Ntoskrnl missing or corrupt

[OldGrantonian]

I have WinXP Home.

My computer will not start. I get the message:

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

Widows_root\System32\Ntoskrnl.exe

Please re-install a copy of the above file. "

Here is what I did:

1) Boot from the system disk (plus SP2).

2) Press "R" to get the recovery console.

3) But the recovery console does not launch. Instead I get the C: prompt

4) At the C: prompt, I do "dir" to verify that the "windows" directory
exists.

5) Type "cd windows"

I get the message "access denied"

When I try to start in Safe mode, I get the same message that Ntoskrnl.exe
is missing or corrupt.

Any advice?

BTW: Last actions before the last good shutdown were:

) Run Secunia to identify files that are not up to date from a security
point of view. (This is a read-only passive program.)

) As a result, I updated Flash, Adobe Reader, MS XML, and Windows Update.

 

[Peter Foldes]

http://www.ozzu.com/mswindows-forum/ntoskrnl-exe-corrupted-windows-wont-open-t24580.html

 

[OldGrantonian]

Hi Peter,

The link in your post refers to the use of the recovery console.

As I mentioned in my first post, I cannot get the recovery console to
launch. I get the message:

Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.

But after that message, I get the C: prompt.

 

[John John (MVP)]

At the Recovery Console you have to enter a number to log on to the
Windows installation, for example, you will see something like this when
the Recovery Console starts:

Microsoft Windows(R) Recovery Console

The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.
Type EXIT to exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.

1: C:\WINDOWS

Which Windows Installation would you like to log on to?
(To cancel, press ENTER)

In the above example you must answer the question "Which Windows
Installation would you like to log on to?" by typing the number "1" and
then pressing enter, only then will you be logged on to the Windows
installation and only then will you be able to run your commands.

There are only a limited set of commands that can be run when not logged
on the the Windows installation, for example, Chkdsk, Fixboot and Fixmbr
can be run without logging on to the installation.

John

 

[OldGrantonian]

I'm sorry, but you are not understanding the issue. Probably due to my poor
description. Let's have another go.

As I mentioned in my first post, after I select "R" for the recovery
console, the screen clears, and the following message appears:

The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.
Type EXIT to exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.

Now, I agree that the next line would normally be something such as you
entered in your post:

1: C:\WINDOWS

I do not get this line. Instead I get the *real, genuine* command prompt,
with the cursor ready for an entry:

c:\>

And in that prompt, I can type things such as "dir" to list the directory,
or "cd windows", for which I get "No access", and so on.

All this is described in the Microsoft article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022/

The text is:
-------------------------------
Additionally, you may experience one or more of the following behaviors:

· If you start the computer to the Recovery Console, a command prompt may
appear with no option to log on to the Windows installation.
· If you try to access the Windows folder, you may receive the following
error message: Access denied.
· If you try to perform a Repair operation from the Windows XP CD-ROM,
the Windows installation is not detected and you cannot repair Windows.
--------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, 3 of the troubleshooting methods need the use of the Recovery
Console

The fourth method needs "bootcfg"

And this is where I start to get lost. Because I don't have privileges to
edit "boot.ini" (I'm the administrator, but there is no login to grant me
those privileges.)

 

[John John (MVP)]

Create an NT boot floppy diskette with an all purpose boot.ini file on
it and try booting the computer with it.
http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/ You must format the diskette with an
NT type operating system, if you format it with W9x the diskette will
fail to boot Windows XP. Tip, you don't need the /sos switch in the
boot.ini file, this switch just displays the device driver names while
they are being loaded, it slows down the boot up.

If you cannot boot the Windows installation with the boot floppy the
drive may be experiencing file or file system corruption, boot to the
Recovery Console and run a chkdsk on the drive.

John

 

[OldGrantonian]

boot to the
Well, I guess I have to say it yet again: I can't boot to the recovery
console. The attempt to load the console terminates, and I am presented with
the c:\> prompt.

I must thank your for your efforts so far, but the Recovery Console is not
an option.

 

[John John (MVP)]

You can run chkdsk from the C:\> prompt, without loggin on to the
Windows installation!

What about the floppy diskette? Can you create one and try it?

John

 

[OldGrantonian]

Well, you stuck with me through thick and thin, so you deserve to know the
end of this story - it's crazy

First, the not-so-good news. Your link doesn't work, but that's OK

http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/

When I tried C:\>CHKDSK, I got the message "Command not found". That made me
suspicious. I entered "dir", The C: drive contents were completely new to me.
I noticed the volume name was "MEDIADIRECT".

That's the clue. MEDIADIRECT is a cut-down Dell OS that allows you to use
your laptop to play media, without having to load a complete OS. I've never
used it. It's like a dual-boot system.

So, feeling like Columbo, I shut down, and pressed the MEDIADIRECT button.
It booted to my normal Win XP Home

So the two OSs had somehow become reversed.

While still in Win XP, I did a System Restore, rebooted, and everything is
now fine

Thanks for your help. The CHKDSK was never run, but it gave me the clue.

 

[John John (MVP)]

That is an interesting story, I didn't know about this Dell Media Direct
affair. Thanks for letting us know how you got things fixed!

John