The following file is missing or corrupt. --UPDATED!

Head · Post by **Head** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:21 pm

Does anyone have a simple answer to my nightmare? Keep in mind that I have an XP Home Edition OEM CD -- and this process did not get me to the recovery console where I could press 'r' to repair.

I turned on my computer when I got home yesterday. When it tried to load the operating system -- I got this displayed:

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.

So I boot from my XP CD.... at the bottom of the screen, it's filling in a line that says Starting Windows XP Pre Installation Environment..

Then I'm on the XP desk top and a dos box appears with the following:

D:\i386\system32>factory -winpe

20 seconds later, I get a windows box saying:

Factory Preinstallation is Performing the Following Actions
-Resolution Display Settings

another 20 seconds later, that windows box goes away leaving the dos box with the following:

D:\i386\system32>factory -winpe
D:\i386\system32

Nothing happens after this. If I close the dos box, the computer shuts down and restarts the same cycle.

~Head

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:51 pm

This essentially means that your registry (part of it, anyway) is corrupt, and Windows can't load. The easiest way to get back up and running, assuming you had System Restore enabled (which it is by default), is this:

-Boot to the recovery console
-Make a backup copy of your current registry files (C:\windows\system32\config)
-Copy in the initial registry from c:\windows\repair to c:\windows\system32\config
-Restart
-Copy a Restore Point's registry into a location accessible from the recovery console (c:\windows\temp is suggested)
-Restart in recovery console
-Copy the RP's registry that you just placed in c:\windows\temp into c:\windows\system32\config
-Restart
-You'll now have your System Restore points available, and can do a 'normal' system restore to the day(s) prior to the crash.

This procedure is spelled out in detail here.

Hope this helps!

Head · Post by **Head** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:03 pm

System restore is enabled. But I have been unsuccessful in getting to the recovery console. Can you get to the system recovery console with a OEM CD? The boot does not take me to a welcome screen.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:24 pm

Head wrote:System restore is enabled. But I have been unsuccessful in getting to the recovery console. Can you get to the system recovery console with a OEM CD? The boot does not take me to a welcome screen.

Most OEM CDs (Dell and HP for certain) do allow you to get to the recovery console. It should be an option on the first screen after the XP CD boots. What do you get when you boot the OEM XP CD?

Head · Post by **Head** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:34 pm

I get just wallpaper with an open dos box with the information below.
D:\i386\system32>factory -winpe

20 seconds later, I get a windows box saying:

Factory Preinstallation is Performing the Following Actions
-Resolution Display Settings

another 20 seconds later, that windows box goes away leaving the dos box with the following with the command prompt blinking:

D:\i386\system32>factory -winpe
D:\i386\system32

Is this the the recovery console or just the windows Preinstallation Environment console?
The title of the dos box is: cmd.exe/k startnet.cmd

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 5:00 pm

If your OEM disc is a plain old OEM, you should be able to get right to the console. If it's branded (dell, etc) I don't know. What you're getting is not the recovery console, at least not the normal one.

Did you try typing in r or repair at that prompt?

Head · Post by **Head** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 5:04 pm

Yup.... command not reconized. I don't know why it's doing this when it boots from the XP OEM CD.

Head · Post by **Head** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 5:29 pm

Good Grief! I think I've been trying to boot off the wrong XP CD. I've been trying to boot off of "Windows XP OEM Preinstallation Kit". I'm at work right now and won't know for sure if I have a "Windows XP Home Edition OEM" in my computer drawer.

I really hope that's the reason I can't get to the recovery console.

~Head

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 5:30 pm

Sounds like your problem.

-winpe = Windows Preinstallation Environment

Head · Post by **Head** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 5:38 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:Sounds like your problem.

-winpe = Windows Preinstallation Environment

Okay.... I'm a doofus. But I'll report back here after I find the real XP CD and hopefully repair my fricken problem.

Head · Post by **Head** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 11:50 am

Okay, so I was able to get to the recovery console by booting off the CORRECT XP CD! Apparently, the only way I was able to repair the registry was to replace the system with the system in the repair folder. Trying F8 and selecting the last successful boot config did not work. So, in the repair console, using dos commands, I did the following:

md tmp
copy C:\windows\system32\config\system C:\windows\tmp\system.bak
delete C:\windows\system32\config\system
copy C:\windows\repair\system C:\windows\system32\config\system

Reboot....without the XP CD.... and that worked. However, I lost my settings, video card, sound card and directx. I had to reinstall all those drivers and directx 9c. I thought "wait a second, I'll do a system restore from a couple of days ago". To my surprise, there was not a single restore point saved that I could go back to. Oh well, at least it's working again. Looking through a lot of tech sites for help on this, I discovered that it's pretty common... but nowhere was it mentioned how/why this happens. Gremlins maybe?

~Head

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 8:18 am

Head, you skipped a step in my instructions. Here's what happened:

-You restored your system to its initial registry, as of when XP was first installed.
-You rebooted, and many things were 'missing', because Windows didn't know of their existence. This includes programs, settings, and restore points.
-Next, you were supposed to move a restore point's registry files into c:\windows\temp, and go *back* to the recovery console, and install that copy of the registry. *Then* you can use system restore to fully recover to a recent restore point. I'm not sure if you'll run into trouble doing this now that you've installed programs and possibly tarnished the system. If you were just reinstalling old programs with the same settings they originally had, my guess is you'll be ok.

To recap, here are the full instructions for recovering from your initial problem:

-Boot to the recovery console
-Make a backup copy of your current registry files (C:\windows\system32\config)
-Copy in the initial registry from c:\windows\repair to c:\windows\system32\config
-Restart
-Copy a Restore Point's registry into a location accessible from the recovery console (c:\windows\temp is suggested)
-Restart in recovery console
-Copy the RP's registry that you just placed in c:\windows\temp into c:\windows\system32\config
-Restart
-You'll now have your System Restore points available, and can do a 'normal' system restore to the day(s) prior to the crash.

Head · Post by **Head** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 12:46 pm

Well.... CRAP! Zaxxon, I got scared off with your link because I saw this:

Warning Do not use the procedure that is described in this article if your computer has an OEM-installed operating system.

and I have an OEM-installed system.

~Head

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 8:54 pm

Ah, they just say that because generally the OEM supports pre-installed Windows software. You can likely still do the procedure now with success.