can't startup....

[susanlynn]

I ran "systemsuite" last night to do an "all-in-one". It
defraged, and a few other things. My problem is this
morning when I woke up and restarted my computer IT WON'T
STARTUP! I get a message that says COULD NOT START
BECAUSE THE FOLLOWING IS MISSING OR CORRUPT
\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEMced
I have tried repairing windows 2000 with the
disk...doesn't work. The only other option I think I have
is to overwrite windows 2000. But it says it will
overwrite the system, and also delete "my documents"
(after choosing an option that says to leave intact). I
need what's in my documents, and a few other pieces of
work. (I know I should have backed up.) Is there a way I
can get what's in my documents and/or save my stuff? I
would rather not have to wipe out and redo everything.

 

[Nestor]

I've had this same problem before and there's several ways
you can fix this. The problem lies with the size of the
registry. There is a limit as to how big it can grow and if
it gets past this limit then the PC will not boot (note
that the max. limit can be increased). Luckily, Windows
saves a backup copy of the registry that you can use to
boot your computer. So, you have two options:

1) The first and more complicated option is the use the CD
to boot into Recovery Console. More info on that can be
found here:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=269075

2) The second option is the reinstall Windows but to a
different folder so as not to overwrite your existing data.
You can then safely transfer data from the olde
installation. Simply run the installation again, choose an
existing disk, and when it asks you for the directory
specify something else other than C:\WINNT. Make sure not
to format the drive so you can maintain your data. Hope
this helps.