W2K CD repair fails to see partition

[Nick]

Trying to boot, I got a blue screen that says root\system32
\config\software is corrupt or absent. Checkdisk and
system restore did not resolve. I booted from the CD and
tried to run a repair, but it does not see the operating
system to repair. I started to do a new install, but it
then sees the old operating and asks if I am sure! Why
does it see it at the beginning of a fresh install, but
not if I want to repair? Is there any way I can get a
repair to work or somehow avoid a new install of W2K plus
umpteen painful application reinstalls?

 

[Luci Sandor]

That files contains the registry keys for HKLM.
If it is corrupted. than most of the settings of the machine were lost and
repair cannot work, there is nothing left to repair. If other files are
left, Windows installation sees them, but this doesn't mean it can be fixed.
If you have important files, put the harddrive on a friend's computer
(running 2000/XP) and recover them.