How to replace two system files?

[John Smith]

I have an XP machine. Have just replaced a couple files from a W7 machine.
The files are:-
c:\windows\system32\drivers\disk.sys
c:\windows\system32\drivers\partmgr.sys
....and now I can't boot the XP machine.
How to get back to before I replaced the files?
Thanks.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

I have an XP machine. Have just replaced a couple files from a W7
machine. The files are:-
c:\windows\system32\drivers\disk.sys
c:\windows\system32\drivers\partmgr.sys
...and now I can't boot the XP machine.
How to get back to before I replaced the files?
Thanks.

Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (or equivalent), then replace the
files from your WinXP installation CD. Alternatively you could connect the
disk as a slave disk to some other WinXP PC, then replace the files.

 

[Don Phillipson]

I have an XP machine. Have just replaced a couple files from a W7 machine.
The files are:-
c:\windows\system32\drivers\disk.sys
c:\windows\system32\drivers\partmgr.sys
...and now I can't boot the XP machine.
How to get back to before I replaced the files?

System Restore is usually the simplest day to
reboot WinXP in a known good configuration.

 

[John Smith]

System Restore is usually the simplest day to
reboot WinXP in a known good configuration.

======================
How can I do system restore?...I don't have a system restore CD. I have the
original XP CD if any good - but would like to not have to zap everything by
reinstalling Windows.
Thanks.

 

[John Smith]

Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (or equivalent), then replace the
files from your WinXP installation CD. Alternatively you could connect the
disk as a slave disk to some other WinXP PC, then replace the files.

============================
What is a Bart PE boot CD?...From where could I obtain same...How much would
it cost?

 

[John Doue]

System Restore is usually the simplest day to
reboot WinXP in a known good configuration.

There is no garantee this would work and it might have undesirable
consequences, depending on my the OP did on his machine before the
problem became evident.

Both files are located in c:\I386 with a sy_ extension. Expand each file
by using the expand.exe command located in c:\i386.

 

[John Doue]

======================
How can I do system restore?...I don't have a system restore CD. I have
the original XP CD if any good - but would like to not have to zap
everything by reinstalling Windows.
Thanks.

boot up the XP CD. It is years since I last did it but you will be
offered very options. Consider them carefully. Restoring the missing
files the way I suggest is certainly the least potentially risky option.

 

[Jose]

I have an XP machine. Have just replaced  a couple files from a W7 machine.
The files are:-
c:\windows\system32\drivers\disk.sys
c:\windows\system32\drivers\partmgr.sys
...and now I can't boot the XP machine.
How to get back to before I replaced the files?
Thanks.

Why would you put Windows 7 files on an XP system?

If all you did was overwrite two files, there are copies of the
original XP files in other places on your XP system that you can copy
back to where the original ones belong. It is a simple matter to
replace the improper files with XP files.

You do not need to do a system restore, you do not need to make a Bart
PE CD, you do not have to move the drive to another system, etc. You
can't make a Bart PE CD without an original XP installation CD anyway
- it is a requirement to even start, and then, what would you do next
even if you had a Bart PE CD? If you were able to move the drive to
another system as a slave drive, what would you do next?

You can replace the two files easily from the XP Recovery Console.
You can boot RC using your original XP installation CD, or you can
make a new bootable Recovery Console CD (which may come in handy some
other day). Many folks do not have original bootable XP installation
media, but that is no issue if all you need to do is replace two
files. Just make a bootable RC disk, replace the files and be on your
way.

You can create a bootable XP Recovery Console CD when no XP media is
available:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic276527.html

When you afflicted system booted into the recovery console, let us
know and we will give you instructions on how to replace your two
files.

 

[John John - MVP]

Why would you put Windows 7 files on an XP system?

If all you did was overwrite two files, there are copies of the
original XP files in other places on your XP system that you can copy
back to where the original ones belong. It is a simple matter to
replace the improper files with XP files.

You do not need to do a system restore, you do not need to make a Bart
PE CD, you do not have to move the drive to another system, etc. You
can't make a Bart PE CD without an original XP installation CD anyway
- it is a requirement to even start, and then, what would you do next
even if you had a Bart PE CD? If you were able to move the drive to
another system as a slave drive, what would you do next?

Sheesh! He would do what you expect him to do in the Recovery Console
but he would do it in a GUI environment rather than at a command line
and he would have way more options available to him than the handful of
commands available in the Recovery Console!

John

 

[John John - MVP]

============================
What is a Bart PE boot CD?...From where could I obtain same...How much
would it cost?

