Recovery Console Startup Option

My O.S. is Windows XP (Home)

I have had to rebuild my system twice (formatt the hard drive) because at the start of posting I would get the following error message:

"Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

When this error message appears tho only choice I could see was to start completely over and formatt the hard drive and reinstall.

A couple of days ago I saw an post within Chris Perillo's Lockergnome Newsletter that addressed my situation right on the nose.

I have now installed the "Recovery Console" featue and now when I restart my system I get two choices of Windows XP or entering the Recovery Console.

I have two questions about the Recovery Console.

Is there any place in Registry that I can change the time to a shorter period from 25 seconds to a lower value before the system will post into Windows by default?

Secondly perhaps sometime Microsoft will address a fix for this situation and I would then like to remove the System Recovery from my system and was wondering if anyone has attempted this as yet?

You can read all about the Recovery Console and the error messages in the MSKB article Q307545.

Thanks to all,

 

Boot menu duration

Here is how you can adjust the boot.

-Logged in as admin (or primary user for HOME)

hit START > R click on "My Computer" > select "Properties" > Select the "Advanced" tab > select "settings" under "Startup and Recovery ".

That should put you where you need to be, note: change the setting to restart windows on errors. - it was a bad choice for a default by M$

 

Thanks so much for your quick reply and all the help I have now shortened up the time frame from 30 sec. to 5 sec.

Not to belabor this situttion but I really find this one a serious problem tha M.S. has in XP -- I kept on thinking all the time that it was somthing wrond I had done when getting this error message?

Perhaps this might be true but the system operated just fine for several months before this problem started occuring.

Thanks so much again for all the professional help,