Win XP "corrupt/missing" system error

yiftachyiftach San Diego
edited December 2004 in Hardware
I'm working for a client who ran into the "Windows failed to start up due to ..\config\system missing or corrupt" error and undertook the repair on his own, so now there's two installations of XP on this machine: one that doesn't start up (the original, presumably) and one that doesn't show any of the existing programs or documents (although they're all on the HD).

1. Can and should I remove the newer installation?
2. Would it be beneficial (or even possible at this point) to follow the procedure Tex outlined in another thread based on this error to repair the original installation?
3. What other suggestions, if any, do y'all have?

Mucho thanks from a devout Short Media convert.

Comments

  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited December 2004
    well it depends what he did to install this new version of windows. if he installed it by writing over the old one, then hes screwed, his registry is gone, end of story. if he put it in a different working directory then i would guess that all he REALLY needed to do was a repair installation on the old one. in which case you can delete the new one, and repair the old one, and all should be well
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    Are the operating systems installed on seperate partitions? If you run the repair installation, does it show 2 OS? Maybe you could edit the boot.ini, remove the second OS and repair install.
  • yiftachyiftach San Diego
    edited December 2004
    I don't think he wrote over the old one; if he did so, would we still get the menu at startup to choose which OS to start up with?

    How do I find out if they're on separate partitions? If they are, how do I go about deleting the new one/otherwise editing boot.ini without a text editor?

    Anyone willing to step through this with me on the phone, next week?
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited December 2004
    no if you get a menu you ought to be safe removing the second one. windows should pick up the change and alter itself accordingly
  • yiftachyiftach San Diego
    edited December 2004
    That's what I thought. So I should start up with the CD, and then what? Not initially choose the repair option, but then choose to remove one of the installations? I'm not in front of that machine right now, so I can't really run thru the process...
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