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Thread ID: 40101 2003-11-27 20:52:00 umm help? belfa (4918) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
195309 2003-11-27 20:52:00 I have been running win xp and a few days ago I booted up to find an error message telling me a windows system file was missing, I tried using the xp recovery but to no avail, so i formatted the drive and started from scratch, no problem till the next day, the exact same thing happened, so i went back to win 98, it worked fine till the next day when i had another error, I can't remember this one but was something about booting from drive c: I have been advised to do a low level format, is this the way to go? any other ideas? and if so how do i do the low level?
cheers
belfa (4918)
195310 2003-11-27 21:02:00 If you know or utilise a program like Aida32, then go to the hard drive manufacturer and they usually have testing/repair tools for download.
It shows up in the startup and BIOS sometimes too.
Pheonix (280)
195311 2003-11-27 21:06:00 which system file is missing?

can you quote the exact error message?

low level formats are not really neccary and i'm not sure how many pc's even have the bios optoin to do it.
tweak'e (174)
195312 2003-11-28 01:20:00 the exact wording under xp is,

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\windows\system32\config\system

sorry can't remember the 98 message, this one came up after a fresh install of xp was rebooted
belfa (4918)
195313 2003-11-28 01:53:00 You might have a disk fault. That's not usually fixable by formatting. :-( When a modern disk gets "visible" faults, it has run out of room to invisibly repair them.

MFM disks needed reformatting from time to time, and low-level formatting less often to get rid of bad blocks. IDE drives do it by magic. But eventually there is no more magic left.

You should be able to find a disk test programme from a manufacturer.
Graham L (2)
195314 2003-11-28 01:53:00 Hey Belfa,

From what I can see of this situation, I think you may have RAM (Random Access Memory) problems or the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is on it's last legs.

I can't quite pinpoint the exact problem, but if it's the Hard Drive, you may of had trouble getting through the installation. So I'm thinking it's probably the RAM.
Kame (312)
195315 2003-11-28 11:10:00 hmmm thanks for the help peeps, will see what i can come up with, if all else fails I'll see if I can talk the missus into getting a new pc :) belfa (4918)
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