UNSOLVED
missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
I have a:
Inspiron 6400 Single Core
Intel® Core™ Solo processor T1300 (2MB Cache/1.66GHz/667MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Professional
Intel® Core™ Solo processor T1300 (2MB Cache/1.66GHz/667MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Professional
This morning my husband told me we are now getting the following error:
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEMYou can attempt to repair...CD... press r for repair.
Question 1:
I found a Dell system disk, but it say's Windows XP Home Ed. on it. Can I still use this disk to help repair my computer?
I went online to
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/en/backupcd_form?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&redirect=1 and requested a backup Professional disk, just in case.
Question 2:
What is the best fix for this problem? I have thousands of photos on my computer that I don't want to lose.
Suggestions I've seen:
Microsoft: I've searched Microsoft forums and found the following (
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545):
Warning Do not use the procedure that is described in this article if your computer has an OEM-installed operating system. The system hive on OEM installations creates passwords and user accounts that did not exist previously. If you use the procedure that is described in this article, you may not be able to log back into the recovery console to restore the original registry hives.
Thus, I'm afraid of using that solution because of the warning.
chkdsk /p: I was able to configure my computer to start from the CD-ROM drive. (Whew!) Tried this option, restarted the computer (after I removed the disk) and it didn't work.
Setup Windows XP now: Tried this one too from
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx but "R" for repair isn't an option on my screen
Recovery Console Tool: I've seen options that suggest using the Recovery Console and others that say definitely don't use it. I'm confused and leary of copying and changing file names in case I screw something up. But, if this is what I should be doing, then I'll do it. I actually tried the "r" for repair thing and then it asked me which system I wanted to repair (only one was listed). I entered "1" for the system, but nothing happened and I was afraid to hit "enter" because it said that would cancel my repair.
Am I doing it wrong or is it because I'm using the XP Home disk when I should be using the XP Professional disk? Some instructions say to simply change the name of my \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM file. I'm pretty stupid when it comes to DOS and I don't know how to do that.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Jill
