My laptop went down. I dont want to loose everything. When it tries to start up it says missing file
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
It is a
Compaq Presario 1500T
Windows XP

did you try booting up in "safe" mode ?


(either F5 or F8... but I'm leaning towards "F5".. It's been a long time since I had boot issues with XPpro..let alone the need to reboot!) [:)]

Boot from a original windows XP CD (not the recovery CD from Compaq) and choose "Repair Installation".

I tried F8 It wont boot in safe mode. I put in the XP CD it copied files, it asked if I wanted to repair, press "r" then it goes to a screen and asks me what instalation to start from? I tried typing in XP but it only accepts one letter??

Read that screen again, it offers you a letter to press.

please?

Kev,

The problem is that you are pressing the "R" option to repair using the Recovery Console. This is NOT what you want to do.

When the Press any key to boot from CD message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

1. Press ENTER when you see the message To setup Windows XP now, and then press ENTER displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen.

>>>>> Do not choose the option to press R to use the Recovery Console. <<<<<

2. In the Windows XP Licensing Agreement, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.

3. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.

4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

Will I loose everything that way? If Not. Thank you so much. Please let me know. If it works I'll send you a USGI 30 rndr
Kev

Could have been a problem with your RAM or Intel box if you have one. Have you tried these?

[url]http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/Q269/0/75.ASP&NoWebContent=1[/url]

Boot into the recovery console from the CD, then choose your installation (usually C:\windows), you should end up at the prompt C:\ then type the following exactly as written, type,
cd system32\config (press enter)
ren system system.old (press enter)
ren system.alt systemalt.old (press enter)
copy c:\windows\repair\system (press enter)
copy c:\windows\repair\regback\system
(press enter)

exit (press enter then press it again to restart your computer)

When it restarts it will now boot up use system restore to return your recent files back if needed.

Edited to add: I have done this before on an XP machine using NTFS partition. You system comes back but you'll have to reconfigure your software, drivers and such.

No, you will not lose anything. It will replace the system files you are missing.

And thanks for the offer but it is not necessary.