , windows/system32/config/systemmissing . I have heard that using a winpe disk to rewrite the registry is the best and easiest way . Does anyone know for sure ?
I have a system that is doing this same crap to me , windows/system32/config/systemmissing . I have heard that using a winpe disk to rewrite the registry is the best and easiest way . Does anyone know for sure ?
scan up about 5 posts from here. Shorty posted links for a fix and boot floppys. I think it was quoted in a link above by sammy.
Ok, this may sound silly, but how can I type ":" after the volume label in recovery console.
Tried every possible keyboard combination, but couldn't find the colon.
Another question: can i use XP Home edition recovery CD to use recovery console for repairing XP Professional ?
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!
If it's not seeing the boot.ini then the file system is probably corrupt. Boot into recovery console and do a full chkdsk (where it scans and fixes all errors) from the command line. Google for the commands in recovery console that are available.
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.
First of all I'm glad that I found this site. I had that dreaded missing or corrupt file message. Did what was posted and it's fixed. An observation I would like to pass was that I had no problems running XP on this problem computer until I took apart an old Compaq 5190, removed the RAM and installed it into this one. I used the upgraded RAM a short while and then removed it. That's when I started to get the alert. The RAM was marked Hyndai. Maybe HYUNDAI should maybe keep working on their cars instead of PC parts. I hope this little bit of info might help someone pinpoint their problems. Oh yeah, sorry to revive an old thread.
For some weird reason I too have the "windows\system32\config\system is either missing or corrupt".
Ive followed the trend of placing my windows XP home edition into the drive and allowing it to boot up. I then enter the recovery console, trying all the commands such as CD \ and md tmp (as highlighted in many of the webpages provided) to no avail. It replies by saying there is no floppy disc or CD in the drive! which i do not understand.
I then went back and looked at whether i could do a fresh install of windows XP, however it doesnt even discover a partition and if i do anything from there i get the BSOD.
I have been left completely bewildered and i beg for your kind help.
thank you
Gary P.
P.S. here is information on the laptop
(as taken by the website i got it from)
THE AJP D900T-M
17” TFT WUXGA (1920x1200) Glossy with Wide Viewing Angle
• Intel Pentium 4 Processor 650 - Processor speed 3.4GHz (up to 3.8GHz) with 800MHz FSB, Hyper-Threading & 2MB Cache
• Intel 915P Chipset (PCI Express)
• 1GB DDR2 RAM 533MHz (up to 2.8GB)
• 80GB HDD 7200RPM S-ATA (Additional bay for 2nd HDD option with RAID 0 & RAID 1 support, upgradeable to 200GB)
• 8 x DVD-RW/CD-RW Dual Format (+/-) & Dual Layer (+)
• Additional bay for optional 2nd Optical Drive (fast copy facility)
• Built in 7-in-1 Card Reader
• PCI Express NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800
• 256MB DDR3 Video RAM & DirectX 9 support
• Optional Nvidia Quadro FX Go 1400 (CAD – CAM users) or Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 (for ultimate gaming)
• Intel Azalia High Definition Sound with Virtual 8 Channel output
• Built in Audio DJ CD Player & MP3 Player
• 4x Built in Speakers & Sub Woofer Module
• Built in Wireless LAN 802.11b/g card
• Built in Bluetooth
• (Optional) Built in TV Tuner and Remote Control
• Built in 56K fax/modem
• Built in 10/100/1000-Giga LAN Ethernet Adapter
• Ports: 4xUSB 2.0, 2x IEEE Firewire, IrDA, TV/HDTV-Out, Video In (with TV Tuner only), Parallel, Serial, DVI-out, PS/2, S/P Dif output
• Built in Video Camera
• Full size keyboard & separate numeric keypad
• Smart Li-Ion Battery **
• Dimensions: 397mm (w) x 298mm (d) x 49.5mm (h)
• Weight: 5.2Kg
• 36 months RTB Warranty (Initial 12 Months; Parts and Labour, following 24 Months; Labour only)
• Windows XP Home with CD & Manual
This probably just highlights how windows has completely failed on my system.
