niotanative,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

There should be a little hole by the cdrom on the tower.Use a paper clip and insert it into the hole. The drive should open. You can also open up my computer and right click on the cd\dvd drive and choose the option to eject disk. Boot to the disk and use the repair option from the disk.

I too have the same problem that just appeared with Windows\System32\config\system (hmm, due to virus?).  This prevents the compute from booting.

I can "boot" of sorts by installing the Dell "Reinstallation CD" for MS Windows XP Professional.  I get a blue text-based screen that says "Windows Setup" at the top.  As this is booting, various messages appear at the bottom of the screen.  One promising message is, "Press F2 to run Automated System Recovery."  So far, I have not pressed F2 but have waited for this boot to complete.  Once finished, there are options to (1) setup Windows XP by pressing , (2) repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console by pressing 'R', or (3) quit by pressing .

I've done (2) to start the Recovery Console and got a "C:\WINDOWS">" prompt.  I can cd/dir and verify that at least the names and sizes of my files appear intact, but I can't effectively view non-text files such as Word/Excel etc.

With that background, 2 questions:

(1) What action could I take from within the Recover Console (specifically, what command lines should I enter), and will taking these actions delete my existing non-OS files?

(2) As I said, I haven't done the "F2" option above.  Will doing do reformat drive or potentially otherwise delete my non-OS files?

Thanks.

niotanative/shrnbwcomp

 

Unfortunately, Windows\system32\config\ type error problems usually mean:

 

Hardware failure e.g. HDD (hard disk drive) problems, either bad sectors or HDD heading south &/or Windows OS corrupt registry hive(s)

 

1. If not already done, boot from CD-Rom drive with the Resources (Drivers & Utilities) CD inserted

 

Start with the Express Test option to run hardware diagnostics

 

2. If the All tests Passed appears then boot from CD-Rom drive with OEM XP SP2 CD inserted

 

From the Welcome To Setup screen options

 

Warning do NOT use the letter R key option (Recovery Console) to repair Windows

 

As described in MS KB article 307545 using Recovery Console option to fix corrupt registry hive(s) for OEM pre-installed type operating systems will result in a password lockout problems & likely loss of access to previous profile accounts & associated personal data

 

Otherwise proceed as follows:

 

1. Press the ENTER key option (“to set up Windows XP now”) to proceed with Repair Install

2. Accept the License Agreement

3. Select the XP installation you want to repair (normally just one present)

4. Warning if Repair is not an available option then abort/quit Setup by pressing F3 key twice 

5. If Repair option does appear then press the letter R key to start the Windows repair

6. Setup will then copy the necessary files to the hard drive & reboot

7. Do not press any key to boot from CD when/if the message appears to do so

8. Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but applications & settings will remain intact

 

If the Repair option was not present & Setup aborted, you can now consider personal data recovery options before the need to do a XP clean install or use Dell PC Restore utility (if available)?

 

If you format the C:\ partition then you wipe/delete everything that was on it

E.g. most people have XP OS, software applications & personal data ALL located in the C:\ partition, so will lose everything if partition is formatted (part of Windows Clean Install process)

 

If using Recovery Console (not recommended for fixing corrupt registry hive(s)), you need to type in EXIT at the command prompt (C:\>) to end Recovery Console so you can eject & remove CD from CD-ROM drive tray

 

3. If you suspect problem is Malware related then:

 

Create a new post over in the Malware Forum here where experts can help

 

Before posting for help in Malware Forum first read the Bugbatter thread this one

 

I.E. you need to download/install & use HJT (Hi Jack This) Installer to provide required Logs for your first post