XP Help

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Guest

I have an older Dell that came with Windows ME. I used a Windows XP Home
upgrade disc that came with the computer to upgrade to XP. Recently, when I
try to log in, I get a message that reads:

"Windows/System32/Config/System file missing or corrupt"

The plot thickens in that my CD-ROM drive has been dead for some time and
has been replaced by an external USB CD-RW drive.

I have downloaded the floppy disk EXE file for windows XP SP 2, and when I
get into the options to enter startup or go to repair consol, neither
works....repair console simply restarts the machine, enter xp setup runs the
CD drive, but says to insert the Windows XP disk (which is already in there).

Do I need to redo this beginning with the original ME? If so, are there
floppy disks to get me started there as well?

Finally, any way to get documents from the hard drive before it is wiped
clean? I have some important client info there that I'd like to get back.

Thanks for any help you can offer.
 
The message you're getting indicates that the registry is corrupt. If you can
gain access to the C: drive you may be able to replace it with a backup copy
from the system-restore folder.

You cannot run an install from a USB CD drive, as the USB drivers aren't
loaded at this stage. If you can get onto the USB CD from DOS/Linux/BartPE,
you could copy the CD's i386 folder to C: - but a better route would be an
IDE drive.

To recover the data, best options are Knoppix or BartPE. Both of these will
access your HD without the installed OS. You still need a non-USB CD drive
though!
 
Brian said:
I have an older Dell that came with Windows ME. I used a Windows XP Home
upgrade disc that came with the computer to upgrade to XP. Recently, when I
try to log in, I get a message that reads:

"Windows/System32/Config/System file missing or corrupt"

The plot thickens in that my CD-ROM drive has been dead for some time and
has been replaced by an external USB CD-RW drive.

I have downloaded the floppy disk EXE file for windows XP SP 2, and when I
get into the options to enter startup or go to repair consol, neither
works....repair console simply restarts the machine, enter xp setup runs the
CD drive, but says to insert the Windows XP disk (which is already in there).

Do I need to redo this beginning with the original ME? If so, are there
floppy disks to get me started there as well?

Finally, any way to get documents from the hard drive before it is wiped
clean? I have some important client info there that I'd like to get back.

Thanks for any help you can offer.
Click to expand...

The error message indicates that the registry files, or at least one
of them, has been corrupted or deleted. There is a procedure that
allows you to replace these files but it is cumbersome. See the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from
starting
Article ID : 307545
http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=307545

Your best options for recovering your user files from the hard drive
are:
1. Create a bootable Windows XP CD with Bart's PE Builder from
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and boot the problem computer with that.
Locate the files and folders that you want and copy them to a USB
memory stick.
or
2. Remove the hard drive from the problem computer and install it
temporarily as a second hard drive in a working computer. The best
way of doing this is to use the data cable and power lead from the
CDROM/DVD drive in the second computer, which would put the second
hard drive onto the secondary IDE channel. This avoids any potential
problems with master/slave jumper settings on either hard drive. Note
that in order to copy the files you may have to first take ownership
of them as per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
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