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PC will not boot


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#1
meditationguru

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My wife's PC gets an error when booting that says that a file is missing or corrupt at:
C:\windows\system32\config\system
Then it gives options of starting normally, safe mode, command prompt, etc. But whatever you select, it simply boots again.

I then booted it off of the setup drive and saw the options:
. to setup windows XP, press enter
. to repair windows XP installation using recovery console, press 'r'
. quit using f3

I selected the 'r' option, as instructed by the original error screen.

When I did this I saw four options for windows: windows,windows.0, windows.1, windows.2 I tried the following with both nrs. 1 and 4. The results were the same...I got a command prompt and so attempted to initiate restore with this command: %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
It said 'command not recognized'. I then moved directly into the restore directory where I found the rstrui program but when typing it in I got the same 'not recognized' msg. So I could not execute it.

I then returned to the windows setup screen and selected the first option, 'enter' to setup windows and then f8 to agree to terms.

I then saw options for partitioning and unpartitioning space by moving to my C: drive or my D: drive. I moved to the C: drive
Then, . to set up XP on item, press enter
. to create partition, press 'c'
. to delete partition, press 'd'
I hit 'c'
Then, . to continue setup, press 'c'
. for a different partition, press esc
I hit 'c'
Then, . format the partition (quick)
. format the partition
. leave alone
I left it alone.

My efforts to simply copy over the C:\system32\config\system directory using the C drive from my PC also has not worked, saying that I was not authorized to do so. I am the only operator of my PC.

Can my wife's PC be repaired without having to reinstall windows XP? I have done a chkdsk /r on her C drive and would like to simply replace the damaged files if possible.

Both PCs are using sp3

thanks
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#2
skifxr

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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

  • At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
  • 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
  • Type exit to quit Recovery Console. Your computer will restart.
Note This procedure assumes that Windows XP is installed to the C:\Windows folder. Make sure to change C:\Windows to the appropriate windows_folder if it is a different location.


When done, you should delete those old Windows installations. To find out which installation you are on, click Start, run, type %windir%, press enter and see which folder opens but more than likely you are on windows.2.

Edited by skifxr, 02 July 2011 - 05:34 AM.

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#3
meditationguru

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I executed the DOS commands you suggested with the directory of \windows.2 instead of \windows, since you said that windows.2 is probably the current version.

Still have the same problem however.
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#4
skifxr

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OK, when you are at the recovery console type bootcfg /list

You will get a "printout" of your boot.ini entries.

See what it says for OS Location:

That's the one you need to work on.
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#5
meditationguru

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Thank you, I appreciate your time.

Yes, it did boot up this time but reverted to a low screen resolution. It began asking for directions to install new hardware. Also the mouse would not work. I rebooted again and this time it appeared with a very high resolution, I needed glasses to read it. Again, the mouse did not work.

It then began asking for locations of various drivers...e.g. amdk8.sys I went to my other computer to find where this file was located and successfully told my wife's PC where it was. Now it wants Nvidia files. I retrieved one using this method, but the file nvnetbus.sys could not be found on my system, so I will have to search through my CDs and see what I can do.

I am hopeful that eventually I will be able to locate all of these drivers on the hard drive via my own. And that the mouse drivers will become active (it's hard to operate without a mouse)

My questions are:
Am I essentially doing a re-installation? When finished, will I have to reinstall all of the software programs that were on the system? (the icons are still on the desktop)

One side question: On my PC I backup the C drive and data drive once a month to external hard drives, thinking that if one fails, I can simply insert the backup. However when I replaced my C drive backup into my wife's PC it said that Windows XP will have to be installed within three days. What is that? Will I have to do that to my own system in the event of a hard drive catastrophe? Also, when I did this, again the mouse did not work, but after trying to evade the new hardware installation windows, it did. But that hasn't happened this time.

One last thing. How do I delete Windows.0, .1, and .2 from the system? By using del C:\windows.0?

Edited by meditationguru, 03 July 2011 - 01:54 PM.

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#6
123Runner

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It began asking for directions to install new hardware.

It then began asking for locations of various drivers

Lets see if we can make this a little easier.
It then began asking for locations of various drivers

One side question: On my PC I backup the C drive and data drive once a month to external hard drives, thinking that if one fails, I can simply insert the backup. However when I replaced my C drive backup into my wife's PC it said that Windows XP will have to be installed within three days

Unless both computers are 200% identical that won't work because of what is held in registry.

If you are to swap a hard drive in to a crashed system you would either have to clone the drive (exact copy) or create an image file. The clone and image would only work for the computer it was meant for.

One last thing. How do I delete Windows.0, .1, and .2 from the system? By using del C:\windows.0?

That is how you would do it, or from within windows would work also. After you are up and running.
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#7
meditationguru

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Sorry, I seem to be going nowhere on this. The system does not connect to the internet. The mouse does not work - even though I've tried to load the drivers from a Logitech CD, which said it was successful. It's asking for files that I don't have and can only download (which I can't do).

So it seems like I'm dead in the water. Any suggestions?
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#8
skifxr

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OH nevermind! I wrote a detailed post on how to restore your system hive but just realized your original is corrupt.

Your mouse should not need any Logitech drivers to function so don't really know what's up with that.

What are the filenames it is asking for?

Do you have any restore points that you can use?

Edited by skifxr, 04 July 2011 - 03:29 AM.

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#9
123Runner

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Are you able to get in to windows at all?
If so...

Go to start
Go to run
Type in devmgmt.msc
Click on OK

Look for any Red ! or yellow ?

Attach it to your reply.
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#10
meditationguru

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To skifxr:

I can't click into start because I have no mouse. The file it is looking for is an nVidia file, nvnetbus.sys. I can bypass that by using escape but then I'm looking at these icons that when I tab over to them and hit enter, cannot connect to the internet.

I can't get to restore via windows because I can't click on start. When trying to do it via DOS using %systemroot%system32\restore\rstrui.exe, nothing happens. I even moved into the restore directory and attempted to execute rstrui to no avail.

Although it is strange that when I replaced the C drive with a copy of my own, the mouse didn't work at first, but as the drive "adjusted" to the new environment with adding files, the mouse then did work. - thought I'd throw that in for what it's worth.

Edited by meditationguru, 04 July 2011 - 12:45 PM.

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#11
meditationguru

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To 123Runner:

I'm in windows, but without a mouse all I an do is move around the icons with the tab key.

Edited by meditationguru, 04 July 2011 - 12:20 PM.

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#12
123Runner

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Windows logo key +R will Open the Run dialog box.
then type in devmgmt.msc


keyboard shortcuts
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#13
skifxr

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ctrl + escape for start menu
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#14
meditationguru

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So here are the alerts on the Device Manager:

- Human Interface Devices
----- Logitech USB G3 (MX518) Optical Mouse ---> was yellow

- Network adapters
----- Ethernet network controller ----> was yellow

Everything else was OK.

Edited by meditationguru, 05 July 2011 - 02:18 AM.

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#15
123Runner

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I believe you need to load the chipset drivers for the main board. How we are to do that without a mouse is the stumbling block.
Can you try a different mouse.
We don't know what computer you have so I can't point you to the drivers.
Is it a Dell, HP, etc? If we can get a mouse working we can load the appropriate drivers on a CD using another computer and then bring them to this computer.
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