Computer Techies..please advise

acsubie
acsubie Posts: 773
edited February 2009 in The Clubhouse
Need some help if anyone could be of assistance. I can not get my Laptop into Windows. The laptop boots up then i get a this message on a black screen:
"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM"

it then ask me to insert original set-up CD-ROM which i do not have? One thing i did notice is that pressing F10 gets me to a PhoenixBIOS Setup Utility" screen? I have no idea what that does. Anyway i googled the problem and found a site that with the missing file for either XP Home or Professional. My laptop has XP Media Center 2005. When i copied the file to a CD and inserted it into my laptop nothing happens. pressing R just makes the laptop reboot?

anyone have suggestions as to how i can go about repairing this with the original setup CD? if it make any difference its a HP Pavilion dv6000
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  • inspiredsports
    inspiredsports Posts: 5,501
    edited February 2009
    Give this a close study and post back if you need more guidance:

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545
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  • John30_30
    John30_30 Posts: 1,024
    edited February 2009
    acsubie wrote: »
    Need some help if anyone could be of assistance. I can not get my Laptop into Windows. The laptop boots up then i get a this message on a black screen:
    "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM"

    it then ask me to insert original set-up CD-ROM which i do not have? One thing i did notice is that pressing F10 gets me to a PhoenixBIOS Setup Utility" screen? I have no idea what that does. Anyway i googled the problem and found a site that with the missing file for either XP Home or Professional. My laptop has XP Media Center 2005. When i copied the file to a CD and inserted it into my laptop nothing happens. pressing R just makes the laptop reboot?

    anyone have suggestions as to how i can go about repairing this with the original setup CD? if it make any difference its a HP Pavilion dv6000

    It's not going to be able to find that file. You need either a restore partition on your laptop, which many of them have gone to in lieu of providing a setup CD- or you need a setup CD.
    Keep in mind you already own the license to one setup CD, which is the COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop.
    So, if you can borrow one for your version of Media Center,(and most likely your laptop will want it to be HP's OEM) it's totally legit. If not, HP will probably send you one for 10 bucks.
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited February 2009
    You'll need some sort of standalone OS that you can boot from a CD so you can copy that file into the right place. Honestly, it's unlikely just that one file somehow magically got broken; I"m guessing if you replace it you'll find a myriad of other problems that will prevent Windows from booting.

    Id' try and get my hands on a Windows disc so it can find the files it needs (like it's asking for). YOu may not need the original disc that came with your PC, just any Windows disc (hopefully for you).
    If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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  • Polk user
    Polk user Posts: 311
    edited February 2009
    Could also be a hard drive going south. I assume u cant run chkdsk /r somehow. That might get the corrupt file back so you can boot again.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,705
    edited February 2009
    Now's the perfect time to switch to Ubuntu! :-)
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  • renowilliams
    renowilliams Posts: 920
    edited February 2009
    Inspiredsports has given you a link to solve your problem....good luck
    "They're always talking about my drinking, but never mention my thirst" Oscar Wilde


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  • acsubie
    acsubie Posts: 773
    edited February 2009
    im still lost? if i go to the microsoft page and DL that Guided Help and follow the instructions to complete it on another computer, i copy the file to a CD but when i attempt to get my laptop to read it nothing happens? i still get that stupid message and when i hit R it just reboots
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  • bigyank
    bigyank Posts: 224
    edited February 2009
    Most Laptops come with a recovery disk. Do you have this? You will lose the files you have but at this point, being back in service is the better option, IMO.

    Yank
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  • acsubie
    acsubie Posts: 773
    edited February 2009
    bigyank wrote: »
    Most Laptops come with a recovery disk. Do you have this? You will lose the files you have but at this point, being back in service is the better option, IMO.

    Yank

    no recovery CD:(
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  • fatchowmein
    fatchowmein Posts: 2,637
    edited February 2009
    Use Bart PE or ERD Commander but if you had them you wouldn't have asked so try this.

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5D600369-0554-4595-8AB4-C34B2860E087&displaylang=en

    Never used it, though, so I can't vouch for it but it looks to be Microsoft's replacement for ERD Commander after they bought out Winternals.

    Before you go through all of this hassle, have you checked to make sure your hard drive isn't damaged? Any strange buzzing or other noise coming from the laptop? Sometimes, a failed drive has a bad sector where your system files are and is the main cause for the missing/corrupt file preventing bootup.

