Anyone know why this happened?

[Guest]

I had the message "\window\system32\config\system file is corrupt or
missing......" and the computer wouldn't boot. Running XP home. Tried safe
mode and last know... , nothing, so I googled the newsgroups and found some
solutions to try. All I did was boot to the recovery console and I did a
chkdsk and it said everything was ok. I turned it off and was going to try
the rename the system file trick that someone recommended but when I turned
it back on, the pc booted as normal! It had been down for a few days with
the same error. I don't think chkdsk did anything and I checked the event
log and there is nothing listed. So, I am happy it is back and running again
but a little nervous this might happen again.

So my question, can anyone give me any usual reasons why this happens?
Anyway I can find out? We didn't add any new hardware or software, and I did
a pc check on the hard drive and it found no bad sectors. Anything I can do
to prevent it happening again or is it just a strange glitch.

All theories accepted! Thanks in advance.
Wendie

 

[Johnathan]

I had the message "\window\system32\config\system file is corrupt or
missing......" and the computer wouldn't boot. Running XP home.
Tried safe mode and last know... , nothing, so I googled the
newsgroups and found some solutions to try. All I did was boot to
the recovery console and I did a chkdsk and it said everything was
ok. I turned it off and was going to try the rename the system file
trick that someone recommended but when I turned it back on, the pc
booted as normal! It had been down for a few days with the same
error. I don't think chkdsk did anything and I checked the event log
and there is nothing listed. So, I am happy it is back and running
again but a little nervous this might happen again.

So my question, can anyone give me any usual reasons why this happens?
Anyway I can find out? We didn't add any new hardware or software,
and I did a pc check on the hard drive and it found no bad sectors.
Anything I can do to prevent it happening again or is it just a
strange glitch.

All theories accepted! Thanks in advance.
Wendie

Never a bad idea to have a backup drive handy until a known fix arrives.
You could easily GHOST your OS to another drive and use it if your system
gets completely corrupt. If you have not done this before it can take as
little as a few minutes to remove a HDD and replace it. Much faster than
some debugging process that can take days or longer.

Good luck.
John

 

[Peter Foldes]

Unless it happens regularly I would think your computer had a hiccup which can happen at times

 

[Leythos]

So my question, can anyone give me any usual reasons why this happens?
Anyway I can find out? We didn't add any new hardware or software, and I did
a pc check on the hard drive and it found no bad sectors. Anything I can do
to prevent it happening again or is it just a strange glitch.

A "glitch" is the technical term for it, but here are several reasons
why it happens:

1) Power blip that causes your system to reset while you are working on
it.

2) Power blip (includes resetting the computer by powering it off
improperly) while you are using it - or while you are not using it.

3) Improperly designed software that would access system files in a non-
read-only manner

4) Physical problems with the disk drive

5) Problems with the disk I/O system and some other driver

6) Problems with some software / driver on your computer that cause an
exception error (typically called a BSOD) even if you don't get a BSOD.

7) Faulty/unclean FAN's on the system - these allow the computer to
over-heat at just the wrong moment and you end up with #1 or #2 above
without the power part.

8) Random faults while connecting/disconnecting a USB device.

9) Virus or other malware, or even something you download that you think
is legit (like software from Butts site) that may not really be legit.

There are more.....

 

[Guest]

Thank you! I've checked all the drivers are up to date, the HD is in good
order according to PC check, I discovered one of the kids must have
downloaded some hijack ware as the we've got internet optimizer hijacking the
search and preventing access to certain web pages, also 180 assist, cashback
and few other nuisance software. I took them off. Thanks everyone for the
input, I've got the drive backed up and let's just hope it was having a bad
day.
Wendie