I went to the link and did as it said and now my system seems to be ok, but I am gonna get my DVD burner working and back everything up and just format my machine, thank you everyone for your help and everyone who's posted here.
I have the same problem: windows could not start because of the following file is missing or corrupt: \windows\system32\config\system.
It happened after a failed system restore to a previous date.
I tried to fix it using the Repair Console:
First, I din't find the file "system" or "system.bak" nowhere in my computer so, I con not copy the file to \\system32\config.
When I tried to do an install\repair, it takes do the following steps:
1 At the welcome screen I skip the Repair using the Recovery Console and press enter to continue the installation.
2 pree F8 to the licence agreement.
3 IN the next screens, I get the following options:
To set up windows xp on the selected item, press ENTER
To create a partition in the unpartitioned space, press "C"
To delete the selected partition, press "D"
4 I choose the partition where the system is and press enter. I press enter and get the following screen:
You choose to install windows XP... improperly.
Caution: Installing multiple operating systems...
to continuo setup using this partition, press "C"
To select a different partition, press "ESC".
5 The next screen, says:
Setup will install Windows XP on partition
C: Partitionxxx
Use the UP and DOWN ARROW....
Format the partition using the NTFS file system (Quick)
Format the partition using the NTFS file system
Leave the current file system intact (no changes)
This is as far as I have goten because I afraid to loose my data if I contiue.
My computer has windows XP SP2, the original cd has Windows XP sp1
I would really appreciate some advice.
Well!!! I decided to go on and reinstal the system under the option: Leave the current file system intact (no changes).
I will have to reinstall all the programs but my data is safe.
i really need help on this as soon as possible.. i also think i totaly screwed myself, 2 days ago i got the evil windows\system32\config\system missing or corrupt error.. dont know why or how this happend.. i just restarted my comp when my cd drive was being a pain (it stopped working and the cd was stuck inside) after restarting the comp i was able to get the cd out but the error struck.. and for once i thought id fix this myself without the aid of my older brother who always (almost unwillingly) fixes my comp.. so i formated the HD.. now after the first step of the windows XP installation it says the computer will reboot in 15 seconds or press enter to reboot, after the computer reboots itself i get the windows\system32\config\system error how do i fix this if i cant install windows? i only hav access to phoenix award CMOS setup utility on the startup and the recovery console (which i think has no use becuase i formated).
also it somtimes gets stuck on DMI pool data randomly
im starting to think its hardware related.. either my HD CDrom or my ram (which is 256 - 512 mixed no idea which types further than that) im having a hard time getting on the net as it is so if sombody could reply to this soon it would be a massive help.
80gb HD
256 geforce6800LE
768 mb ram
2.5ghz intel celeron (hate the thing)
ask for anything more specific and ill try my best to find it out
Well xfenrirx I don’t have any idea of why this happen. To me, it happened after a failed SYSTEM RESTORE fortunately, I was able to get all my data back.
Since you don’t have any data to worry about, let’s start from scratch.
no A: drive on this comp lol, im trying to find ppl nearby that could possibly do this for me. really hope this does the trick, if not then it must be hardware related right?
Well xfenrirx I don’t have any idea of why this happen. To me, it happened after a failed SYSTEM RESTORE fortunately, I was able to get all my data back.
Since you don’t have any data to worry about, let’s start from scratch.
This utility, erase everything from your computer, including partitions.
After you run this utility, you got nothing but a completely blank HD.
Since you don’t have an OS on your computer, you will need a boot disk (floppy or cd)
I’m supposing you have access to another computer and also access to the Internet.
Download Windows 98 SE from bootdisk.com to your desktop
Insert blank floppy in A: Drive
Double click boot98se.exe and click Run
Click Ok to “Insert floppy to write
Click Yes to Disk is not empty, all data on your disk will be lost, Do you want to continue? Dialog box.
