My dad needs help!

  • Thread starter Thread starter msmom663
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msmom663

My dad usually leaves his computer up all the time, (not
online), but due a storm moving through, he shut it down.
When he brought the system back up, he received an error
message:

Windows NT could not start because the following file is
missing or corrupt:

C:\winnt\system32\config\system


From what I gather, this is a network error? To my
knowledge his is not operating on a network, as there is
only one computer in the house.

He tried to follow the instuctions given to him, (told to
put in CD and follow directions, tried "R" to restore),
but it wouldn't work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am not familiar
enough with the technical side of computers to help him.

Thank you!

msmom663
 
/msmom663/ said:
My dad usually leaves his computer up all the time, (not
online), but due a storm moving through, he shut it down.
When he brought the system back up, he received an error
message:

Windows NT could not start because the following file is
missing or corrupt:

C:\winnt\system32\config\system


From what I gather, this is a network error? To my
knowledge his is not operating on a network, as there is
only one computer in the house.

He tried to follow the instuctions given to him, (told to
put in CD and follow directions, tried "R" to restore),
but it wouldn't work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am not familiar
enough with the technical side of computers to help him.
Click to expand...


Try a boot into Safe Mode, by hitting F8 just before the "Starting
Windows" screen would appear (takes a bit of practice).
Choose LAST GOOD.

If that does nothing, use a working PC to read this first...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q823614
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm

Related info is here...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q307545
describes a three-step process to extract a copy of the registry
from the System Restore SVI folder.

Info on dealing with corruption issues...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822705

Reinstall/repair tutorials (if needed) are here...
http://WWW.WEBTREE.CA/windowsxp/
http://michaelstevenstech.com

After your system is restored, the ERUNT utility available here may
make it easier to fix the problem if it recurs...
http://HOME.T-ONLINE.DE/home/lars.hederer/erunt

If the problem persists, try swapping current RAM (even if it checks
good) for a single, high-quality 512Mb chip. XP reportedly is sensitive
to memory timing.
 
-----Original Message-----
/msmom663/ said:
him.


Try a boot into Safe Mode, by hitting F8 just before the "Starting
Windows" screen would appear (takes a bit of practice).
Choose LAST GOOD.

If that does nothing, use a working PC to read this first...
us;q823614
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm

Related info is here...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en- us;q307545
describes a three-step process to extract a copy of the registry
from the System Restore SVI folder.

Info on dealing with corruption issues...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en- us;822705

Reinstall/repair tutorials (if needed) are here...
http://WWW.WEBTREE.CA/windowsxp/
http://michaelstevenstech.com

After your system is restored, the ERUNT utility available here may
make it easier to fix the problem if it recurs...
http://HOME.T-ONLINE.DE/home/lars.hederer/erunt

If the problem persists, try swapping current RAM (even if it checks
good) for a single, high-quality 512Mb chip. XP reportedly is sensitive
to memory timing.

--
For most XP answers and tweaks...
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm
http://dougknox.com http://aumha.org
http://support.microsoft.com
.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much. I will try this. Hopefully I can get
dads computer going again.
 
after you get it going again, show your dad how to
properly shut down his computer!
don
 
Greetings --

No, it has nothing to do with networking. The message means that
the file, a crucial part of the Windows registry, is either damaged or
missing. Unfortunately, WinNT offers very little in the way of
recovery or repair capabilities. It may be necessary to reinstall the
OS. This method works for WinXP:

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry that Prevents Windows XP from
Starting
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545

But you should probably start here:

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


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
Bruce Chambers and other gave some good answers, most likely
your dad just turned the power off and damaged the files on
the hard drive, this is why one poster said to reach your
dad how to turn a PC off.

To use the repair "r" function [ it is really the recovery
console, which is a lot like a 20 year old DOS command
line ] on the XP CD you boot the PC with the CD in the drive
after setting the CD as the first boot device. But unless
you know exactly how to write code to the registry you will
likely do more harm than good.

But as you will read in the posts and in the articles Bruce
lists, you can boot the XP CD and begin a installation and
choose the option to repair the current installation.

If your dad needs a present for his birthday or no reason at
all, get him a UPS at a computer or office supply store, it
has a battery and a good quality surge suppressor to protect
the computer and allow a proper shut in case of power
failure.


message | My dad usually leaves his computer up all the time, (not
| online), but due a storm moving through, he shut it down.
| When he brought the system back up, he received an error
| message:
|
| Windows NT could not start because the following file is
| missing or corrupt:
|
| C:\winnt\system32\config\system
|
|
| From what I gather, this is a network error? To my
| knowledge his is not operating on a network, as there is
| only one computer in the house.
|
| He tried to follow the instuctions given to him, (told to
| put in CD and follow directions, tried "R" to restore),
| but it wouldn't work.
|
| Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am not familiar
| enough with the technical side of computers to help him.
|
| Thank you!
|
| msmom663
 
Once he has used the CD (as Jim Macklin described) to restore
missing Windows files, next check the file system on
harddrive. One place for information is Start > Accessories >
System Tools > System Information. If filesystem is FAT, then
there is one potential reason for loss of hard disk files.
One major reason for using NT based OSes (not using Windows
9x/ME based OSes) is the NTFS filesystem. Some computers are
not converted to NTFS for absurd reasons. His computer hard
drive must be using the NTFS filesystem to avoid future
problems such as this.

A UPS would only provide battery backup - so that FAT
filesystem does not erase files on hard drive. It does not
provide the hardware protection so promoted by urban myths.
Battery backup is nice to protect hard disk data. But
superior solution is a hard drive using the NTFS file system
(see program called CONVERT).
 
-----Original Message-----
My dad usually leaves his computer up all the time, (not
online), but due a storm moving through, he shut it down.
When he brought the system back up, he received an error
message:

Windows NT could not start because the following file is
missing or corrupt:

C:\winnt\system32\config\system


From what I gather, this is a network error? To my
knowledge his is not operating on a network, as there is
only one computer in the house.

He tried to follow the instuctions given to him, (told to
put in CD and follow directions, tried "R" to restore),
but it wouldn't work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am not familiar
enough with the technical side of computers to help him.

Thank you!

msmom663
.
Click to expand...
 
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