HELP: \windows\system32\config\system is missing or corrupt...

edited June 2007 in Hardware
I have a Dell computer with Windows XP, and now it won't turn on. Well, it does the thing where it loads, and has the Dell sign, but then when it should be loading with the Windows XP sign....it beeps and says...

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
/windows/system32/config/system

You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the original Setup CD-ROM.
Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.

My computer did not come with a setup CD, but my parents computer did, and I have that CD.

I can do the boot computer through CD thing, and get to the Windows Setup, and I can press 'R' to repair it.....but then I don't know what to do after that.

Thank you so much for your help!

Comments

  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited June 2007
    Read this great article by Icrontic author Thrax:

    Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands.

    It addresses exactly the problem you are having.

    Dexter...
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    Keep in mind that my guide may not work. It has worked for some of Icrontic's very own members, but for others it has been a miss. There are many causes for the symptom you are describing, and unfortunately nobody has ever been able to pin down more than a handful of obvious culprits, which makes the issue very hard to troubleshoot.
  • edited June 2007
    Thank you for the link to the article...it did not end up working, however. My dad & I tried to do what the article described many times, and still got the same error message. We ended up calling Dell & they sent us out the OS CD, and we're in the process of installing that now......and we're crossing our fingers hoping this works!! :bigggrin:

    Fantastic article, by the way. Very informative & well written!


    Thanks for your help!
  • IndigoRedIndigoRed Perth Western Australia Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    Not a bad response time from Dell! Assuming you went to them after your post...
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