The program start copying files to the A: Drive.
Let it run.
Insert the floppy on the troublesome PC, and turn it ON.
On the first screen choose 1. Start computer with CD-ROM support and let it run. (we are not installing yet, so any option will do it)
Since you may have your hard drive formatted with the NTFS file system, don’t pay attention to the warnings about the hard drive or viruses.
Insert the floppy containing del-pat
At the command prompt type del-pat and press ENTER,
The cursor will blink for a minute or so.
Know, you can start a fresh install.
Caranvalo
Why would you tell someone to format their drive? Even if he needed to do a fresh install you do not need to format the drive to get around this problem. Uhhhhh gee he could do a fresh install to a differant directory. This isnt win98.
AND EVEN IF HE DID NEED TO FORMAT .... HE WOULD DO IT OFF THE XP CD FOR GAWDS SAKE! Welcome to the new world of XP. Please learn how to do stuff the modern way!
now im just confused.. i really hate pc's for this sorta thing -.-; im stupid formating my drive before even looking into this but im not sure if its because somthing is still on there causing this error.. ive already formated a few times through the windows XP cd and the error still persists i dont think anything is wrong with the cd ive used it many times before and it would be just weird that the error i got in the first place is the same thing wrong with the cd =/ so pretty sure theres nothing wrong with the cd, or does the format still leave main system files intact? :S im causing so much trouble for everybody if u got any ideas about whats wrong tex please give some advice too i would appreciate it.
dude its not your drive. Never was. No you did not need to format. And if you formated SEVERAL times trust me here..... there is nothing still on that drive that is causing you problems. You killed ever tiny bit of data on that drive.
And I did not mean YOU were clueless!
Start with a memory tester like memtest or docmemory etc...
no idea how im gonna use that memtest on my comp, but i just tested each stick of ram and even replaced them both with another stick (the unused stick is a bit funny, it resets the comp) and the moniter wouldnt even work lol tried onboard graphics + my graphics card slots nothing :S switched it back to my normal ram and the moniter was fine again so i cant really tell if my other ram is dodgy or if my current ram is fine =.= i could hav to buy a new stick of ram all together and it still wouldnt work lol then id replace my HD and then it doesnt work then its all omgwtfbbq *destroy + stress*
no idea how im gonna use that memtest on my comp...
You can download either a floppy or cdrom version of Memtest-86. The floppy version will guide you through making a bootable disk. The CD version is an iso file which should be burned as an image file to make bootable CD. Boot from whichever disk you make and the rest is automatic.
well for some reason i just managed to setup windows xp... and then the comp restarted and the error once again has shown its ugly face, maybe i can use the recovery console cmds or doesnt this change anything? x_x my hopes just got totaly crushed.. i thought it was ok:(
well for now i think its fixed.. but i do agree with you there could be a ram problem, my comp is back onto windows XP desktop.. after managing (somehow) to install windows XP the recovery console cmds worked
chkdsk /p
fixboot
then exit
and it was fine well fine for now atleast, soon as i get my net connection up and running ill get this ram test.
In my Case i think im SCREWED. I have this same Problem. I have XP Media Edition i dont have the CD. I have a dell 9100 pentium d 2.8ghz. I tried putting in a XP home cd and it freezes at the installation question. This is the only comp i have. In my case i think i just need a new HD to install so i can access the files off my other one. IF NOT PLEASE HELP ME!
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
Tex, I have an IBM T23 laptop, replaced the hard drive, loaded on XP Pro, running fine. Updated it to SP2. Added PC-Cillin, etc etc. It was running fine, and for the first week, i guess, i never shut it down, i would just logoff and close the screen, and then reopen it and all was well. however, i just got back from vacation and thought, i should really just shut it down. When I went to start it, i got the dreaded "windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" etc etc and when I get to the point where I can hit "r" to repair, it takes me to the C:\WINDOWS\ prompt....and I am CLUELESS.
i'm above novice, but wouldn't mind being told how to fix this as if you were telling your grandma (unless she is Grandma Tex....)
