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Thread ID: 78258	2007-04-09 09:51:00	Windows does not start	Duron (8503)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
539368	2007-04-09 09:51:00	When attempting to start the computer I get as far as a black screen which shows: "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." Tried with the original CD which is Windows XP, but the computer keeps coming back to the same black screen after a period. One of my children had been using the computer earlier, but could shed any light as to what had occurred. Duron	Duron (8503)
539369	2007-04-09 10:40:00	Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair." Thats wrong. Select Enetr to install at the first screen, then select R for Repair at the second screen.	pctek (84)
539370	2007-04-09 10:45:00	I typed exactly what comes up on the screen when I attempt to start. It doesn't matter which key is subsequently pressed, the computer reverts eventually to the same black screen with the quoted message. Cheers	Duron (8503)
539371	2007-04-09 12:16:00	Your "boot sequence" is probably set to boot from "C" first if the setup screen is not appearing when you boot with your original xp cd in the cd drive. If so, you will need to get into your bios and change the boot sequence so the CD drive is first in the sequence. Depending on the model of your comp the key to access the bios could be a number of things, but is usualy the "delete" key I'll guess it is the delete key, you'll have to post your comp make/model if it's not. So, you boot the computer and then when you hear the "beep", start tapping the delete key, and (hopefully) you will get the bios setup screen. Once there, find the boot sequence options and select the cd drive as first in priority then make sure to "save and exit" It should then boot from the xp install disk you have in the cd You can then "enter" to install at the first screen, and R to repair at the second. Here's (www.hiren.info) a few of the common manufacturers bios screens and where the boot sequences are if you have trouble finding it	bevy121 (117)
539372	2007-12-18 21:05:00	When attempting to start the computer I get as far as a black screen which shows: "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." Tried with the original CD which is Windows XP, but the computer keeps coming back to the same black screen after a period. One of my children had been using the computer earlier, but could shed any light as to what had occurred. Duron i have the exact ame problem, how did u resolve this?	south4lyf (12108)
539373	2007-12-18 21:12:00	How Do I Repair A Missing Or Corrupt Windows\System32\Conf\System File This type of error usually indicated that the pc has refused to start because of a corruption within the registry. The following should remedy the problem. However, it is important that you replace all five registry hives. Simply replacing one or two could, potentially, cause other problems. NOTE You should not use the method two set of instructions below if your system has an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) copy of Windows XP. Doing so will render your operating system inoperable. OEM installations create passwords and user name that did not previously exist. Therefore, in your own interest, these instructions will not remedy the problem. The easiest option with OEM copies of XP is to reinstall XP using the manufacturer’s recovery disks. Easy Method 1/ Restart your PC 2/ Keep tapping the F8 Button until a menu appears 3/ When the menu appears use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to select the ‘Last known good configuration’ option. 4/ Once selected press Enter 5/ Your PC should now reinstall the ‘last known good configuration file’ 6/ Restart your PC and see if the problem has been solved 7/ If it hasn’t go on to the Harder Method below. Harder Method Step One 1/ Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD-ROM and restart your pc 2/ At the ‘Welcome to Setup’ screen press R to start the recovery Console 3/ The Recovery Console will now open and the list of Windows installations will appear 4/ As you only have one installation on your PC you need to press the number which is relevant to your installations location. This, obviously will typically be 5/ When requested type in your Administrator password. If you haven’t set an administrator password, then simply press Enter 6/ The Recovery Console command prompt window will now appear 7/ At the Command prompt type the following, pressing Enter after you have typed each line. It is assumed that your root directory will be C: However, if your root directory isn't C:, for example, if you have other partitions/drives on your system you may have installed XP to say the D: drive, the you will need to substitute each reference to C: with the letter of your root directory. md tmp copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak delete c:\windows\system32\config\system delete c:\windows\system32\config\software delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam delete c:\windows\system32\config\security delete c:\windows\system32\config\default copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config\system copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default 8/ Now type Exit to exit the recovery console 9/ Finally restart your pc Step Two 10/ When the PC restarts log on as Administrator. if you are using Windows XP Home you can only log on as Administrator via Safe Mode. 11/ The next step is to copy the registry files from their backed up location using system restore. However, before you can begin you need to set the folder options in Windows Explorer to Show Hidden Files and Folders 12/ Open Windows Explorer 13/ Click the Tools option on the main toolbar 14/ From the drop down menu click on Folder options 15/ In the Folder options window click the View tab 16/ Look down the file list until you come to a section marked Hidden Files and Folders 17/ Click on the Radio button on the left of the option Show hidden Files and Folders to enable this option 18/ Next move down two lines and remove the check mark next to the option Hide Protected operating system files (Recommended) 19/ You will receive a message informing you that editing or deleting these files could cause damage to your system. Click Yes to confirm that you want to display these files. 20/ From the folder/directory list in Windows explorer click on the drive where you installed Windows XP 21/ Open the System Volume Information folder (The folder appears dimmed) If you receive a System volume Information is not accessible. access denied Error message see Microsoft Knowledgebase Article 309531 22/ Inside you will find one or more folders that look something like this "_restore{87BD3667-3246-476B-923F-F86E30B3E7F8}". 23/ If the folders are displayed as icons or thumbnails click the View option on the main toolbar and click on Details to give a more detailed view of the files 24/ Select a file that was not created at the current time and that starts with RPx (these are Restore Points) 25/ Open one of these folders and look for a Snapshot folder - for example: C:\System Volume Information\_restore{D86480E3-73EF-47BC-A0EB-A81BE6EE3ED8}\RP1\Snapshot 26/ From this snapshot folder copy the following files to C:\Windows\tmp folder _REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM 27/ Now rename the files as follows: Rename _REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT to DEFAULT Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY to SECURITY Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE to SOFTWARE Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM to SYSTEM Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM to SAM Step Three 28/ You now have to delete the existing registry files and copy the system restore registry files to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder: You can do this either by using Recovery Console or (if you file system is FAT32) by using a Windows 98 Start Up Disk) Whichever method you use you will be presented with a command prompt. At the command prompt type the following, remembering to press Enter after you have typed each line. del c:\windows\system32\config\sam del c:\windows\system32\config\security del c:\windows\system32\config\software del c:\windows\system32\config\default del c:\windows\system32\config\system 29/ Now type the following, pressing Enter after you have typed each line: copy c:\windows\tmp\software c:\windows\system32\config\software copy c:\windows\tmp\system c:\windows\system32\config\system copy c:\windows\tmp\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam copy c:\windows\tmp\security c:\windows\system32\config\security copy c:\windows\tmp\default c:\windows\system32\config\default 30/ Finally Exit Recovery Console and Restart your PC (If you are using the Windows 98 startup disk simply press CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart your pc Step Four 31/ After your PC has rebooted click the Start button followed by All Programs 32/ From the All Programs menu click Accessories 33/ From the Accessories drop down menu click on System Restore 34/ From the System Restore window click on the Restore to a Previous Restore Point option and restore your pc to a previous restore point	south4lyf (12108)
539374	2007-12-18 21:59:00	That's what I had to do too once, but I skipped the steps by restoring the registry from system restore first time, rather than the default backup first and then the system restore backup. Worked for me.	Agent_24 (57)
539375	2007-12-18 22:56:00	ran into this issue on a pc the other day.....however after 15 mins of fiddling around I became suspicious and ran a hdd diagnostic........it was a WD hdd......diagnostic said 'read element error' (pretty sure that was the message).....that was on the short diagnostic ....so I started the long diagnostic and it froze after a short while.........I had to tell the person ....sorry mate but the hdd is either dying or dead !	drcspy (146)
539376	2007-12-18 23:36:00	Actually when it happened to me it was due to my hard drive failing (40GB seagate with occasional clunk, every time it clunked it would corrupt something) So yeah you might want to check your drive out, check your RAM as well	Agent_24 (57)
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