windows lost when adding new memory

Hi,
When I added new memory to my XP Home pc the windows boot failed with the
error message:
the following file is missing \windows system32/config system
(note the missing drive prefixing the directory path)

After 2 weeks of tryng to recover (including upgrading to xp pro,
slipstream cds....) I finally gave up and used the initial oem cd which
formated the disk and put everything back in its original state.

I bought a new memory chip and now I'd like to try and add this new memory
but I'm worried that the same thing will happen again.

My question:
1. Is a normal backup sufficient to recover a non-bootable pc or does this
not backup the mbr etc?
2. How can adding new (possibly defective) RAM make windows forget how to
boot? (I seem to remember reading about this in another forum but I can't
find this now)

Best regards,
Alan
.

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