- PS - i ran " C:\WINDOWS>chkdsk c: /r " and this is what i've ended up with:
Volume created 03/07/06 10:31p
The volume Serial Number is 60ec-799f
CHKDSK is checking the volume...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
51% completed.
And thats it. won't go past it.
I need to be able to use my computer at home to do work...but i don't want to take it somewhere and have them charge me out the wazoo...i just replaced the HD, and loaded XP Pro and it shouldn't require me to reload XP every time i want to use the computer....sheesh.
Comments
Regarding the password, it may have been blank, as in don't type in anything.
As for it mysteriously working again after an incomplete attempt at running Setup, it could be this: During the early stages of Setup, Windows does a couple of preliminary tasks like examining your Hard Drive, copying a few basic boot files, and generally preparing the system for the installation. It's the digital equivalent of spackling holes in the wall before applying a fresh coat of paint.
My guess would be that your whole problem was due to having one or more of those basic files become corrupted during the unsafe shutdown you mentioned previously. When you started the Setup process they were replaced, getting you right back in business.
Well, needless to say I am a victim too (man, I feel like this is a support group). Before I get into where I stand, here are my specs: (home built rig 2.5 - 3 years old)
AMD 1900+ on Soyo Dragon plus board.
Originally (prior to problem) 2 sticks generic pc2100 512 MB (slots 1 and 2)
ATI All in Wonder 9700
Soundblaster Audigy 2
3 HD, 2 40G WD, 1 160G WD
Sony dual layer DVD/CD burner (dru 810a).(currently running as secondary slave)
XP PRO
All was going well until I tried to add another stick of 512 MB into slot 3. Began to get reboots (I imagine the heat was just pushed too far). I pulled out the new stick after getting the above error, with of course no change. I then went so far as to put in just one stick (alternating which one I used) in all 3 slots.
I tried to change the bios to read the cd first without success (still showed the error page and any keystroke rebooted the computer.)
Changed all boot devices to the cd at which time I received an error that my cd was not a system disk and that I should change it and hit enter.
So...
I have read the entire string...can I use the download from MS on the floppies INSTEAD of the cd? (I have to get floppies....have not used them in forever). Is there a reason it is not seeing my PRO disc as a system disc? If I borrow someone else's, will I possibly get better results with the cd? If I am not able to get this repaired, is it possible that I can hook up the hard drive as a slave on another computer and at least get the data? (I don't think the drive is dead according to what I am reading here). Are there any questions I am missing? Can you give me the answers to the missing questions?
Any help that can be offered would be much appreciated. I don't mind getting a new drive if that is what it is going to take, but I would like to be able to get the data back...there are pictures on there that have been added since the last backup (about 2 weeks ago) and I really want to get them as they cannot be replaced.
Thank you very much for your time.
Fammy
scan up about 5 posts from here. Shorty posted links for a fix and boot floppys. I think it was quoted in a link above by sammy.
Tex
Tried every possible keyboard combination, but couldn't find the colon.
Another question: can i use XP Home edition recovery CD to use recovery console for repairing XP Professional ?
Tex
Thank you i'll try it...
First of all I'm glad that I found this site. I had that dreaded missing or corrupt file message. Did what was posted and it's fixed. An observation I would like to pass was that I had no problems running XP on this problem computer until I took apart an old Compaq 5190, removed the RAM and installed it into this one. I used the upgraded RAM a short while and then removed it. That's when I started to get the alert. The RAM was marked Hyndai. Maybe HYUNDAI should maybe keep working on their cars instead of PC parts. I hope this little bit of info might help someone pinpoint their problems. Oh yeah, sorry to revive an old thread.
Ive followed the trend of placing my windows XP home edition into the drive and allowing it to boot up. I then enter the recovery console, trying all the commands such as CD \ and md tmp (as highlighted in many of the webpages provided) to no avail. It replies by saying there is no floppy disc or CD in the drive! which i do not understand.
