"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 can't boot up in safe mode either. It starts to load and then quits at the |WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM file. Unfortuantely I didn't get the Setup CD with my computer. (I am using Windows XP Home).
When did you purchase your DELL computer ? Simply ask for the Operating System CD by calling DELL Technical Support and telling them you did not receive one. Or proceed to http://support.dell.com and send an email to DELL about your request for an OS CD.
Even if you lost a disk, it can be replaced if you ask for it.
Thereafter, you can do the following: (1) Inside the Recovery Console which is also the OS CD, choose "Repair" by pressing R. (2} Then type a number wherein you see the OS. Enter. (3) When you see C:\> , type chkdsk /r . (4) When done, type in C:\>fixboot . . . just to be sure and you don't have to go back to the CD.
And by the way, to boot to CD, the procedures are as follows:
Insert the OS CD.
Shut down PC for at least one minute.
When starting via the power button, press F12 as soon as you see the DELL Blue Logo.
(Better still, keep on tapping F12 when you see DELL blue logo.)
You should see the Boot Menu shortly.
Then use the arrow keys on the keyboard to select "Boot to CD-Rom Drive" .
When the screen says "Press any key to boot to CD" , be sure to press any key on the KB or you will fail to boot to CD.
If you keep failing to try booting to the CD, you will have to force your PC to boot to the Optical Drive
Shutdown for a minute. Start. Press F2 as soon as you see the DELL Logo. In System Setup, select the option to Boot to CD Rom Drive first.
First off Tom_Philippines, thanks for your help... I got my discs from Dell.
After numerous tries and going to Seagate and getting a DOS program to repair some sectors (?) of my hard drive, i was able to do everything as shown in your response.
After rebooting, the problem i am having now, is an error message... lsass.exe - Application Error. The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000142). Click on OK to terminate the application.
Now my wireless keyboard and mouse appear to not work. I can't move the mouse to click on OK, nor can I type anywhere on the keyboard and get the application error to disappear. I have rebooted numerous times, tried F12 to run the repair again, but it keeps locking up at the application error. I can't get past this.
I researched your Error Message Code 0xc0000142 and found out that your Windows got infected by virus/malwares or it got hacked. Dell has a department that is FEE Based. That's DELL On Call. The technicians there fix software problems. ( Microsoft says you need to copy a file from a server ? )
If, however, you do not wish to spend, try requesting someone with a laptop to burn onto a CD/DVD one good anti-virus software and another for anti-malware. It should be bootable and capable of scanning your hard disk drive to first remove whatever virus/malwares are preventing your system from even fixing the boot sector. My understanding is that you simply want to do System Restore because you don't want to lose your important files. If not, it is better to simply do PC Restore to wipe out all software inside the disk, because that will remove all virus/malwares as well, and then reinstall clean Windows.
How can you get a FREE updated anti-virus ? Where can you get a FREE anti-malware ?
The same way that I was able to understand what your error message meant, type in the Google Search Box the topic of your choice. Let us say you type FREE Anti-virus and then search. We ought to know why Google is # 1 when it comes to Search Engines. I typed in your error message and it took me to www.microsoft.com and many other people who have experienced your error code.
Rule of thumb: "Never give up searching for the solution. Never lose control over your computer."
Here's another idea. Go get an extended hard drive from DELL with Windows in it -- one that you can simply connect via USB Port on your laptop. And ask DELL to teach you how to boot to that extended hard drive. Next, download one comprehensive Anti-Virus Software and another comprehensive Anti-Malware Software. You can also get a FREE Registry Cleaner to get rid of corruptions in your registry. Once you have those tools inside your "Ëxtended Hard Disk" with Windows in it, you will be on the way to fight a battle against the forces that conquered your laptop's Primary Drive.
My experience is always being the WINNER inside my computer. I must have conquered thousands of virus/malwares since the time I started using computers. Right now, I go by the saying: "An ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure." In short, practice preventive maintenance.
One customer said she never did Disk Cleanup since the time she purchased her computer about a year ago. Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup (once a week for frequent users)
Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragment (once a month)
Update Anti-Virus Definitions & Scan (once a week)
Update Anti-Malware Definitions & Scan (once a week)
Get Windows Updates once a week when not busy.
Update your Registry Cleaner and scan once a week.
Once a month, back up important data.
Once a month, do System Restore after successful regular maintenance.
I believe that you won't encounter problems for many months or even a year if preventive maintenance is practiced. However, it also depends if a user knows which softwares to use.
Worse case scenario ? Reinstall windows. Format and start clean.
Florida Viking
4 Posts
0
April 19th, 2008 17:00
Heres the message I get:
"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 can't boot up in safe mode either. It starts to load and then quits at the |WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM file. Unfortuantely I didn't get the Setup CD with my computer. (I am using Windows XP Home).
Thanks
Otiss
528 Posts
0
April 19th, 2008 17:00
you can't get into safe mode either? what is the error?
