Help-windows xp won't load

"Could not load Windows because the following file is missing or corrupt:
c\windows\system32\config\system"

Ran chkdsk to no avail.

Thoughts are appreciated

 

That's a registry error, see this MS Article:

How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting

 

Shadow-just tried the fix you suggested.

"The system cannot find the file specified"

If I look in c:\windows\system32 directory, there is a "config" file there, of 0 bytes. For some reason, these files are gone.

Just finished a clean install of XP, then SP 2, partitioned my HD into 4 drives and
left Windows on C drive. This kind of stuff would happen before the clean install; a couple of times, the c_1252.nls and c_437.nls files would be missing (not corrupt, missing) and I'd reinstall them. I was kind of hoping that these probs would go away, but no..........
Install was by no means trouble free but my OS worked fine all day yesterday-had the puter on and off multiple times with no probs; went to work, wife tried to boot up puter, and here we are now.........

Same prob with other files as well; they aren't there.

Other ideas?

PS I'm running a few errands today but I should be back online in 2-3 hours. Thanks for the help jtone

 

If it was a corporate machine, the best way to fix this would be to create an ERD (Emergency Repair Disk). Which basically makes a backup of those files, on multiple handy dandy floppy disks. It seems that no one does this anymore....

 

The option to create an ERD is not available in XP. Wish it was, but someone at MS in their infinite wisdom decided to eliminate that option.

 

@jtone You shouldn't be having all these problems installing XP Pro and updating to SP2. Things to think about: Is the Windows XP CD damaged? Is the CD Drive working correctly? Is the Hard Drive functioning correctly? Are you positive the HDD does not have a MBR/Bootsector Virus? BIOS updated and functioning correctly? Are the IDE cables securely connected to the drives? Are the IDE cables good? Have you tried cleaning the laser lens of the CD drive? Did you install the Prescott Hotfix before installing SP2?

 

Shadow and others:

Thanks as always for the input. Here's what I can and can't tell you about my situation:
I'm not sure if the XP CD is damaged; physically it appears fine (no scratches, grime etc.)
I've never had a prob with either the HD or the CD drive, but you never know. The only thing to have an outright failure on this machine was the power supply. However, I have noticed that the CD drive is rather noisy.....

When I reinstalled XP, I formatted my C drive and setup a 16Gb partition. After it was installed and working, I partitioned the rest of the drive. Maybe the sequence was wrong? (I followed the instructions linked to a thread on a previous post by Shadow PD about doing a clean install).

With respect to a Boot Sector Virus, I'm not sure how to detect/correct. I have performed all of the scans listed in your thread 35407. I also have AVG and PC Cillin running.

With respect to my BIOS, I upgraded the drivers from the ECS webstie for IDE, Audio, and I believe a USB 2.0 Orangeware fix.

I also did the Prescott hotfix before and after the install.

I am going to take the following steps:

Repair my disk (I have a CD restoration tool that works pretty well, and I have nothing to lose)
Ensure the security of all connections with disk, HD, etc.
Clean the lens of the CD drive.
Start all over again?

I'm not sure how to (other than swapping them out)
-Check the condition of the IDE cables other than looking for visable damage.
-Determine if the CD is functioning properly
-Determine if the HD is functioning properly.
If there's a way to test these things let me know.

 

jtone if you opt to start all over. Setup your Primary Partition and load then update Windows. After you have finished setup the other partitions. You could try to do a Repair Install but at this point I'm not sure what that would do for you.

If you have access to another computer you could always slave the HDD and run the virus scans against the drive to see if there is a MBR/Bootsector virus.

Step back, take a deep breath. We'll get this working yet.http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Actually, what I meant to say was ASR. Automated System Recovery.

This is within the ntbackup program.

 

Got it. I don't think most users even know you can do that.

 

I've known about ASR, but my brain still uses the ERD thinking.

 

Shadow and Thee.....
Thanks again for all of the input. I'm not too frustrated yet, and there's a 22 of beer in the 'fridge if it gets too stressful! I've never run an ASR but my past experience with a "funny" install with other versions of Windows is that the repair functions don't seem to work, or they only work on a symptom.

I'm not afraid to start over; the only thing lost in the initial reinstall was my wife's .pst file in Outlook 2002, but that's more an annoyance than a real prob since the data's gone anyway.....

I have other files/docs/pics on CD and can easily replace them (My Doc's, IE and FF favs, etc) after the install.

Incidentally, I did notice three or four small scratches on my XP CD; I used my Disk Doctor and buffed them out (which has worked wonders in the past on other audio and data CD's)

If I do the reinstall, I'll scan for the boot sector virus thereafter. How do I do that?

P.S. The 'puter I'm on now is a laptop, which I have no experience with. Is it possible to slave the HD from my PC tower to this laptop? If so, how?

 

You would have to put it into a drive enclosure, since it's a laptop HDD. If you try to scan for boot viruses while it is the active drive, chances are pretty good the scanner won't find it.

 

Do you have another computer? If so, I'd hook that drive to another computer, and copy any files you want to keep to that other computer, temporarily, then rebuild the OS and restore away. Or, use a knoppix Live cd and copy the files in question over your network to the other computer. But, if you only have one computer, buy a 2nd hdd and build windows on that and then you should be able to access the other drive just fine.

 

Thanks again, guys.

First, there's nothing on this drive that I can't replace, so I'm not interested in saving the info on it. In fact, I've already made up my mind to delete my partitions, and reinstall XP again. However, I don't want to wind up in the same place I am now.

I get the impression that I must scan the HD in question with another 'puter in order to detect a boot sector virus?

If so, I might be able to persuade a friend to let me install my HD in his computer and scan it that way.

If so, guidance is appreciated. Thanks again
jtone

 

BTW-Per Major Attitude's thread, I disabled System Restore before scanning. OS was up and running fine before this. Afterward, well, you know....Any connection, or just coincidence?

 

Probable just coincidence. If your going to put your drive in another computer and scan it for a bootsector virus, make sure it is the secondary drive.

 

SPD, your point is well taken..

I'll install my HD as a secondary drive in my buddy's puter. He just moved back to town and isn't online yet. Which prog do you recommend I use for the boot sector scan?
Will any reliable anti-virus prog work? (He claims that his virus files haven't been updated in 2-3 mos; I thought I might d/l some freeware and bring it with me).

Thoughts please??

jtone

 

Any of the top AV prgs should pick up any bootsector virus, as long as the defs are up2date; and to be on the safe side run the online scans, from the spyware thread, against the drive.

 

Allright, point well taken. He's out right now but should be back in an hour or two. I'll head over there tonight, scan the drive, then I'll attempt the reinstall tomorrow.

Hope to see you guys from the other side by then! Otherwise, I still have my humble laptop........

Thanks to SPD, Thee, Demented et al for all of the suggestions. One more thought as an FYI-when I attempted to load SP2 off disk, it didn't work (it tried to install itself on my f drive without asking me which drive to load on-I see now why I don't want to partition the rest of my HD until I first: Delete all partitions, create a new partition for C; load os, update os, load sp2, THEN partition the rest of my HD)

Hopefully, this aborted first attempt of an SP2 install is the root of my prob, but just to be safe.......