I then went back and looked at whether i could do a fresh install of windows XP, however it doesnt even discover a partition and if i do anything from there i get the BSOD.
I have been left completely bewildered and i beg for your kind help.
thank you
Gary P.
P.S. here is information on the laptop
(as taken by the website i got it from)
THE AJP D900T-M
17” TFT WUXGA (1920x1200) Glossy with Wide Viewing Angle
• Intel Pentium 4 Processor 650 - Processor speed 3.4GHz (up to 3.8GHz) with 800MHz FSB, Hyper-Threading & 2MB Cache
• Intel 915P Chipset (PCI Express)
• 1GB DDR2 RAM 533MHz (up to 2.8GB)
• 80GB HDD 7200RPM S-ATA (Additional bay for 2nd HDD option with RAID 0 & RAID 1 support, upgradeable to 200GB)
• 8 x DVD-RW/CD-RW Dual Format (+/-) & Dual Layer (+)
• Additional bay for optional 2nd Optical Drive (fast copy facility)
• Built in 7-in-1 Card Reader
• PCI Express NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800
• 256MB DDR3 Video RAM & DirectX 9 support
• Optional Nvidia Quadro FX Go 1400 (CAD – CAM users) or Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 (for ultimate gaming)
• Intel Azalia High Definition Sound with Virtual 8 Channel output
• Built in Audio DJ CD Player & MP3 Player
• 4x Built in Speakers & Sub Woofer Module
• Built in Wireless LAN 802.11b/g card
• Built in Bluetooth
• (Optional) Built in TV Tuner and Remote Control
• Built in 56K fax/modem
• Built in 10/100/1000-Giga LAN Ethernet Adapter
• Ports: 4xUSB 2.0, 2x IEEE Firewire, IrDA, TV/HDTV-Out, Video In (with TV Tuner only), Parallel, Serial, DVI-out, PS/2, S/P Dif output
• Built in Video Camera
• Full size keyboard & separate numeric keypad
• Smart Li-Ion Battery **
• Dimensions: 397mm (w) x 298mm (d) x 49.5mm (h)
• Weight: 5.2Kg
• 36 months RTB Warranty (Initial 12 Months; Parts and Labour, following 24 Months; Labour only)
• Windows XP Home with CD & Manual
Instead of C:\WINDOWS I only get C:\>
This probably just highlights how windows has completely failed on my system.
windows cannot start cuz of missing or corrupt :
windows\system32\config\system
i did a chkdsk /p under C:\WINDOWS>
it says:
CHKDSK found one or more errors on the volume.
what do i need or can do next?
i am using a copy of XP pro with a
Gigabyte K7 Triton nForce 2 Chipset
1gig of RAM
Radeon 9600 Pro
I went to the link and did as it said and now my system seems to be ok, but I am gonna get my DVD burner working and back everything up and just format my machine, thank you everyone for your help and everyone who's posted here.
thank you.
I have the same problem: windows could not start because of the following file is missing or corrupt: \windows\system32\config\system.
It happened after a failed system restore to a previous date.
I tried to fix it using the Repair Console:
First, I din't find the file "system" or "system.bak" nowhere in my computer so, I con not copy the file to \\system32\config.
When I tried to do an install\repair, it takes do the following steps:
1 At the welcome screen I skip the Repair using the Recovery Console and press enter to continue the installation.
2 pree F8 to the licence agreement.
3 IN the next screens, I get the following options:
To set up windows xp on the selected item, press ENTER
To create a partition in the unpartitioned space, press "C"
To delete the selected partition, press "D"
4 I choose the partition where the system is and press enter. I press enter and get the following screen:
You choose to install windows XP... improperly.
Caution: Installing multiple operating systems...
to continuo setup using this partition, press "C"
To select a different partition, press "ESC".
5 The next screen, says:
Setup will install Windows XP on partition
C: Partitionxxx
Use the UP and DOWN ARROW....
