windows\sysyem32\config\system missing

HI,
the windows\sysyem32\config\system file(the 'system' in task manager) in one of the computers at home(a toshiba satellite p4 2.8ghz winxp) seems to have gone missing, and as a result the computer refuses to startup, my bro installed winxp on another partition so he could copy out some documents, i later copied the missing file from the 2nd(working) installation to the original one using an app from hirens bootcd and tried to reboot the computer but it didnt work.
i dont have the recovery CD for the laptop so i'd like to know if there's anyway to sort out the problem without having to format and re-install windows all over again!

So what happened?

First thing I would do is get the HDD manufacturer's diagnostic utility and run that. If you aren't sure then try the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test.

My point is that the first thing to do is check that your problem isn't the result of a HDD that is on the way out.............if it is, then there is no point going any further.

You said:

Quote:

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my bro installed winxp on another partition so he could copy out some documents

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Not a very good idea on an OEM box IMO, but I take it that you have an XP installation CD then?

You could try last known good configuration, chkdsk /p, and a recovery point.

The first thing to do is to check the HDD though, and I would be inclined to expect a reformat and reinstall will be required.

Greetz.

Grab the needed file/s from the XP cd and copy them to either a usb stick or a floppy disk. :p

then get yourself into a dos prompt and copy the file/s to the needed location and see if that does the trick.

you may need to do a fix mbr & fix boot also via the repair console.

Hi,

Quote:

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Grab the needed file/s from the XP cd and copy them to either a usb stick or a floppy disk. :p

then get yourself into a dos prompt and copy the file/s to the needed location and see if that does the trick.

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That won't work with the System file.................anyways he has already found that out :)

Having had a second look at this:

Quote:

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my bro installed winxp on another partition so he could copy out some documents

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I wonder if the problem arose before or after? ;)

My concerns here are that we have an OEM (Toshiba) version of an OEM version of Windows XP. The correct move would have been to use their recovery utilities to restore the situation.

If you install another OEM version of the same OS on the same machine then you are really just asking for trouble. The MS licensing is quite clear on this:

1. OEM = 1 installation on 1 new computer. Not transferrable.
2. OTS = 1 installation on any 1 computer at any 1 time. Provided it is only on one computer at any one time it can be transferred.

I really don't know what happened here, or how it was attempted to be achieved, but it certainly doesn't sound like a VM installation or that an adequate multiboot manager was used?

If there is a working drive/partition installation, why not just make that the master boot and just ignore the other one?

/Me................I would wipe the thing and start again :halo:

Ahem, i am not sure but based on the experiments that I did on Registry back then, the system file hold the information available in the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE". It also contains a lot about the system configuration information which is synchronus in nature to many other registry entries. So it is really so very tough to make the system work the way it did before.

For example, just go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Security hive, make the changes to the permission and restart the regedit program and see the changes. There are many many more thins and places in this hive which are not visible to us.

I think nihil is right. Better make the new installation the primary one. It is really very tough (if not impossible) to get the same behavior from the system as before corruption.