windows startup cd-rom

[Guest]

After turning on my laptop SONY PCG-K23, it appears: "Windows could not start
because of the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM."
To make it short, its asking for Windows Setup using the original Setup
CD-ROM, select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
which I don't have it.
Any advise?
thank you

 

[Sharon F]

After turning on my laptop SONY PCG-K23, it appears: "Windows could not start
because of the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM."
To make it short, its asking for Windows Setup using the original Setup
CD-ROM, select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
which I don't have it.
Any advise?
thank you

Try the steps in this article:

How to start the System Restore tool at a command prompt in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304449/

If no luck, you can download the floppy disk startup set for your version
of Windows to run the recovery console and try the recovery methods in this
article:

How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from
starting
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/

If still stuck, your options are limited with no media to repair.

Check the recovery tools that Sony provided with the laptop for more
options. I suspect these will only give you a "return to factory state"
option. If that's the case, look into booting with a CD such as Bart's CD
or a build of Knoppix that can run from CD. Use these to grab what personal
data you can before starting the rebuild.