Windows could not start because..............

[bently]

I just reformatted and reinstalled Win xp home because I was getting a
message at boot stating... "Windows could not start because the
following files were corrupt or missing.

\windows\system32\config\system

Repair by using setup CD ROM, select R at first screen to start repair."



I did that and went thru the entire repair process, reading every screen
and following instructions.

SHORT STORY... Windows got totally screwed up having various problems,
and I could not get on the internet.



I REFORMATTED and REINSTALLED WINDOWS XP HOME. Did all the MS windows
upgrades and reinstalled SP2.

Everything worked fine for 2 days, and now when I booted my computer
this evening, I got that same message...

"Windows could not start because the following files were corrupt or
missing.

\windows\system32\config\system

Repair using setup CD ROM, select R at first screen to start repair."

At that time, I just pressed R and windows booted up.


I ran Spybot, Ad Aware and EWIDO all with latest updates, and found 2
tracking cookies. Ran AVG w/latest update, found no virus.

Any ideas what could be causing this problem and what can I do to stop
it from happening again??

Thanks

bently

 

[George Hester]

Are you sure this:

\windows\system32\config\system

is correct? Not system.log is the file where the trouble is? If it is,
sounds like a hardware problem I suspect Disk Write caching is causing a
problem when shutting down. Or some software you have which is interfering
with normal shutdown. If the problem happens in a few days try to reinstall
and run like that for a bit before you install anything else at all.

 

[TaurArian [MVP]]

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry That Prevents Windows XP from Starting
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

Install and Use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307654

See also

How to Troubleshoot Registry Corruption Issues
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822705

 

[bently]

Thanks George & TaurArian,

George, I copied "\windows\system32\config\system" EXACTLY as shown on
my monitor.


TaurArian, thanks for the links, I will check them out.

BUT... I am really curious WHY this happened, not once but TWICE!!!

The first time it happened, I ran 8 different spyware/AV programs
looking for something wrong. HiJack this log did not show anything
wrong. The worst thing I found was TRACKING COOKIES, I immunized
against everything found.

Thanks again

bently

 

[Malke]

Thanks George & TaurArian,

George, I copied "\windows\system32\config\system" EXACTLY as shown
on my monitor.


TaurArian, thanks for the links, I will check them out.

BUT... I am really curious WHY this happened, not once but TWICE!!!

The first time it happened, I ran 8 different spyware/AV programs
looking for something wrong. HiJack this log did not show anything
wrong. The worst thing I found was TRACKING COOKIES, I immunized
against everything found.

If it continues to happen and you know you are practicing Safe Hex (see
link below), then you may be having hardware failure. In that case, I
would start by running diagnostics on the memory and hard drive.

http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

1) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an hour or two - unless errors are
seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

2) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Download
the file and make a bootable floppy or cd with it. Boot with the media
and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical errors, replace it.

Malke

 

[bently]

bently wrote:




If it continues to happen and you know you are practicing Safe Hex (see
link below), then you may be having hardware failure. In that case, I
would start by running diagnostics on the memory and hard drive.

http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

1) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an hour or two - unless errors are
seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

2) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Download
the file and make a bootable floppy or cd with it. Boot with the media
and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical errors, replace it.

Malke

Thanks Malke,

Problem...

http://www.memtest.org/

The above has maybe 30 different options... how does a person know
which to use?

Thanks again,

bently

 

[Malke]

Problem...

http://www.memtest.org/

The above has maybe 30 different options... how does a person know
which to use?

By reading the How-to on the site. ;-) I'll make it easy for you,
though. If you want to make a bootable cd, you will need third-party
burning software. The built-in XP version will not burn .iso's. If you
have the requirements, download the precompiled .iso in .zip format.

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

If you don't have the burning software, I see they now have a
precompiled .exe file to put on a usb thumbdrive (your computer must be
able to boot from a usb drive - check your BIOS) as well as the
precompiled package for floppy.

You will download whatever file fits your needs, unzip it, and make your
bootable media.

Malke