Otiss
528 Posts
0
April 19th, 2008 17:00
lot of these going around
have a look here
you will need your xp cd, if you don't have one you can order it here
your dell restore should have some option for using xp cd that is installed on your harddrive
Tom_Philippines
53 Posts
0
April 20th, 2008 08:00
Greetings !
When did you purchase your DELL computer ? Simply ask for the Operating System CD by calling DELL Technical Support and telling them you did not receive one. Or proceed to http://support.dell.com and send an email to DELL about your request for an OS CD.
Even if you lost a disk, it can be replaced if you ask for it.
Thereafter, you can do the following: (1) Inside the Recovery Console which is also the OS CD, choose "Repair" by pressing R. (2} Then type a number wherein you see the OS. Enter. (3) When you see C:\> , type chkdsk /r . (4) When done, type in C:\>fixboot . . . just to be sure and you don't have to go back to the CD.
And by the way, to boot to CD, the procedures are as follows:
Insert the OS CD.
Shut down PC for at least one minute.
When starting via the power button, press F12 as soon as you see the DELL Blue Logo.
(Better still, keep on tapping F12 when you see DELL blue logo.)
You should see the Boot Menu shortly.
Then use the arrow keys on the keyboard to select "Boot to CD-Rom Drive" .
When the screen says "Press any key to boot to CD" , be sure to press any key on the KB or you will fail to boot to CD.
If you keep failing to try booting to the CD, you will have to force your PC to boot to the Optical Drive
Shutdown for a minute. Start. Press F2 as soon as you see the DELL Logo. In System Setup, select the option to Boot to CD Rom Drive first.
Tom
Florida Viking
4 Posts
0
April 23rd, 2008 00:00
First off Tom_Philippines, thanks for your help... I got my discs from Dell.
After numerous tries and going to Seagate and getting a DOS program to repair some sectors (?) of my hard drive, i was able to do everything as shown in your response.
After rebooting, the problem i am having now, is an error message... lsass.exe - Application Error. The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000142). Click on OK to terminate the application.
Now my wireless keyboard and mouse appear to not work. I can't move the mouse to click on OK, nor can I type anywhere on the keyboard and get the application error to disappear. I have rebooted numerous times, tried F12 to run the repair again, but it keeps locking up at the application error. I can't get past this.
Any ideas??? Thanks!
Tom_Philippines
53 Posts
0
April 23rd, 2008 09:00
Hi there Florida Viking !
I researched your Error Message Code 0xc0000142 and found out that your Windows got infected by virus/malwares or it got hacked. Dell has a department that is FEE Based. That's DELL On Call. The technicians there fix software problems. ( Microsoft says you need to copy a file from a server ? )
If, however, you do not wish to spend, try requesting someone with a laptop to burn onto a CD/DVD one good anti-virus software and another for anti-malware. It should be bootable and capable of scanning your hard disk drive to first remove whatever virus/malwares are preventing your system from even fixing the boot sector. My understanding is that you simply want to do System Restore because you don't want to lose your important files. If not, it is better to simply do PC Restore to wipe out all software inside the disk, because that will remove all virus/malwares as well, and then reinstall clean Windows.
How can you get a FREE updated anti-virus ? Where can you get a FREE anti-malware ?
The same way that I was able to understand what your error message meant, type in the Google Search Box the topic of your choice. Let us say you type FREE Anti-virus and then search. We ought to know why Google is # 1 when it comes to Search Engines. I typed in your error message and it took me to www.microsoft.com and many other people who have experienced your error code.
Rule of thumb: "Never give up searching for the solution. Never lose control over your computer."
Here's another idea. Go get an extended hard drive from DELL with Windows in it -- one that you can simply connect via USB Port on your laptop. And ask DELL to teach you how to boot to that extended hard drive. Next, download one comprehensive Anti-Virus Software and another comprehensive Anti-Malware Software. You can also get a FREE Registry Cleaner to get rid of corruptions in your registry. Once you have those tools inside your "Ëxtended Hard Disk" with Windows in it, you will be on the way to fight a battle against the forces that conquered your laptop's Primary Drive.
My experience is always being the WINNER inside my computer. I must have conquered thousands of virus/malwares since the time I started using computers. Right now, I go by the saying: "An ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure." In short, practice preventive maintenance.
One customer said she never did Disk Cleanup since the time she purchased her computer about a year ago. Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup (once a week for frequent users)
Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragment (once a month)
Update Anti-Virus Definitions & Scan (once a week)
Update Anti-Malware Definitions & Scan (once a week)
Get Windows Updates once a week when not busy.
Update your Registry Cleaner and scan once a week.
Once a month, back up important data.
Once a month, do System Restore after successful regular maintenance.
I believe that you won't encounter problems for many months or even a year if preventive maintenance is practiced. However, it also depends if a user knows which softwares to use.
Worse case scenario ? Reinstall windows. Format and start clean.
Good Luck !
Tom