\windows\system32\config\system missing or corrupt

[Guest]

I have major issues...I have used my XP disc to try and repair install and it
did not recognize any versions of windows on my computer to repair. It
wanted to do a clean install. My second option was to try and use the
recovery console to repair the registry. I followed the corrupt registry
commands per the microsoft website and on the second line of the commands was
getting the message "the system cannot find the file specified". I did this
yesterday. I tried again today and when I go the the Recovery Console. It
doesn't give me the option to choose which windows folder to repair...After
the line "Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer"
it reads c:\>.
I have two hard drives on this computer. One is the C: drive and the other
D: My D drive is for storage of music files and other stuff. I stupidly did
not use this D drive for all storage of pictures and other files. Am I able
at all to copy files from My Documents file to the D drive and remove the D
drive to put into another computer in order to save these files before I do a
clean install? Is there any way to take my computer somewhere to save these
files? Any help is greatly appreciated...

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Check with local computer shops and find one that has software for hard
drive recovery. There are some professional recovery suites that the shops
often have that recover files from any hard drive. The shop I go to let me
run the software myself and recover all the data files on a drive that I had
not been able to access with anything at home. Since I buy a lot of stuff
there, they did not charge me. What they would charge you is something you
would work out. The professional recovery suites can do amazing things.

When you are ready to reinstall Windows, make sure there are no other
drives, internal or external, attached or the drive may not get assigned C:.
That is not a recoverable problem except by starting all over again, if it
happens, so a word to the wise.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have major issues...I have used my XP disc to try and repair
install and it did not recognize any versions of windows on my
computer to repair. It wanted to do a clean install. My second
option was to try and use the recovery console to repair the
registry. I followed the corrupt registry commands per the
microsoft
website and on the second line of the commands was getting the
message "the system cannot find the file specified". I did this
yesterday. I tried again today and when I go the the Recovery
Console. It doesn't give me the option to choose which windows
folder
to repair...After the line "Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console
and restart the computer" it reads c:\>.
I have two hard drives on this computer. One is the C: drive and
the
other D: My D drive is for storage of music files and other stuff.
I stupidly did not use this D drive for all storage of pictures and
other files. Am I able at all to copy files from My Documents file
to the D drive and remove the D drive to put into another computer
in
order to save these files before I do a clean install? Is there any
way to take my computer somewhere to save these files? Any help is
greatly appreciated...

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

Once you've recovered, you might want to look here, as well:

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

--

Bruce Chambers

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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having
both at once. - RAH

 

[hustedj]

Try booting up to the windows XP cd and just reinstall the OS, don't format
anything just reinstall the OS. Leave the partition as is and reload windows
XP. This will get you back going again,but the only draw back of this is
your will have to reload any programs you had. Your data will still be there
but not your programs because when you reload the OS it removed the windows
directory and recreates it so that is why your programs won't work or show
up. Once your have reloaded your programs you will be back in business. I
had this happen to me on 2 pcs at work this week and this fixed the problem.

Good luck

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I would still attempt data files recovery before reinstalling Windows, since
a repair install does not look possible.

 

[Test User]

I have major issues...I have used my XP disc to try and repair install and it
did not recognize any versions of windows on my computer to repair. It
wanted to do a clean install. My second option was to try and use the
recovery console to repair the registry. I followed the corrupt registry
commands per the microsoft website and on the second line of the commands was
getting the message "the system cannot find the file specified". I did this
yesterday. I tried again today and when I go the the Recovery Console. It
doesn't give me the option to choose which windows folder to repair...After
the line "Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer"
it reads c:\>.
I have two hard drives on this computer. One is the C: drive and the other
D: My D drive is for storage of music files and other stuff. I stupidly did
not use this D drive for all storage of pictures and other files. Am I able
at all to copy files from My Documents file to the D drive and remove the D
drive to put into another computer in order to save these files before I do a
clean install? Is there any way to take my computer somewhere to save these
files? Any help is greatly appreciated...

Yes. If the drive is physically working, the best bet is to remove it and
install it (as a secondary or tertiary drive) in another machine htat has XP
running AND has sufficient space, and copy off the stuff you need (like the
entire documents and settings\<username> folders. Then you can put the
drive back into your machine and do whatever you need to do regarding
reinstallation, and you will have a restore source for your data.

If you have to consider cost for the repairs, consider purchasing a new
drive and installing it as the primary drive, install XP fresh on it, and
then copying off the stuff you need from the other drive (which is now a
tertiary drive). You can then format the old drive once you are sure you
have everything working properly.

What you likely cannot do is use a Win9x boot diskette, because the hard
disks are probably formatted NTFS and the boot diskette will not recognise
them.

HTH
-pk