\windows\system32\config\system ......????? help !!!!!

[Val Thomas]

This has happened to me twice now and i have had to
reinstal XP which is getting to be, not only boring, but
i have also lost some files (not this time thank god).
for some reason i get the following:

'windows could not start because the following file is
missing or corrupt'

\windows\system32\config\system

can anyone please email me and explain what this is and
why does it happen...and how can i avoid it....am really
considering going back to windows98...i have only just
got this computer up and running today..and still have
about 6 hours work to reinstall everything...

am desperate for help and advice..

Val

[d...@null.invalid]

Val Thomas wrote:

WHY it occurs is a matter of debate. You might try a 256 or 512 single
RAM chip in place of what is now installed - even if the current chip
tests okay. That solved it here.

As for the fix...

Try a boot into Safe Mode, by hitting F8 just before the "Starting
Windows" screen would appear (takes a bit of practice).
Choose LAST GOOD.

If that does nothing, use a working PC to read these sites...
http://WWW.WEBTREE.CA/windowsxp/ (repair console/restore tutorial)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q314874

After your system is restored, the ERUNT utility available here may
make it easier to fix the problem if it occurs again...
http://HOME.T-ONLINE.DE/home/lars.hederer/erunt

Allegedly (as posted to a newsgroup) this is what an MS tech advised.
It is similar to what is suggested in the above links...

====== the post =======-

You get the error message "windows\system32\config\system file is
missing or corrupt"...

This issue can occur when the system or software hive for the Windows
XP installation is damaged or missing...

Suggestion 1.

========

Step 1. Start your computer with the Windows CD-ROM. At the "Welcome
to Setup" screen, press F10, or press R to repair, and then press C
to start the Windows Recovery Console.

For more information about Recovery Console, please click the URL as
follows:

Description of the Windows Recovery Console
[winxpnetkb]

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q229/7/16.asp

Step 2. In the Recovery Console, rename \Windows\System32\Config\System
to
\Windows\System32\Config\System.old, and then copy
Windows\System32\Config\System.sav to Windows\System32\Config\System.
To do so, type the following line at command prompt and press Enter
after each line.

Note: If your system is not installed in drive C, change it to the
proper drive letter.

C:

Cd \windows\system32\config

Rename system system.old

Copy system.sav system

Step 3. Type 'exit' to leave the command prompt and reboot the system.

Suggestion 2.

=======

If this issue persists, run a "sfc /purgecache" (without quotation)
command in Recovery Console to purge the file cache. To do so, type the
following command at command prompt:

sfc /purgecache

Suggestion 3.

========

If this issue persists, we need to perform an in-place repair. To do so:

1. Set the BIOS to boot to the CD drive, by disabling all others or
listing the CD first in the boot order.

2. Insert the Windows XP CD.

3. Select to perform an upgrade (not clean install).

The in-place upgrade will overwrite all system files on the hard disk
from the Windows XP CD.

[Andrew Mallette]

I got the same message on my system (xppro) after a power
outage. It seems to happen when ever the system is turned
off impropperly. I too am very tired of having to reload
the system because of windows screwing up.

What i would like to know is, is there a way to back up
certain files to a cdrom so that it can be fixed.

[d...@null.invalid]

Andrew Mallette wrote:

Note the ERUNT utility listed in my earlier response.

For full protection, install an imaging utility, and create an image of
the system when things are running well.

http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage is one such program.

[Kent W. England [MVP]]

Yes, good advice. Use ERUNT to make a registry backup, say, once a week.
Then you would need to use the Recovery Console to copy the backup to
the %windir%\system32\config directory. Then, once XP can boot, run
System Restore to go back one step, which will get you closer to what
you had when you crashed.

There is a limitation on which folders Recovery Console can access (C:\
and C:\WINDOWS) although RC can access removeable media, so you have to
be careful where you store your ERUNT backups. You can't boot to DOS and
do the recovery if your partition is NTFS, unless you add NTFS drivers
from a third-party. RC has NTFS drivers.

--
Kent W. England, MS MVP for Windows XP
(Please respond only in the newsgroup)

[Ca...@hotmail.com]

Disable Disk Write Caching to avoid this problem.