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Mike_in_Atlanta
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December 25th, 2005 16:00
Corrupt Windows/system32/config/system
As of last night we have been unable to start our dimension 4700 with Windows XP home as we get a message corrupt or missing windows/system32/config/system. We found a fix on both Dell and other web sites, but in recovery mode when I type the first command "md tmp" I get access denied. There is a series of commands on the Dell site I am supposed to use when I get Access denied and all give various error messages such as path or file specified not valid. I can't even do a dir from the C prompt (an error occurred during directory ennumeration). Any ideas what I can do? Will I lose everything on my hard drive?
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Posted December 25th, 2005 17:00
Mike_in_Atlanta,
An alternate series of steps to attempt to correct the problem is here.
Are you entering the md tmp at a C:\WINDOWS> prompt? Did you select the Windows installation you wished to work on (usually 1.) and enter the administrator password to get to Recovery Console? Do you get a listing of the contents of C:\WINDOWS when you enter dir at the prompt?
Message Edited by Denny Denham on 12-25-2005 11:24 AM
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Posted December 25th, 2005 17:00
Denny
I apolgize. I did not answer all of your questions
Are you entering the md tmp at a C:\WINDOWS> prompt? No. Just C\:
Did you select the Windows installation you wished to work on (usually 1.) and enter the administrator password to get to Recovery Console? I did not get this option. I do not have an admin password. Dell service wants $99 to give it to me.
Do you get a listing of the contents of C:\WINDOWS when you enter dir at the prompt? At C;\ I get an error occured during directory ennumeration
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Posted December 25th, 2005 19:00
Mike_in_Atlanta,
Okay, the basic problem is that you can't get into Recovery Console. There are a couple of sites that may be of help with the password problem. They are here and here. I'd be willing to wager that for $99 Dell will tell you to reinstall Windows. If the administrator password recovery procedures fail, I will give you that advice for nothing.
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Posted December 25th, 2005 20:00
Denny
Thank-you again.
Well I tried the links. And I am not seeing what the instructions state I will see. For instance
Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)
OK
2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”
OK
3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.
OK
4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows nowOK
5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.
OK
6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.
NO. I GET A SCREEN ABOUT EXIST PARTITIONED AND UNPARTITIONED SPACE
Any ideas? Am I stuck re-installing? If I do that do I lose everything that was on the computer?1121
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Posted December 25th, 2005 23:00
if you managed to get into the "recovery console", you must have been able to enter some administrator password..doing a clean install of win xp is one solution, and probably the simplest solution.. also, since the "fix" restores a copy of the original registry from when win xp was first installed, i believe that you would have to reinstall everything anyway.. the only difference might be if you had some ciritical documents on the harddrive which are not backed up and that you did not want to lose..look at the "reinstall guide" for your computer in "dell support".. (there might not be one for your computer if you have a newer dell). in that case, you can look at reinstall guides for other dells, or look in your owner's manual..reinstalling win xp et al is usually not difficult, however, with the newer dells that have sata drives, you either have to install a special "raid" driver before you install the operating system, or there might be some tweak in the bios settings to work around that.. so, that makes things a little more complicated.. look at the instructions...i don't have a newer dell with a sata drive, so i am not familiar with working with the "raid" driver bit..Message Edited by redwolfe_98 on 12-25-2005 10:15 PM
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Posted December 26th, 2005 01:00
Mike_in_Atlanta,
4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now
OK
Are you trying to do a repair reinstall? Last I heard you were working with Recovery Console When you get to that screen where it says "To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R" press R. By pressing Enter you are beginning a clean install of Windows XP unless the installation program detects an installation of Windows XP, which it apparently is not presently doing.
Of course, a reinstall will correct the problem and if you don't have a lot of perishable data on the hard drive, you may choose to copy it to removable media using a program such as the one here and then doing a reinstall.
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Posted December 26th, 2005 17:00
I've had exactly the same problem since yesterday morning, also on a Dell 4700. I also don't get the option to do a repair at your step 6, but the same screen as you about partitions. I don't think the automatic repair utility is on this build (maybe its just not on the OEM version of XP). If I type r at your step 4 I get into the Recovery Console. However, although it displays a c:/> prompt it doesn't let me do cd windows (it says the path or file specified is not valid). If I do dir it says 'an error occurred during directory enumeration'. The c prompt responds to help and exit however. At no stage in any of the the above am I asked for an admin password as some have suggested.I'm also very reluctant do do a re-install and, from what I have read, we should be able to start windows by replacing \windows\system32\config\system with system.bak and after were in windows go back to a recent system restore point.I'm going to wait a bit longer before I do a re-install. There must be someone out there that has had similar problems and just feel we must be doing something wrong.1121
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Posted December 26th, 2005 19:00
PeterRH,
A repair reinstall will do nothing to correct the problem you are experiencing which is a corrupted registry. A repair reinstall does not regenerate the registry. The feature is included in the Dell OEM version of XP which is precisely the same as a retail version.
I am at a loss as to why both of you are ending up at a C:> prompt in Recovery Console and why you are unable to get to a C:\WINDOWS> prompt except that if you were not prompted for an administrator password you are not truly in Recovery Console.
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Posted December 27th, 2005 09:00
DennyThanks for reply. I assume I'm doing the right things to get into Recovery Console but to make sure I've listed below every step that I'm making.Dell CD loaded (labelled 'Reinstallation CD Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Including Service Pack 1a')Start PCPress F12 at Dell start-up screen to enter Boot Device menu (other option is F2 for Setup)Select 'Onboard or USB CD-ROM drive' (other options are: Onboard SATA Hard drive, System Setup, Hard Drive Diagnostics, Boot to Utility Partition)Press any key to boot from CD when requestedPC displays Windows Setup screen (bottom of screen says setup is loading various files)Screen says 'Windows XP Home Edition Setup' and presents three options:To set up windows XP now, press ENTERTo repair a Windoes XP installation using Recovery Console, press rTo quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3I press r for repairBottom of screen briefly says examining environment and then get screen:Microsoft Windows XP(TM) Recovery Console.The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.C:\>If I type help it lists all the commands but when I type cd windows it gives error message ('The path or file specified is not valid'). dir also gives error message.If I type exit I get back to Dell startup screen and the original error message:Windows could not start becasue the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32|CONFIG\SYSTEMYou can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the original Setup CD-ROMSelect 'r' at the first screen to start repairI definately don't get asked for a password during this process. If there is any other way into the Recovery Console then please let me know. Thanks again for your help.
Mike_in_Atlanta
5 Posts
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Posted December 25th, 2005 17:00
Denny
Thank-you for your reply. I have tried this and still have problems.
In recovery mode at C:\>
I have tried c:\windows
windows
\windows
all give "The commend is not recognized" error