Filed under: Windows Repair Software
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
January 16, 2010
2 thoughts on “Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM”
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Clean Registry and Optimize PC
Are you sure you don’t have the recovery CD’s that came with your computer? You could restore back to the factory install, then install anti-virus and download updates.
A plain XP CD would work too if you can get one from a friend or something.
Without that, your choices are kind of limited. You could have a tech savvy friend help you take the drive out and slave it to a known good XP machine then manually copy the boot files to their appropriate places. This takes some skill or at least the ability to read directions. There are tutorials available online for how to do this.
NOTE: If you can slave the drive on a known good XP machine, you can save any data that can’t be replaced before you reload windows or run the recovery CD.
If you don’t have your recovery CD’s you can order them from your PC’s manufacturer or maybe find a set on E-bay if your system is old enough.
Good luck.
Unfortunately, that’s one of the "bad" crashes. I don’t know if you’ll be able to get into safe mode, either.
To get into safe mode, you’re pressing F8 too soon. It’s not the BIOS that wants F8 (which is what the prompts you mention are from), but rather Windows. You need to press F8 after the BIOS tests, but before Windows boots. I find the easiest way is to start pressing F8 about once a second all during the BIOS boot screen. One of them will be caught once Windows starts loading, and you’ll get the Windows boot menu.
If you can’t get safe mode to work, you’ll have to take the long way to get back to running. See the below Microsoft knowledgebase article, "How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting". It’s rather lengthy, but I can attest that it works, as I’ve used it several times on client’s systems.