windows 2000 won't start....

My grand-daughters IBM T21 suddenly won't boot. says "windows 2000 could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \winit\system32\config\systemced..." then it says to attempt repair by starting windows 2000 setup using the original setup floppy or cd rom... my problem is that she doesn't have either (yeah, I know...) Anybody know a work around or a website or a resource to get her back on track...she's 7 yrs old..... any help is appreciated...

 

Without the CD or start up floppies, this may not be possible, but have a look at this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/269075/en-us
I looked around for Win2000 floppy boot disks, but it seems you can only download them for Windows XP. These floppies essentially allow you to start the install process or enter the recovery console without needing the CD, but they don't seem to be available (from Microsoft anyway). Maybe if you do some Google searches for "windows 2000 install floppies" or maybe "windows 2000 setup disk" or a combo of the two or something similar..... good luck!

hd2k

 

thanks alot for your direction
much regards..

 

Win2K boot disks can be found here;

Microsoft;
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994/EN-US/
(References XP, however the boot disks serve the same function. Use the XP HOME SP1)

or

http://bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

or

http://freepctech.com/pc/002/files010.shtml

or

http://www.nerdlabs.org/bootdisks/


If the Recovery Console has not been previously installed, you cannot run it without the Win2K CDROM disc. ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/216417/en-us )

If it's installed, you will see c:\cmdcons in the directory listings of C:\.

If it's not installed, the following may be of help. If you choose to do this, the commands presented must be typed exactly as shown. The command line is very particular as to syntax.

CAVEAT! I haven't tried this. It has not been tested. The following is solely constructed based upon my information/experience. (See NOTE below)

Boot the system with the Win2K boot disks.

When you get to the A:\> prompt, type in; (hitting ENTER after each command)

SET AllowAllPaths = TRUE
(This allows you to access all directories and subdirectories on a hard drive.)

SET AllowRemovableMedia = TRUE
(This allows you to access removable media (such as a floppy) as a target for copied files.)

SET AllowWildCards = TRUE
(This enables wildcard support (e.g. using an asterisk to match any/all files) so you can use commands such as COPY and DEL on whole groups of files and folders.)

SET NoCopyPrompt = TRUE
(This turns off confirmation when overwriting an existing file, which is useful when copying many files into an already populated folder.)

Then type in; (ENTER after each command)

cd c:\winnt\system32\config

ren system system.old

ren system.alt systemalt.old

NOTE:
These last three commands will (as far as the system is concerned) remove files which should be rebuilt upon the next normal boot. (They're only renamed, NOT DELETED. If it doesn't work, you can always restart with the boot disks and follow the steps again, reversing the last three commands to rename the files back to their original names, thereby reinstating your system to the point it is now.) If the system data files/hard disk are intact, it should do what I outlined.

Try a normal startup of the system.

 

Dan, I just got your message. Man, I really appreciate it. I'm going out the door now,but will give it a try when I return. I'll let you know how it goes. Again, I really appreciate your willingness to help with this. Hope I can return the favor at some point.