Read about it here:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD

Making a PE Disk can be a bit of a daunting task for a novice, if you
want you can download a "pre-made" PE disk here:

http://www.ubcd4win.com/
Welcome to the UBCD4Win.com

Even though you can download a pre-made disk you still have to build the
CD and you still need a Windows XP CD to build it. Read the FAQ.

John

 

[Jose]

Sheesh!  He would do what you expect him to do in the Recovery Console
but he would do it in a GUI environment rather than at a command line
and he would have way more options available to him than the handful of
commands available in the Recovery Console!

John

If the OP doesn't know how to replace two system files what do you
think the chances are of coming up with an original XP installation CD
that matches his installation, downloading, building and creating a
Bart PE (or equivalent) CD on a functioning system, testing it,
successfully booting the afflicted system using it, navigating some
probably never seen before GUI and successfully locating and copying
two files - and how long will that take.

Will someone volunteer to walk the OP through using a Bart PE CD to
replace those two files?

Or what do you think the chances are of removing the afflicted HDD,
configuring it as a slave drive, moving it to another computer and
replacing the files and putting it all back together again? How long
will that take? What if it is a laptop and the drive is not easily
moved?

I also don't understand how to implement a System Restore on a system
that will not boot either, but that would be a good trick too and do
you really think SR will magically replace those two mismatched files
with XP versions?

Once booting into RC, replacing the two files is generally just
entering 2 commands. If you can type, you can do it with a fraction
of the effort and time.

So far, most people are able to follow simple directions to make a
bootable RC CD and that eliminates the need for any original XP media,
puzzling over some new GUI, or moving any hardware around. Yes - by
all means compose instructions on how to create and build a Bart PE
and replace those two files. No link was provided to Bart PE either,
so I will need all those instructions too. Pretend I know nothing
about any (equivalent) environment and get me started.

But the chances are also pretty good that there is something else
going on besides simply replacing two mismatched files, that is the
easy part. There is no notice of what provoked this action in the
first place. After replacing the two files the system still may not
boot and then the original problem can be investigated.

 

[John John - MVP]

If the OP doesn't know how to replace two system files what do you
think the chances are of coming up with an original XP installation CD

The OP said in another post that he does have a real Windows XP CD and
the instructions on the UBCD4Win are fairly clear and straightforward.
I have noticed that you often like to take 'pot-shots' at suggestions
offered by others and that these pot-shots sublimely suggest that your
solutions are right and that the others aren't. By all means when
errors or incorrect and ridiculous advice is given you should point it
out, but just because the other suggestions differ from your preferred
solution it doesn't make these other suggestions wrong or incorrect.
The Recovery Console is one way that the OP can use to restore the file
but it isn't the only way, the suggestion to use a PE disk is just as
valid as yours... and discovering the usefulness of tools like the PE
disks is a valuable lesson for novices.

John

 

[John Smith]

Why would you put Windows 7 files on an XP system?

If all you did was overwrite two files, there are copies of the
original XP files in other places on your XP system that you can copy
back to where the original ones belong. It is a simple matter to
replace the improper files with XP files.

You do not need to do a system restore, you do not need to make a Bart
PE CD, you do not have to move the drive to another system, etc. You
can't make a Bart PE CD without an original XP installation CD anyway
- it is a requirement to even start, and then, what would you do next
even if you had a Bart PE CD? If you were able to move the drive to
another system as a slave drive, what would you do next?

You can replace the two files easily from the XP Recovery Console.
You can boot RC using your original XP installation CD, or you can
make a new bootable Recovery Console CD (which may come in handy some
other day). Many folks do not have original bootable XP installation
media, but that is no issue if all you need to do is replace two
files. Just make a bootable RC disk, replace the files and be on your
way.

You can create a bootable XP Recovery Console CD when no XP media is
available:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic276527.html

When you afflicted system booted into the recovery console, let us
know and we will give you instructions on how to replace your two
files.

--------
Thanks Jose...ref why did I do it:-

I know I know....!!
Reason was I have an external hard drive that works ok on the W7 machine but
not on the XP.
When looking at Device Manager in W7 it showed that the two files mentioned
were shown as drivers
for the EHD...whereas on the XP machine, although Device Manager doesn't
show a problem, the drivers shown are pretty old...2001..
...hence decided to copy them to the XP machine...WRONG!...

