File missing preventing boot-up

[billurie]

Sorry to be back again, fellows.
Suddenly my Master Drive will not boot. Halts at
"File missing, C:\windows\system32\config\system"
Instructions say use install CD and type "r" at first screen.
Followed instructions, typed 'r' for Recovery Console when I
got there, selected '1' for C:\windows (the only choice) and
it took me to the C:\windows prompt.

There are many many actions possible there, but I looked at
FIXBOOT and FIXMBR and figured I'd be safer asking your
advice rather than groping and breaking it further.

Information: Running this drive as a Slave, everything seems
clean. I did chkdsk/r on the faulty hard drive, and it did
some things during the 5 steps, ran it again and it
reported 'clean'.

 

[Jabez Gan]

Hey there,

I don't think that doing a FIXMBR or FIXBOOT will solve the issue, since I
believe that a/some file(s) are missing or corrupted.

Instead, try this:
Before Windows load, please tap on the key F8 and select Last Known Good....
If it loads properly, restart your PC and do not tap on F8 and see if
Windows can load properly.

If Last Known Good doesn't work, try entering Safe Mode and update me
whether it is possible.

 

[billurie]

Hey there,

I don't think that doing a FIXMBR or FIXBOOT will solve the issue, since I
believe that a/some file(s) are missing or corrupted.

Instead, try this:
Before Windows load, please tap on the key F8 and select Last Known Good....
If it loads properly, restart your PC and do not tap on F8 and see if
Windows can load properly.

If Last Known Good doesn't work, try entering Safe Mode and update me
whether it is possible.

Thank you, Jabez, but although I'm not an expert, I've been down
this road in the past. It won't go to where it will load any
of the Safe or Last Good mode.....it won't load any mode at all
Yes, it does say what specific file is missing, and I'm hoping
that somebody will tell me how to get that file back, from the CD,
to where it belongs.

 

[Jabez Gan]

Bill,

Please do the following in Recovery Console to transfer the file from a CD
(please copy the file system to a CD before doing the below):

set AllowAllPaths = True
set AllowRemovableMedia = True
copy E:\system C:\windows\system32\config\system

(Substitute E: to your CD Drive letter)

Hope this helps.

 

[Richard Urban]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[GTS]

This is a damaged registry file and a difficult problem and not always
repairable.. See http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545 which addresses
this error specifically and a possible recovery method. (Running the
chkdsk /r was a good move as this is sometimes the result of a failing hard
disk, though apparently not in your case.)

 

[Richard Urban]

DON'T DO THIS! It is wrong!

You need to copy the requisite files from your REPAIR FOLDER (not the CD) to
the correct location.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Jabez Gan]

Thanks Richard. I have forgotten about that.

Bill, I'm regrettably sorry but please see the other link that Richard
posted.

 

[billurie]

This is a damaged registry file and a difficult problem and not always
repairable.. See http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545 which addresses
this error specifically and a possible recovery method. (Running the
chkdsk /r was a good move as this is sometimes the result of a failing hard
disk, though apparently not in your case.)

Thank you, GTS, for the link to the KB article specifically addressing
this problem, as you indicated. Unless one of our other helpful friends
has a better suggestion, I don't think I have much alternative to
following the very complicated procedure furnished.

I will have to read those four pages very carefully, several times,
to make sure I understand each step. For example, Part two states
what to do for Home Edition ("follow these steps", and then a
detailed procedure, and I can only assume that what follows the next
four steps will apply to XP Professional Edition). After those steps,
there is a NOTE: The procedure described in this section assumes
that you are running your computer with the FAT32 file system. Well,
my XP has been all NTFS for several years now, so I'll have to sort
out what applies to XP Pro and to NTFS.

There is one more stumbling block, however: Late in the Article, in fact
the last step, is "Click System Restore, and then click Restore to a
previous RestorePoint. I am not ashamed to confess that I have no
previous RestorePoint, because, as these pages attest, I do a complete
HardDrive DriveImage at frequent intervals. I'm open to some sound
advice here, before I wade in up past the knees into waters that are
obviously not clear to me.

William B. Lurie

 

[GTS]

You're welcome and good luck. This procedure is complicated and not always
successful. You should have a Restore Point unless you actually turned of
System Restore. The NTFS references address access to the System Volume
Information folder, so if you really disabled system restore it will not be
applicable. It's fortunate that you image the drive. Restoring that backup
may well be the best solution. If it's up to date I'd be inclined to go
that route at the outset rather than the repair.
--

 

[billurie]

You're welcome and good luck. This procedure is complicated and not always
successful. You should have a Restore Point unless you actually turned of
System Restore. The NTFS references address access to the System Volume
Information folder, so if you really disabled system restore it will not be
applicable. It's fortunate that you image the drive. Restoring that backup
may well be the best solution. If it's up to date I'd be inclined to go
that route at the outset rather than the repair.

Right on, GTS. I had already decided that I'd use one of
the clones I've made. Even that process, with Drive Image 7,
is not foolproof. For practice, I did two a week and
practices Restore from their Recovery Environment, but
that also doesn't always work. Maybe as a learning
rxperience, I'll try 'this' technique sometime......
but first the way that has worked, as is vastly simpler.