I recently built a new machine, it has been running fine for about two months now, but suddenly this morning I tried to start the machine and I got this message: Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt; \WINDOWS\SYSEM32\config\system You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Startup Using the original setup CD-ROM Select "r" at the first screen to start repair. I thought "no problem", I dug out my Windows disc and inserted it, went into bios and set primary boot device to CDROM and now.... nothing. I can't even get the error message anymore. When I turn the machine on it stops at a black screen with my PCI Devices Listing with all the IRQs. It will not accept DOS commands, it will not accept a safe mode F8 command and I don't know what to do. The CD drive and the hard drive sound like they are working (I think). The processor and RAM both show up in the bios. I have Windows XP with the latest service packs. I am not running a floppy drive, so I don't know if a boot disc is an option.
Can you reset the bios to HDD boot up ? Then reset back to boot from CD. Is your cd good, sounds like it is stuck on looking for the cd to boot from.Did it come up and ask if you wanted to boot from a CD ? bean55
Yes I can get into the bios and adjust the boot settings, but every time I turn the machine off and then back on it is back to HDD boot. Yes, the cd is the one I just used to install Windows on the machine just two months ago. No, it did not ask me if I wanted to boot from cd. I forgot to mention that right before this all started i got a blue screen with some text on it, I was kind of sleepy and it disappeared before I could read it. Now the machine will let me F8, and gives me some choices such as Start In Safe Mode, but will not start in safe mode. When I select Start In Safe Mode command it gives me the sames text as before "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt......." When I touch any key from that screen the machine restarts. I am begining to think my hard drive is inoperative.
This ussually happens when windows is shutdown improperly. Data that was still being written got corrupted. Sometimes just doing a scandisk will fix this problem. If you can't do a scandisk on the hard drive the way it is in your computer. You might have to pull the hard drive off and install it on a external drive and run the scandisk from another computer. I would try that before doing any repair installations.
It won't ask you to boot from cd, you have to go to your bios and adjust your boot priority. When you press F8 and goes to the menu, have you tried using the one that says use the last known good configuration? That might fix the problem. Also, just because you got the cd to work the first time around and sounds like it works, doesn't mean that it does. Set your boot priority to cd to boot the disc, if it fails replace with another optical drive and try again, that will be a good indicator if it is the problem. If you get the cd to work, then just use the option to repair windows XP.