....and now I've used the original XP CD, clicked on R, Recovery Console,
loads of files loaded and I'm now at the C:\> prompt
...instructions as to how to replace back the two files now would be
appreciated.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

--------
Thanks Jose...ref why did I do it:-

I know I know....!!
Reason was I have an external hard drive that works ok on the W7 machine
but
not on the XP.
When looking at Device Manager in W7 it showed that the two files
mentioned
were shown as drivers
for the EHD...whereas on the XP machine, although Device Manager doesn't
show a problem, the drivers shown are pretty old...2001..
..hence decided to copy them to the XP machine...WRONG!...

...and now I've used the original XP CD, clicked on R, Recovery Console,
loads of files loaded and I'm now at the C:\> prompt
..instructions as to how to replace back the two files now would be
appreciated.

It's just a straight copy command, e.g.

copy e:\i386\disk.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers\disk.sys

Whether the Recovery Console lets you write something into the Drivers
folder is another question. Many folders remain out of reach while in RC
mode unless you tweak the registry while Windows is still up and running. If
so then you need to use of the methods I suggested in my initial reply.

 

[John Wunderlich]

Making a PE Disk can be a bit of a daunting task for a novice, if
you want you can download a "pre-made" PE disk here:

http://www.ubcd4win.com/
Welcome to the UBCD4Win.com

I take it you haven't checked that site in a while...
Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows (UBCD4WIN) used to have an .iso image but
now you are required to build it as well. I think it is a copyright
issue.

HTH,
John

 

[Peter Foldes]

John

What worked and what solved you issue. In alt.24hr,helpdesk they told you something
completely different for the fix and you posted there that it worked and thanked
them. Here in the public.windowsxp newsgroup you did the same but for another fix.
So which one worked. I doubt what BD told you worked or anybody else there worked.
Help me out here and let us know

 

[Anthony Buckland]

Given the various followup questions asked by the OP,
I suppose it would be way too much to expect him to
have a recent backup of his system, from which he could
selectively restore the two files in question.

 

[Jose]

--------
Thanks Jose...ref why did I do it:-

I know I know....!!
Reason was I have an external hard drive that works ok on the W7 machine but
not on the XP.
When looking at Device Manager in W7 it showed that the two files mentioned
were shown as drivers
for the EHD...whereas on the XP machine, although Device Manager doesn't
show a problem, the drivers shown are pretty old...2001..
..hence decided to copy them to the XP machine...WRONG!...

...and now I've used the original XP CD, clicked on R, Recovery Console,
loads of files loaded and I'm now at the C:\> prompt
..instructions as to how to replace back the two files now would be
appreciated.

Good.

When you boot into RC you should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder - not C:\
so hopefully there is not another problem or some typo somewhere in
your reply.

XP has copies of those files here:

c:\windows\system32\dllcache

You need to copy those two files to the target folder:

c:\windows\system32\drivers

From your RC prompt you would enter two commands:

copy c:\windows\system32\dllcache\disk.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers

copy c:\windows\system32\dllcache\partmgr.sys c:\windows
\system32\drivers

Respond in the affirmative (Yes) when asked to overwrite the existing
file and you will get a message that 1 file(s) was copied. Do that
for both files replacing them with the original XP versions.

I just tried it from my RC and it works fine.

Reboot and please report back your results or issues.

 

[John Smith]

Good.

When you boot into RC you should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder - not C:\
so hopefully there is not another problem or some typo somewhere in
your reply.

XP has copies of those files here:

c:\windows\system32\dllcache

You need to copy those two files to the target folder:

c:\windows\system32\drivers

From your RC prompt you would enter two commands:

copy c:\windows\system32\dllcache\disk.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers

copy c:\windows\system32\dllcache\partmgr.sys c:\windows
\system32\drivers

Respond in the affirmative (Yes) when asked to overwrite the existing
file and you will get a message that 1 file(s) was copied. Do that
for both files replacing them with the original XP versions.

I just tried it from my RC and it works fine.

Reboot and please report back your results or issues.

-------------------
Yes its c:\> I'm at not c:\windows
from the c prompt did copy c:\windows\system32\dllcache\disk.sys
c:\windows\system32\drivers
but got the note..the command is not recognised?
How do I change from c to c:\windows?
Could it be that c:\windows\system32\dllcache\disk.sys is niot the same path
as mine.?..how do I check that?

 

[John John - MVP]

I take it you haven't checked that site in a while...
Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows (UBCD4WIN) used to have an .iso image but
now you are required to build it as well. I think it is a copyright
issue.

Yes, but it comes pre-assembled with various plug-ins. With the
downloaded file building the CD is somewhat similar to doing a
slipstream and is easier than assembling the whole thing from scratch.

John