winxp will not boot

[lowpatm]

when turning on the laptop, this message appears:
the following file is missing or corrupt-Window\system32
\config\system. it says to repair the file by starting
window setup using the original setup cd-rom. However,
this came with xp installed and all I have is a recovery
disk--this disk will wipe the harddrive and I will loose
all data. Is there anyway to avoid that???

 

[Jack]

Does your Recovery CD not come with an option of a 'non-destructive' restore?

 

[lowpatm]

no, it does not---just warns you that it will erase the
hard drive if you continue--

-----Original Message-----
Does your Recovery CD not come with an option of a 'non- destructive' restore?



"lowpatm" <[email protected]> wrote in

message news:[email protected]...

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Read this:

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry [Q307545]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

And use the boot disks here to load a limited version of the Recovery
Console:

Home edition:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=33290

Professional edition:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=33291

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org