ntoskrnl.exe is missing or corrupted - windows won't boot

[brianstorm]

Hi,

I've just reinstalled windows because of this very problem which has
re-occurred... i'd like to get to the bottom of it... the ntoskrnl.exe
file is definitely there.. last time this occurred i replaced it and
that didn't help... having searched the net i found various suggestions
for causes and it is not the keyboard being faulty... my hard disks are
fine (i've checked them using spinrite)....

it seems that my boot.ini file may be a problem... is there a tool to
enable me to view this under dos? or something i can run from a cd? can
anyone suggest what i might try? i have run mbrwzrd.exe but this only
tells me which partitiosn are active....


all help / guidance / idea apprecciated... i'm hoping not to reinstall
windows again (and of course i hadn't got the install backed up to be
able to restore it yet)


also, does anyone know why this might have happened twice in a month?



thanks


brian

 

[brianstorm]

more info...

when i boot the computer the options to load operating system are
there...i can also get into safe mode (etc), but when windows itself
begins to load the error message is displayed

 

[John John]

EditBINI http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html

If you make an Emergency Repair Disc (ERD) when you install Windows 2000
and regularly keep it updated you can use it to repair these kinds of
errors.

How to Create an Emergency Repair Disk in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/231777/

If the problem is only the relatively minor boot.ini file missing or
corrupt you can boot the computer with a boot floppy disk and then fix
the boot file.

How To Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301680/

http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/
(Note that by default Windows 2000 is installed to the WINNT folder, not
WINDOWS. If you use the all purpose boot.ini file supplied by Bart you
need to be changed accordingly to reflect the proper Windows 2000 path).

Did you run a chkdsk /r on the disc? Also, don't store unnecessary
files in the root folder (c:\). Having too many files in the root can
cause problems with the system files.

John

 

[John John]

EditBINI http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html

If you make an Emergency Repair Disc (ERD) when you install Windows 2000
and regularly keep it updated you can use it to repair these kinds of
errors.

How to Create an Emergency Repair Disk in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/231777/

If the problem is only the relatively minor boot.ini file missing or
corrupt you can boot the computer with a boot floppy disk and then fix
the boot file.

How To Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301680/

http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/
(Note that by default Windows 2000 is installed to the WINNT folder, not
WINDOWS. If you use the all purpose boot.ini file supplied by Bart you
need to be changed accordingly to reflect the proper Windows 2000 path).

Did you run a chkdsk /r on the disc? Also, don't store unnecessary
files in the root folder (c:\). Having too many files in the root can
cause problems with the system files.

John

 

[Stubby]

more info...

when i boot the computer the options to load operating system are
there...i can also get into safe mode (etc), but when windows itself
begins to load the error message is displayed

Just a guess: your boot.ini is broken. You are probably booting the
wrong version of Win2K. Boot.ini tells the loader where to find the
operating system program file (NTOSKRNL.EXE).

Borrow a friend's Win2K system and format a floppy on it. Copy
ntdetect.com, ntldr and his boot.ini . These might be hidden so you
will have to unhide them.

Add a stand-alone text editor to the floppy. You will use this to
fiddle with the boot.ini file on the floppy. Note: The boot.ini from
your friend's machine might be fine.

Try to boot with the floppy in your machine. If it doesn't work, edit
boot.ini on the floppy to try other partitions( 1, 2, 3, 4).
You should be able to find the original OS in one of those.

Good luck.