Windows XP boot problem

[Guest]

I have a Dell Dimension 4600 and prior to the installation of SP2, everything
was working fine. Just last week i booted my PC and this error appeared in
the
screen: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM error so it told me to boot from CD
and access the recovery console. I did just that, even printed the Microsoft
Step by Step Guide to make sure i followed everything to the letter. To make
things simple, that didnt solve the problem. I decided to format my HD to
NTFS and reinstalled XP Home. I downloaded all the patches and installed SP2
and SP3.

I had the shock of my life when I booted up this morning and got the same
error. I turned off the PC and got that screen that gives me an option to
start on safe mode, i clicked on USE LAST KNOWN GOOD CONFIGURATION then
booted up again, this time the PC booted up. My question is, what is causing
that error msg to appear when I boot up. I have a clean system with almost no
other s/w installed because i wanted to see if I will encounter boot/shutdown
problems again(which I DID). Can anyone please help me understand what causes
this and how I can troubleshoot it. I am not a techie like some people but I
can very well follow instructions. I would appreaciate your soonest
assistance. Thanks

Sky

PS
I'm planning to format my drive again and reinstall XP and skip downloading
the SP2. If I don't get any booting problem after this, then it is the SP2
causing the booting problems.

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately I don't have an easy fix answer to this, but may I suggest
contacting Dell support to see if there is a known conflict with SP2. I have
seen many cases where software patches will conflict with drivers on a
system. It would be a good idea to update all drivers available for your PC
including BIOS updates. This may not solve your problem, but it is a good
place to start.

 

[Guest]

Thanks so much for the reply. I've checked with Dell and everything is
updated from my side. I already removed SP2 and downloaded SP1 instead. Boot
problem solved after doing this. I was lucky enough to buy a Maxtor 160 gig
external hard drive prior to the crash saving me from the headache of it all.
I'll stick to the SP1 for now and will download other service packs IF the
boot problems related to SP2 cease to exist. Again thank you so much for the
technical advice. Cheers!