using Recovery Console to get WinXP up and running again

A friend of mine's laptop stopped working a few days ago (a Gateway with WinXP Home). When you turn the computer on, a message comes up alluding to a "\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" error; after that, you can't do anything but turn the computer off.
I find quite a few entries for the above error message when I do a google search (probably a corrupt hive issue?), and there's frequent mention of using Recovery Console to fix the problem, but I don't know how to proceed.
Microsoft has an article about "How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting" (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545), but it starts off saying:
"Warning Do not use the procedure that is described in this article if your computer has an OEM-installed operating system. The system hive on OEM installations creates passwords and user accounts that did not exist previously. If you use the procedure that is described in this article, you may not be able to log back into the recovery console to restore the original registry hives. "
1) My friend's laptop came with XP preinstalled, so that's an OEM, right? So the article can't help me, correct?
2) Miz suggested instructions at http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm, but when I try to change to the C:\windows in Recovery Console, I get a message saying "the command is not recognized" (and indeed, WINDOWS is not a choice among the list of supported commands when I type "help ").

Any suggestions what I might try next?
Thanks,
Rebecca

 

What command are you using to change directories to the Windows directory?

If you are resident on the C:\ drive, it should be cd windows (enter)

BTW, did you try using System Restore first? That would be pressing the f8 key right after POST and selecting the "Use last known good configuration" from the menu.

 

Ugh, new problem now. When I turn the computer in question on, I get the same old error message:
<<Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINNT\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.>>
As soon as I type the letter r, the computer clicks itself off and then restarts automatically... and the cycle repeats itself. Just for the heck of it, I've tried a couple of other keys, and it doesn't seem to be the letter R in particular that's the problem (i.e., hitting any keys causes the computer to go off and restart). Maybe I need to just turn the thing off and let it cool down for a while? I'll try giving it a rest for a half hour and see if that makes any difference. In the meantime, if anyone has a possible solution for this latest glitch of mine, please suggest away!
PS - the above happens whether or not the Gateway Operating System CD is in the CD drive when I turn the computer on.

 

err..

 

If you are going to to a repair install of XP, you will need to set the BIOS to boot from cd. Theoretically, you shouldn't lose your data, but in real life...well, I wouldn't want to bet the farm on it.

BUT you should try a couple of simpler things before you go that far. A System Restore is a good idea, as Surferdude2 has mentioned, twice, now. If you can boot to safe mode, you could use the SFC (system File Checker) to repair any system files.

MS Recovery Console

Here are some screenshots of the Recovery Console:
http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wxprcons.htm

Johanna

 

Sorry I didn't post back after following Surferdude's advice. I did try
"Use last known good configuration ", but ended up with the now-usual message:
<<Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINNT\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.>>

When I tried Safe Mode (both with and without command prompt) I get back a series of six lines, all starting off with:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(!)\WINT\system32\
The last part of each line is different, and in order of appearance they are:
ntoskrnl.exe
hal.dll
KDCOM.DLL
BOOTVID.dll
config\system
config\system.alt
And then I get the same message as above, about missing/corrupt file and select r to start repair.

As soon as I type the letter R, the laptop clicks off and then restarts, immediately coming back with the "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" message again.

I will now try "To run the Recovery Console from the Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD-ROM ", as outlined in the MS Recovery Console article link provided by Johanna...

 

It appears that your boot.ini file may be corrupt.

The exclamation point in the code string is not proper and will prevent booting as you are experiencing.

You can make a floppy diskette that will allow you to edit the boot.ini file and replace the ! with a 1 and it should get you back in action. For more info please see: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?p=194750#post194750 and follow the advice from Abraxas.

Good luck.

 

Typo on my part! That exclamation point after the word "partition" in the string should have been a 1 - I must not have released the shift button long enough in between the parentheses. Sorry for the false alarm.
So should I try going the Recovery Console route next after all? If the number 1 shows up (rather than an exclamation point), it seems like Abraxas' advice won't pertain to my situation after all.

