XP won't load

[Guest]

I have an HP Pavillion xt9 desktop with Windows XP. Today my kid shut down
accidentally and now when I try to start I get an error that says that
Windows cannot load because the following file is missing or corrupted:
c:\\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM

It says to press r to repair, but that I need the original disk to do this.
Well, I don't have a disk. My desktop came with the OS and software package
already in the system. I just plugged it in, turned it on, and everything
loaded and installed.
How can I repair my system if the OS disk is on the hard drive? Am I going
to be able to repair this, or will I have to do a full system restore and
start from scratch? I ask this because I have school stuff on there and of
course,(Yes, I am an idiot) no recent back-up.

 

[Rich Barry]

Does HP have a Recovery Partition? A recovery disk? If a friend will
let you install your hard drive on his computer as a
second drive from there you can access your data. Also, you can try a
Registry Repair. You have to go to C:\Windows\System32\Config Folder.
Delete the Default, Sam, System, Software and Security files. Then go to
C:\Windows\Repair Folder and copy those same five files and paste them back
into the Config Folder. That might get you
going again without a full system restore.

 

[Ron Martell]

I have an HP Pavillion xt9 desktop with Windows XP. Today my kid shut down
accidentally and now when I try to start I get an error that says that
Windows cannot load because the following file is missing or corrupted:
c:\\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM

It says to press r to repair, but that I need the original disk to do this.
Well, I don't have a disk. My desktop came with the OS and software package
already in the system. I just plugged it in, turned it on, and everything
loaded and installed.
How can I repair my system if the OS disk is on the hard drive? Am I going
to be able to repair this, or will I have to do a full system restore and
start from scratch? I ask this because I have school stuff on there and of
course,(Yes, I am an idiot) no recent back-up.

Does your computer have a 3.5 inch diskette drive?
If so then go to http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=310994 and download
the diskette boot images for your specific Windows version. Boot your
computer with those diskettes and when it stops at the A:\> prompt you
will be in the Windows XP Recovery Console.

From there you can follow the instructions in this Knowledge Base
article:

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


Note if that procedure is too cumbersome for you to follow then post a
response back here. There is an alternative procedure that we can use
which will allow you to locate files on the NTFS hard drive and copy
these off to 3.5 inch diskettes.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm