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windows/system32/config/system....problem

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Post #1
windows XP OS, cannot get pc to boot up, have tried recovery console route, chkdsk /r etc which appeared to run successfully however could not eject cd, or reboot, any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Post #2
Hello jemp, Welcome to the WTT Forums. ^_^ Could you please provide some more information on your machine? Manufacturer / Model and any other system specifications that you know. How was the computer performing before this happened? Was it slow or experiencing any other problems? Has it it been damaged at all? Have you replaced any components recently? Cheers, Nahumi
Post #3

Hello jemp,

Welcome to the WTT Forums. ^_^

Could you please provide some more information on your machine? Manufacturer / Model and any other system specifications that you know.

How was the computer performing before this happened? Was it slow or experiencing any other problems?

Has it it been damaged at all?

Have you replaced any components recently?


Cheers,
Nahumi

Post #4
Hi' Dell; C521; AMD Athlon 64 processor 3800+, 1024 Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x512] Memory, 160GB HD. No damage; no new components, no issues re performance, installed skype 5-6 weeks ago which appeared to work fine, pc only used for internet access, I am happy to re-install if necessary (how?) the OS as I can sacrifice the none vital documents on this pc. Trust this additional info is helpful.
Post #7 last edited
Hi, error message reads, "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM You can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using the original setup CD-Rom. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair". I finally managed to boot the CD, and follow the instructions, however at the end when asked to eject the CD and reboot, I could not get the CD to eject and had to power off, eventually I manged to get CD to eject! Fault not cured.
Post #8 last edited
Hi jemp,
This could be a tough one, hopefully you have a complete back up of everything that's important to you on your machine? if for any reason your back up is out of date and you have important stuff you want to copy off then post back and we will provide directions on how you may do this using a Live distro of Linux to access your hard drive…. or if you prefer you could "slave" your hard drive to a different machine and copy off your files that way.

To attempt a repair of your machine you could try these steps: (after your back up has been checked and found to be OK)

If you have your Windows CD
  • Insert your Windows XP CD into your CD and assure that your CD-ROM drive is capable of booting the CD.
  • Once you have booted from CD, You’re going to proceed until you see the following screen, at which point you will press the "R" key to enter the recovery console:
    [external image: Posted Image]

  • You will be prompted to select one of the listed Windows installation (typically number "1").
  • Select the installation number, and hit Enter.
    If there is an administrator password for the administrator account fill out the password and hit enter.
    By default you can leave this blank and hit enter.
    (If it does have a password and you don't know it, you're out of luck).

    You will be greeted with this screen, which indicates a recovery console at the ready:
    [external image: Posted Image]

  • Please make sure you follow the instructions of this guide exactly as given or you might risk more problems.
    NOTE; Make sure you press Enter after each command.
    Make sure all commands are exactly as shown in this guide, including "spaces".

    First, we will start off with these 6 commands.

    CD..
    ATTRIB -H C:\boot.ini
    ATTRIB -S C:\boot.ini
    ATTRIB -R C:\boot.ini
    del boot.ini
    BOOTCFG /Rebuild



    Note about the above command.
    BOOTCFG /REBUILD will search for pre-existing installations of Windows XP and rebuilds sundry essential components of the Windows operating system, recompiles the BOOT.INI file and corrects a litany of common Windows errors.

    For the Enter Load Identifier portion of this command, you should enter the name of the operating system you have installed.
    If, for example, you are using Windows XP Home, you could type Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for the identifier (it's not crucial, however what the name is, as long, as it's meaningful).
    For the OS Load Option portion of this command, you should enter the following: /FASTDETECT /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN
    It is very important that you do one or both of the following two things:

    Here is what you should see:
    [external image: Posted Image]

  • The following command verifies the integrity of the hard drive containing the Windows XP installation. While this step is not an essential function in our process, it’s still good to be sure that the drive is physically capable of running windows and that it contains no bad sectors or other corruptions that might be causing issues.
    Take note that this scan might take a long while. Leave it running uninterrupted!
    CHKDSK /R

  • This last command writes a new boot sector to the hard drive and cleans up all the loose ends we created by rebuilding the BOOT.INI file and the system files. When the Windows Recovery Console asks you if you are Sure you want to write a new bootsector to the partition C: ? just hit "Y" and hit Enter to confirm your decision:
    FIXBOOT

  • Its time to reboot your PC by typing:
    EXIT
    and pressing Enter.
With any luck, your PC will boot successfully into Windows XP as if your various DLL, Hive, EXE, config and NTLDR errors never existed.

If you don't have your Windows CD
Please download ARCDC from Artellos.com.
  • Double click ARCDC.exe
  • Follow the dialog until you see 6 options. Please pick: Windows Professional SP2 & SP3
  • You will be prompted with a Terms of Use by Microsoft, please accept.
  • You will see a few dos screens flash by, this is normal.
  • Next you will be able to choose to add extra files. Select the Default Files.
  • The last window will allow you to burn the disk using BurnCDCC
Then, follow instructions from Step #1 above.
(Credit to Brodi & Artellos for assembling these instructions)

If you don't have any luck with this then you will need to consider a fresh install of Windows using either, a Win XP installation disc and your 25 character alpha-numeric serial key (5 groups of 5) usually found stuck on the case of your computer, or a "Restore to Factory" using a Dell utility.

One final point I cannot emphasize too much the importance of ensuring your back up is 100% accurate reproducible, verified and kept safe on removable media, BEFORE starting any of these procedures.
Regards
paws
Post #9
I'd suggest one change to the instructions.

CD..
ATTRIB -H -S -R C:\boot.ini
ren boot.ini boot.ini.org
BOOTCFG /Rebuild

No need to issue attrib 3 different times and I think it's better to rename the existing boot.ini that to delete it.
Post #11 last edited
natalia, that may solve the immediate problem but will leave jemp with a somewhat messed up system. The right thing to do is to then do an immediate System Restore to before the problem occurred. Doing tht will restore a complete set of registry files and the computer should run okayu.

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