I recently purchased a dell laptop from a friend but it was giving me problems and it was the operating system; it was running Windows XP Pro. I got the original cd and started to install windows again to just wipe it out and start all over. I got halfway when it asked for the product id number. I started to type the number but the code is on the bottom of the notebook so i had to raise it up slightly to look at it..........well basically it got turned off because the screen shut on it just right. i tried to restart the installation but when i did...........it gave me this exact message: Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\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. Well ive tried that and everything else i can think of. Does anyone know what i can do. The guy i bought it from usually knows how to do things of this nature but even he is stumped. I tried calling dell but they want 99.00 to start. Can anyone please help me out. I promise ill send you some chocolate from my site, any flavor
Can you get into windows repair console off the CD?? from there replace the missing file from the install CD.. Here is how to use the Recovery Console.. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/ This is for w2k.. you might have to do some looking, but in a nutshell you're going to be doing the same thing.. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=269075 Here is another good one to look at.. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545 I just read your problem again.. if you didnt finnish the first install the best way to get around this is wipe the drive and reinstall... 1. Go into the BIOS --press the DELETE key on most Dells when the computer starts up 2. Go under "Start up" or "Boot Options" and set the computer to boot from the CD rom 3. SAVE and restart (Before you do put in the Windows CD) 4. Start the computer when a prompt asks you to boot from cd hit any button do so 5. format the drive and reinstall windows.. hope all this crap helps..
Damn, you're cheap, A. ? I didn't see DoD here... emore, just use a tool that completely erases all data and re-partitions your hard drive, and wipes everything clean. I recommend delpart (find it on your favorite search engine). Re-install Windows XP and this time don't move anything when it asks you for the number... have it ready BEFORE you start. Maybe you should have a "legal" copy first? If I can find delpart somewhere, I will post a link to it. http://www.bootdisk.com/ <- these guides are good for the medium-to-advanced geeks
EDIT- I missed that Swoly-D pretty much advised the same thing- but maybe my post will help. emoreland- How did you start the installation? Did you start the previous installation of Windows (the one that was on it when you bought it) and pop the disk in and go from there? If you did, I suggest you boot from the Windows XP Pro disk and install that way. When the Laptop is booting, hit F2 and go into the bios and adjust the boot order so you boot to the CD first. Reboot. You should get a prompt to 'Hit any key to boot from CD'. Hit a key. You should get a white and blue loading screen. Wait until it asks you what you want to do. Install Windows XP, but make sure you format the disk in NTFS first (you will get a prompt for this), and NOT a quick format. After that, the install should be automated and probably take around an hour. At some point, it will ask you for the serial. Hope this helps!
For 99 bucks, you could buy Norton Ghost and reformat with ease.... Do what everyone else said, clean reformat. If you have a disk drive and a boot disk of 98 or winME, it's a lot easier.
Yes... what I said. Errmm... what was it that I said again? (I stay away from tech support threads for the most part now... lol)
To derail a bit....if you have ever owned any Symantec product, you can use the product number to qualify for the upgrade price on any other Symantec product (at least you can if you order from their website)
Guys, I really appreciate all of your help. I cant get it to boot from the cd. I went into BIOS and changed it so that it would boot there first but still no luck. I will try delpart like Swoly-D said and I will let you guys know. Hey for everyone that responded.........send me your addresses and ill ship out samples as my way of saying thank you for looking at this thread okay? clutchcity34@nts-online.net is my email.
well i wanted to tell everyone that a friend of mine had a cd labeled "the ultimate boot cd" LOL and it did the trick. Everything is working well and smooth now but I do have another question to ask the experts here. I have firefox installed as my browser and its supposed to prevent popups but for some reason i keep getting this medium-sized grey box that says something to the effect of: Messenger Service........message from microsoft to inform you about a virus detection on this date Warning.............to fix registry errors go to www.xpregfix.com FAILURE TO ACT MAY LEAD TO DATA LOSS AND CORRUPTION! They popup every 5 minutes or so and its really annoying. I noticed that it only happens to the cpu's I have that are running Windows XP. Does anyone here know what i can do to get rid of them? I really need help with this! Also to everyone here.....send me those addresses so i can send you some samples!!!
Turn off the Messenger service. This won't affect AIM or any other programs. Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services Double click Messenger. If it's running, click the stop button. More importantly though, set it's startup type to disabled so that it will never run on your computer again. That should solve it, I believe. If it doesn't, post back here.
Maybe you guys can help me with a small problem I have come across with my laptop. In Windows XP I have my own account set up and a guest account. Well I cannot remember my account password! I changed it about 2 weeks ago, and have tried every password I can think of but nothing is working! So now in order to do anything I have to logon as a guest, but I cannot access documents or programs that are in my original profile. What can I do to get back into my original account?
There are some programs in this link to crack passwords in XP. I've never used them and don't know what they will do to your computer. Some of them say they could erase data on your hard drive. They're options though. http://www.petri.co.il/forgot_administrator_password.htm