Apropos of partitions, though...
When I first started troubleshooting this problem, one of the Microsoft articles I'd read said:
"If you cannot start from the Windows XP CD-ROM or use Recovery Console and you are using the FAT file system (not the NTFS file system), use a startup disk from one of the following operating systems to start your computer to a command prompt:"
WinME was one of the OS's listed, so I tried using MY startup disk (WinME) - this is the message I got back (on the laptop):

Preparing to start your computer. This may take a few minutes. Please wait...
Windows ME has detected that drive C does not contain a valid FAT or FAT32 partition. There are several lpossible causes.
1. The drive may need to be partitioned. To create a partition on the drive, run FDISK from the MS-DOS command prompt.
2. You may be using third-party disk-partitioning software. If you are using this type of software, remove the Emergency Boot Disk and restart your computer. Then follow the on-screen instructions to start your computer from a floppy disk.
3. Some viruses also cause your drive C to not register. You can use a virus scanning program to check your computer for viruses.
The diagnostics tools were successfully loaded to drive C.
To view Help, type HELP and then press ENTER.
A:\>​

Might this just means that the laptop has an NTFS system, or could there truly be something wrong with the partition?
Thanks!
Rebecca

 

It very likely has the standard NTFS file system and that's why the ME boot disk can't find any FAT system. No surprise there.

It wouldn't hurt to take a look at the boot.ini using the disk mentioned but that will be a long shot at best. You can even try the substitute boot disk Abraxas makes available. It will bypass your own bootloader files and boot the system if those files being corrupt are the problem. Worth a shot. If you have trouble downloading the bootloader substitute just make your own. Format a disk (using a NT based machine - Home version in your case) and copy the boot.ini, ntdetect.com, and ntldr files to it. That's all it takes.

Then, I suppose you should proceed to invoke the Repair Console and follow the method that you quoted from MS to make the repair. If it's too arduous, a clean install may be in order.

 

Thanks, Surferdude. Before I get started, I want to make sure I understand Abraxas' post...
So I could download the XP Sysboot exe file (bootable floppy) and the boot.ini edit exe file onto MY computer (WinME), save them to separate diskettes on my A: drive, and then try running the diskettes in the laptop?

Run the bootable floppy first? Assuming I'm able to run it, I'm not sure what I'll be looking for.
If that one doesn't work (how will I know if it is or isn't?), THAT's when I try running the BootIniEdit.exe diskette? My friend's laptop has WinXP Home, not Professional -- Abraxas' default shows:

"multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS= "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect "​

Would I change the word Professional to Home, or leave it as is?
I'm not sure what to expect once I run THAT diskette, either -- am I just supposed to edit the text that shows up on the screen so that it is the same as Abraxas' default? It is obvious how I would go about editing it?
Thanks for your patience!

 

It appears that Abraxas has only supplied for XP Pro systems. That will not work on a XP Home system since the NTLDR file is different. That applies to both diskette that he lists. Sorry.

You can make your own though as I mentioned in my previous post but you must do it on a XP (Home version in your case) based computer. Your ME system cannot do it.

 

I know someone else in town with a functional version of XP Home, but he doesn't have a floppy drive on his computer. Could I burn those files onto a CD instead of a floppy?
How do I locate boot.ini, ntdetect.com, and the ntldr files on his computer?
Then I would start up the sick laptop with that CD in it? Any instructions I'd have to follow up with once the CD was loaded?

 

No, it won't work quite that way. You can create a bootable CD and then load those three files to it but it still won't have the MBR code that is required. That has to come from the actual floppy diskette. That's possible IF you have created the floppy disk as mentioned earlier but if you could do that you wouldn't need the CD. Catch 22 I'm afraid.

I don't have any software to create the image needed for XP Home booting but perhaps someone else will chime in that does. It requires something like WinImage and although it's free to try, it doesn't allow making self exucutables unless you pay for it.

This is all a long shot for your problem anyway since it likely won't be the answer to your prayers.

 

Ah heck, I'm just going to give Recovery Console another shot and then just bag it and go with a clean installation. Don't want to be spending my whole Christmas weekend on this!
I'm in the Recovery Console now, at the C:\WINNT> prompt. I've tried entering CD, SYSTEMROOT, and CHKDSK; CHKDSK is the only one that actually does what it's supposed to do. Both CD and SYSTEMROOT just come right back with the C:\WINNT> prompt again (but both ARE listed among the commands under "help ").
Anything else I can try?

