Re: Windows Boot Problem

From: louisa14 (louisa14_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 10/20/04 

Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 00:07:30 -0700

I swear to God i followed all the directions in that knowledge based article
for repairing the registry but now my computer won't even get to that blue
screen. It says "Windows not able to boot up becase the
"c:\windows\system32\config\system" is missing or corrupt. I went back in
and checked the directory of the c:\windows\system32\config folder and the
system one was there. Now my computer is even more screwed up. What should
I do?

P.S. everyone keeps asking me if I have my XP CD. Why would I have this and
where would it be? I have a Sony Vaio Desktop and i have no XP CD. The only
CD's I have are the system recovery ones that clear out the hard drives and
start you from scratch. Is there anyway to get one of those XP CD's?

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP)" wrote:

> Well, since we don't know when it began, the problem could either be SP2 or
> perhaps the spyware removal was a bit to aggressive and removed something
> the system needed. Since "Last Known..." didn't work and neither did Safe
> Mode, try the following Knowledge Base Article for recovering from a
> corrupted registry:
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545
>
> If that fails to resolve it, you'll need to do a repair install as follows.
> This will put the system back to pre-SP1 and SP2 condition and any other
> post setup updates that have been installed will be removed as well though
> reinstalling SP2 will bring the system up to data with regard to all
> necessary updates up to the time of SP2's release:
>
> NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
> something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
> over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
> you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.
>
> Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive and you have an
> actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, boot with the XP
> CD in the drive and perform a repair install as outlined below. If the
> system isn't set to boot from the CD or you are not sure, you need to enter
> the system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
> instructions that if you wish to enter set press a specific key, when you
> see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
> the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
> your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.
>
> When the system boots, a few screens into the process you may see a message
> instructing you
> to hit any key in order to boot from the CD along with a countdown. When
> you see this be sure to
> hit a key on the keyboard, if you miss this instruction and the system fails
> to boot from the CD, it's too
> late, you'll need to reboot and try again.
>
> Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
> asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
> wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
> setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.
>
> Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
> with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
> using the Recovery console. ***The selection you want at this screen is
> "Setup Windows,"
> NOT "Repair Windows Installation.
>
> The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
> press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
> will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
> version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
> install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
> on, follow the screens.
>
> Note, in some cases, you won't receive the repair option, only an option to
> reinstall. We have discovered that sometimes this is caused by damaged
> boot.ini file that can be repaired as follows and also note, in the
> instructions, "K" refers to the CD drive in which you have placed the XP CD,
> replace that drive letter with the appropriate letter on your system, "K" is
> simply an example.
>
> Reboot, this time taking the immediate R option (this is the section I told
> you to skip above. In this case, you will need to get to the Recovery
> Console to perform the function below), and if the CD letter is say K: give
> these commands
>
> COPY K:\i386\ntldr C:
> COPY K:\i386\ntdetect.com C:
> (two other files needed - just in case)
> ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\boot.ini
> DEL C:\boot.ini
> BootCfg /Rebuild
>
> Once you've completed this function, reboot and see if you can access XP as
> sometimes, the problem is the damaged boot.ini. If you still cannot access
> XP, then reboot and re-run the repair install instructions at the beginning
> of this message.
>
> If you only have a recovery CD, your options are quite limited. You can
> either purchase a retail version of XP which will allow you to perform the
> above
> among other tools and options it has or you can run your system recovery
> routine with the Recovery CD which will likely wipe your drive, deleting all
> files but will restore your setup to factory fresh condition.
>
>
> --
> Michael Solomon MS-MVP
> Windows Shell/User
> Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
> DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
>
> "louisa14" <louisa14@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:138277F9-B2E3-4CFD-A466-3EBA05408CE9@microsoft.com...
> > After installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 and removing some spyware on my
> > computer, I restarted my computer. The boot went as normal all the way to
> > the blue screen where the Windows logo reveals your username where you
> > can
> > type the password or log onto Windows. The problem was that only the
> > Windows
> > logo popped up. I could not click on my username to log into Windows. It
> > will not start in Safe Mode or Last Good Mode. I also have tried to use
> > the
> > Windows Recovery file on the Microsoft website. That would not start up
> > the
> > restore file using that. What else can I do? I cannot loose my hard drive
> > information so I can't reformat or just recover my original system.
>
>
>

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