corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

mr-prick

hello i am new and i have joined because i was hoping for some help with
my HP TC4200 tablet with XP PRO.
this is my problem:

Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

i have tried this

<table class="list ol"><tbody><tr><td class="number">1.</td><td class="text">Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.
Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so. </td></tr><tr><td class="number">2.</td><td class="text">When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console. </td></tr><tr><td class="number">3.</td><td class="text">If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console. </td></tr><tr><td class="number">4.</td><td class="text">When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.</td></tr><tr><td class="number">5.</td><td class="text">At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line: md tmp
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak

delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
delete c:\windows\system32\config\default

copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default

</td></tr><tr><td class="number">
</td><td class="text">6.Type exit to quit Recovery Console. Your computer will restart.

</td></tr></tbody></table>but i cannot gain access though command prompt to try to manually save my files. (no i don`t have them ALL backed up most but not all)
i would like to do this myself not just to save money but to learn as well.
i have talked to HP live support and the guy was stumped.
i can not log on as administrator because there is no option available to me for that.
this is where i get lost from the about "fix" i found online.
if there is a sticky or some links that would be nice.
thanks

Thrax

Okay, we're going to attempt to recover your data. First we have to verify if your hard drive is good. Please follow this guide:

http://icrontic.com/articles/hard_drive_diagnostics

If that succeeds, do this:
http://icrontic.com/articles/easy_data_recovery

If that fails, then this:
http://icrontic.com/articles/advanced_data_recovery

And after all is said and done:

Reinstall windows with this:
http://icrontic.com/articles/repair_install_windows_xp

This is your only guaranteed solution.

mr-prick

should i enter my license and install in all files to \windows folder?
will this overwrite the whole disc?

mr-prick

Thrax wrote:

Okay, we're going to attempt to recover your data. First we have to verify if your hard drive is good. Please follow this guide:
i am pretty sure its good i ran the tests

mr-prick

can`t i just repair the folder that is missing or corrupt?
i don`t want to get all gonzo with my hard drive yet.
i am not a pro.

Thrax

No, you can't just repair it. We see a lot of this problem here, and this is the only fix that is 100% <i>guaranteed</i> to solve it.

mr-prick

i cannot find the parts for this locally so i guess i`m SOL as far as data back up.
my reinstall steps seem to be different than the tutorial.
the collecting info part only has mew install (advanced) for an option to replace windows
on a separate disk or partition, after selecting that i have the licensing agreement and product key placement.
then i have setup options(advanced,accessibility,language)

mr-prick

ok
after some skulduggery i was finally able to do the repair
but it is kinda shaky, some missing drivers but my folders and programs seem to be intact.