 

The CD command requires you to also supply the information as to what directory you wish to change to, in your case the windows directory. The complete command string would be:

cd windows

EDIT: Upon review, since your friend seems to have the WINNT directory he may have upgraded from Win2k. Then you can follow the directions given in the MS article you have but substitute WINNT for Windows when occurs.

 

Once again, thanks - I was missing the boat on the CD command. After reading your reply here, I typed CD /? and got a list of ... I'll call them "applicable details ". Typed in "CD .." (without the quotes) at the c:\WINNT> prompt, and now I've actually got a plain ol' C:\> up on the screen. Going to go back to the link Miz suggested in my other thread and see if I can proceed with those instructions now.
Incidentally, my friend says she bought this Gateway two years ago with XP Home preinstalled. Don't know what the WINNT thing is all about - is it possible they might have upgraded the computer from 2K to XP in the store before selling it?
I'll post back after I've tried Miz's stuff.

 

OK, good luck.

 

I'm confused (still/again).
When I type "CD .. ", I get a "C:\> "
When I type SYSTEMROOT, the computer comes back with "C:\WINNT> "
The instructions at Kelly's Corner say:

In Recovery Console, change to the c:\Windows folder.
Type cd sytem32\config , and then press ENTER.
Type dir system , and then press ENTER. ​

Is WINNT the laptop's Windows folder? On another site (http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wxprcons.htm), it says "C:\WINNT gives you access to the Windows system directory (and all sub-directories) ". Sounds like it might be the Windows folder, but I'm not sure...

C:\WINNT\system32\config>dir system gives me this:

The volume in drive C has no label
The volume Serial Number is 94e8-bd43
Directory of C:\WINNT\system32\config\system
12/21/04 12:19a -a------ 5505024 SYSTEM
1 file (s) 5505024 bytes
22261374976 bytes free
​

Following the instructions again,

If you can run the preceding command successfully, type ren system system.bak , and then press ENTER.
Type copy c:\windows\repair\system , and then press ENTER.
You should receive a "One file copied" informational message.​

The message *I* got was "The system cannot find the file specified. "

A directory of C:\ shows 33 file(s) 266876241 bytes, with 22261374976 bytes free. Nothing called "Windows" shows up under C:\, though. Boot.ini is listed, as is WINNT, config.Msi, ntldr, and a bunch of others.

A directory of WINNT shows 325 files, including Windows Update.log, WindowsShell.Manifest, winhelp.exe, WinSxS.

Of course now that I've run the rename command once, I may have ******* myself anyway, but do you have any suggestions about how I could try the above steps differently so that I could copy the file to the right place?

 

Yes,as I intimated earlier, the WINNT directory is the Windows directory in this case.

Which command got the error message:

ren system system.bak
or
copy c:\WINNT\repair\system

If it was the first command, then it will be because the SYSTEM file is a hidden file. You'll have to change the attributes to allow the command interpreter to "See" it. Run the following command from while resident in the WINNT\system32\config directory:

attrib -h system (enter)
Then you should be able to rename the file as directed.

 

Of course (Murphy's Law!) I don't have Nero on my computer, but I might know someone who does - I'll have to make some calls and see if I can burn a copy of that image you so kindly put on your website. A couple of other thoughts, though, before I trudge out in -40º temps in search of any Nero-owning friends...

I can download WinXP setup boot disks from the Microsoft site - would that help me? There's also a Win2000 Registry Repair Utility available (somewhere in my hours of searching, I think I read that even though they don't specify WinXP at in that particular article, the utility can be used for XP as well), although that takes me back to the question in my original post: can I create these disks on WinME for use with XP?

For whatever it's worth, CHKDSK /p shows one or more errors on the volume.
CHKDSK /r took forever to finish, but it said it found and fixed one error on the volume. Just for the heck of it, I tried booting in Safe Mode again afterwards, but nothing had changed there (same old error message as before).

When I type "dir system" after WINNT\system32\config, it tells me "no matching files were found." But when I type "dir system.bak ", it shows 1 file. So it must be the copy command that's the problem. Should I change the word "windows" in the copy c:\windows\repair\system command to WINNT? In other words, copy c:\WINNT\repair\system?