Format the partition using the NTFS file system (Quick)
Format the partition using the NTFS file system
Leave the current file system intact (no changes)
This is as far as I have goten because I afraid to loose my data if I contiue.
My computer has windows XP SP2, the original cd has Windows XP sp1
I would really appreciate some advice.
Well!!! I decided to go on and reinstal the system under the option: Leave the current file system intact (no changes).
I will have to reinstall all the programs but my data is safe.
Thanks a lot!!!
also it somtimes gets stuck on DMI pool data randomly
im starting to think its hardware related.. either my HD CDrom or my ram (which is 256 - 512 mixed no idea which types further than that) im having a hard time getting on the net as it is so if sombody could reply to this soon it would be a massive help.
80gb HD
256 geforce6800LE
768 mb ram
2.5ghz intel celeron (hate the thing)
ask for anything more specific and ill try my best to find it out
thanks in advance
Since you don’t have any data to worry about, let’s start from scratch.
Download del-pat from
http://www.fryssupport.net/downloads/gq/gq3131/del-pat.zip
This utility, erase everything from your computer, including partitions.
After you run this utility, you got nothing but a completely blank HD.
Since you don’t have an OS on your computer, you will need a boot disk (floppy or cd)
I’m supposing you have access to another computer and also access to the Internet.
Download Windows 98 SE from bootdisk.com to your desktop
Insert blank floppy in A: Drive
Double click boot98se.exe and click Run
Click Ok to “Insert floppy to write
Click Yes to Disk is not empty, all data on your disk will be lost, Do you want to continue? Dialog box.
The program start copying files to the A: Drive.
Let it run.
Insert the floppy on the troublesome PC, and turn it ON.
On the first screen choose 1. Start computer with CD-ROM support and let it run. (we are not installing yet, so any option will do it)
Since you may have your hard drive formatted with the NTFS file system, don’t pay attention to the warnings about the hard drive or viruses.
Insert the floppy containing del-pat
At the command prompt type del-pat and press ENTER,
The cursor will blink for a minute or so.
Know, you can start a fresh install.
Caranvalo
ill let you know how it all turns out.
thanks, Fen
Why would you tell someone to format their drive? Even if he needed to do a fresh install you do not need to format the drive to get around this problem. Uhhhhh gee he could do a fresh install to a differant directory. This isnt win98.
AND EVEN IF HE DID NEED TO FORMAT .... HE WOULD DO IT OFF THE XP CD FOR GAWDS SAKE! Welcome to the new world of XP. Please learn how to do stuff the modern way!
Tex
thanks again, Fen (the clueless noobie)
And I did not mean YOU were clueless!
Start with a memory tester like memtest or docmemory etc...
~Fen
chkdsk /p
fixboot
then exit
and it was fine well fine for now atleast, soon as i get my net connection up and running ill get this ram test.
thanks everyone for your support, Fen
Good luck.
Tex, I have an IBM T23 laptop, replaced the hard drive, loaded on XP Pro, running fine. Updated it to SP2. Added PC-Cillin, etc etc. It was running fine, and for the first week, i guess, i never shut it down, i would just logoff and close the screen, and then reopen it and all was well. however, i just got back from vacation and thought, i should really just shut it down. When I went to start it, i got the dreaded "windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" etc etc and when I get to the point where I can hit "r" to repair, it takes me to the C:\WINDOWS\ prompt....and I am CLUELESS.
i'm above novice, but wouldn't mind being told how to fix this as if you were telling your grandma (unless she is Grandma Tex....)
- PS - i ran " C:\WINDOWS>chkdsk c: /r " and this is what i've ended up with:
Volume created 03/07/06 10:31p
The volume Serial Number is 60ec-799f
CHKDSK is checking the volume...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
51% completed.
And thats it. won't go past it.
I need to be able to use my computer at home to do work...but i don't want to take it somewhere and have them charge me out the wazoo...i just replaced the HD, and loaded XP Pro and it shouldn't require me to reload XP every time i want to use the computer....sheesh.
Thanks
James