Hello,

 

I'm hoping someone can help me. My 8400 crashed, and when I tried to reboot, I got this message:

 

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've tried to do what it says to do on the Microsoft site, using the Windows XP startup CD, but when I get to the repair screen, it never prompts me for the admin password. Everthing I type gets "Access is Denied" as a response. When I try to reload XP, it says that the startup program can't gain access to the disk. In other words, I've tried what Microsoft said I should do to rememdy the problem, and neither worked. Is there anything else I can do? Could a professional fix this? Is the computer toast?

 

Thanks