My SYSTEM file is corrupt
by Richard Fox · in General Discussion · 07/14/2003 (4:16 am) · 7 replies
Help!
I seem to have had a major malfunction my Dell 8100 Laptop.
When I try to turn it on I get this screen that says the following file is missing or corrupt
WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
I tried to look at the SYSTEM file using the TYPE command and it returned an read error. I can see the file but I can't read it.
I ran the Recovery Console and perfromed a CHKDSK /r as the help section says to do and the results reported that one or more files had errors and was recovered. However, I'm still getting the same problem at boot up.
Also, I can't seem to browse the folders to a certain extent. i.e. I can get to the "Documents and Settings" folder but I can't access any of the users folder below that to retrieve the data before I do a reinstall.
I also did a FIXBOOT but that didn't seem to work either.
I tried finding the SYSTEM file on my install disk, but it doesn't seem to be there. It does contain several SYSTEM.*_ however, but none seem to be the one I'm looking for since the file I'm looking for doesn;t have an extension and it's byte size is approximatly 3650000.
If anyone can help me with this I would be most gratefull.
I seem to have had a major malfunction my Dell 8100 Laptop.
When I try to turn it on I get this screen that says the following file is missing or corrupt
WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
I tried to look at the SYSTEM file using the TYPE command and it returned an read error. I can see the file but I can't read it.
I ran the Recovery Console and perfromed a CHKDSK /r as the help section says to do and the results reported that one or more files had errors and was recovered. However, I'm still getting the same problem at boot up.
Also, I can't seem to browse the folders to a certain extent. i.e. I can get to the "Documents and Settings" folder but I can't access any of the users folder below that to retrieve the data before I do a reinstall.
I also did a FIXBOOT but that didn't seem to work either.
I tried finding the SYSTEM file on my install disk, but it doesn't seem to be there. It does contain several SYSTEM.*_ however, but none seem to be the one I'm looking for since the file I'm looking for doesn;t have an extension and it's byte size is approximatly 3650000.
If anyone can help me with this I would be most gratefull.
About the author
#2
07/14/2003 (6:30 am)
Outstanding! Thanks alot, I look forward to trying this when I get home from work. Fortunatley I do have another laptop so I can do the batch file process to speed things up a bit. One question though. Will the fact that I ran FIXBOOT have any effect on the outcome of the restore?
#3
07/14/2003 (6:39 am)
Nope - 'fixboot' writes a new boot sector and as such, has nothing to do with the problem you are getting. The above fixes should work regardless.
#4
07/14/2003 (7:31 am)
Thanks a bunch, I look forward to trying this.
#5
Is there any way I could have prevented this? Does the ASR disk do all this without the headache, without destroying my data?
07/15/2003 (7:32 am)
Woo hoo! Thanks Thomas. I will print out the instructions found at that web site and save it for future use. I haven't been able to finish the process yet because of other circumstances, however, my Windows XP is booting back up again and it seems all my data is intact. I just have to go in and continue to restore all the settings.Is there any way I could have prevented this? Does the ASR disk do all this without the headache, without destroying my data?
#6
Most people blame faulty memory or a bad slot, it can also equally be caused by software directly screwing up the registry of course. You can check the memory by using www.simmtester.com/page/products/doc/docinfo.asp
'Since its a Dell and comes with decent memory, if it happens again I would open it up and check the memory is positioned tightly in the slots and hasnt worked itself loose (since its a laptop). If you can remove it without voiding your warranty, take the memory sticks out and make sure no dust has got in the slots. ** Touch the non-painted bit of the pipes leading to a radiator to remove any static from your body before you touch memory **.
Failing that go over what you have installed recently, if you installed something new immediately prior to it crashing thats probably the culprit.
07/15/2003 (10:42 pm)
Not especially.. have you changed anything recently hardware or software wise, have you touched your bios at all or installed more memory ? afaik, ASR wont stop it happening unforunately but will make it easier to jump back to the state before you crashed (though ive never used XP and i could be wrong)Most people blame faulty memory or a bad slot, it can also equally be caused by software directly screwing up the registry of course. You can check the memory by using www.simmtester.com/page/products/doc/docinfo.asp
'Since its a Dell and comes with decent memory, if it happens again I would open it up and check the memory is positioned tightly in the slots and hasnt worked itself loose (since its a laptop). If you can remove it without voiding your warranty, take the memory sticks out and make sure no dust has got in the slots. ** Touch the non-painted bit of the pipes leading to a radiator to remove any static from your body before you touch memory **.
Failing that go over what you have installed recently, if you installed something new immediately prior to it crashing thats probably the culprit.
#7
Thanks again,
This GG site is better than any help file. I feel like I can ask anything and I will get an answer that actually helps, with little or no [decifering] instructions.
07/16/2003 (4:15 am)
Thanks a bunch for all you help. I've completed the system restore and everything seems to be intact. I had to go back a few RP's but after the second try it went okay. I found that my last RP was missing the _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM file. I just went to the last one that had the file and it all worked out. Thanks again,
This GG site is better than any help file. I feel like I can ask anything and I will get an answer that actually helps, with little or no [decifering] instructions.
Thomas Bailey
if your using W2K..
support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q269/0/75.ASP
if your using XP..
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307545
This problem usually occurs after installing something for the first time - avoid reinstalling any software you installed prior to the boot error if you possibly can (its usually more low level things like antivirus or drivers that cause this).
Good Luck!