    Good luck!
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  • Squidmon
    Squidmon Posts: 84
    edited February 2009
    Get to your boot options by pressing F8 right after the HP splash screen.
    Since you didn't get a cd with the laptop it has a system partition.
    One of your options should be HP system recovery. Choose this.
    Inside you'll be given options on repairing or complete system restoration.
    Choose repair 1st, if this doesn't work, rinse, repeat and choose complete restoration (hope you have any data backed up).
    If there ain't no gold at the end of the rainbow, I'll settle for the pot.:D
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  • jdwmap
    jdwmap Posts: 116
    edited February 2009
    You can request a system restore disk from HP. You can probably look for a close Authorized Service Center and they can order it if you don't want to contact HP. It has been a while since i worked with them but they were around 10-20.00 to get one. It is amazing that they decided to save 50 cents in burning/packaging the OS with it so that later they could charge you to reload the OS you bought originally.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,705
    edited February 2009
    jdwmap wrote: »
    It is amazing that they decided to save 50 cents in burning/packaging the OS with it so that later they could charge you to reload the OS you bought originally.
    No, it's business.
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  • Refefer
    Refefer Posts: 1,280
    edited February 2009
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    No, it's business.

    That's the truth. Almost all major manufacturers 'forget' to include a disk, although $30 or so usually helps them remember where they put it.
    Lovin that music year after year.

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  • mewisemagic
    mewisemagic Posts: 194
    edited February 2009
    had the same thing happen to a friends media center xp,i got another disc(homexp) and went to the recovery console and ran chkdsk twice and after that it was able to boot
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  • acsubie
    acsubie Posts: 773
    edited February 2009
    Squidmon wrote: »
    Get to your boot options by pressing F8 right after the HP splash screen.
    Since you didn't get a cd with the laptop it has a system partition.
    One of your options should be HP system recovery. Choose this.
    Inside you'll be given options on repairing or complete system restoration.
    Choose repair 1st, if this doesn't work, rinse, repeat and choose complete restoration (hope you have any data backed up).


    tried this also and HP system recovery was not an option, i tried all the other options which just takes me back to the black screen with the error message, if i then try typing something in it just reboots

    guess I'll be calling HP tomorrow and requestion an HP disk:(
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  • dudeinaroom
    dudeinaroom Posts: 3,609
    edited February 2009
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Now's the perfect time to switch to Ubuntu! :-)

    He's having trouble with Windows and you want him to give a linx distro a try, I would love to see his face when x doesn't like his video card and he has to compile the tar ball he downloaded to fix it. By the way I'm getting ready to put linux back on my secondary box with beryl just for kicks
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  • acsubie
    acsubie Posts: 773
    edited February 2009
    Lasareath wrote: »
    I see this all the time. A sector of the disc has become corrupted.

    Remove the drive from the laptop.

    Install the drive into your desktop computer.

    In your desktop computer run scandisk on the drive.

    reboot.

    and then run defrag.

    Put it back into your laptop and 75% of time it will boot up again.

    If you don't know how to do the stuff I said above then get in your car and drive to Jersey City and I will do it for you. I'm home all day cleaning and packing.

    Sal


    that sounds easy enough, but im not too computer literate, i do have a desktop, how would i go about installing the laptop hard drive on it? at this point i really need to find some kind of help since i just called HP and they wanted $50 to speak to a service tech, this is a 1 time only service for that amount of movie:eek:
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,705
    edited February 2009
    dudeinaroom wrote: »
    He's having trouble with Windows and you want him to give a linx distro a try, I would love to see his face when x doesn't like his video card and he has to compile the tar ball he downloaded to fix it. By the way I'm getting ready to put linux back on my secondary box with beryl just for kicks

    Yeah, I was sort of kidding, but also sort of not. I had a (cheap) HP desktop go down at home in a manner similar to the OPs the week after Christmas. No rescue disk, and all sorts of errors when I tried to use the restore partition. I gave up and dragged a nice Dell desktop I found at the dump :-) up to the back room and installed Ubuntu 7.10. Took two tries due to graphics card issues -- in fact, I dunno why it worked the second time, but it did. I felt like it was 1980 and I was back in grad school when I used one of them tarball thingies to install Flash on here :-) It was far easier to install my network-connected HP printer on Ubuntu than on Mrs. H's XPPro laptop or my Win2k laptop (a hand-me-up from our daughter). Plus, the HP driver for the Wintel laptops slowed 'em both down tremendously after it was installed. Ugh.

    In all fairness, Ubuntu on a laptop might be a little hairy for the exact reason you cite :-(

    That said, Ubuntu is fast, fun, easy, and rugged. Nice to have a computer boot in ca. 15 seconds, and shut down almost immediately when you shut it down. I am typing this response on the Ubuntu machine, in fact.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,705
    edited February 2009
    acsubie wrote: »
    that sounds easy enough, but im not too computer literate, i do have a desktop, how would i go about installing the laptop hard drive on it? at this point i really need to find some kind of help since i just called HP and they wanted $50 to speak to a service tech, this is a 1 time only service for that amount of movie:eek:

    It is easy with a full-sized HDD; you can buy an inexpensive enclosure from Newegg that the HDD fits in. The enclosure has a USB interface built in; the HDD is then just like any portable/external USB HDD. I use this to rescue data from HDDs (as in the HP I just mentioned above). Dunno if you can buy a similar thingie for the teeny-weenie HDDs in laptops.

    www.newegg.com
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