How do I create a XP bootup disk on floppy?

viney

My friend has a problem with his pc. It says " windows can not start up because the following file is missing or corrupt Windows/System32/Config/System file "

I believe I can creat a boot up disk on my machine using a floppy and h can just insert and shouldbe able to start yp. He can then copy my system file.

Is that right and if so how do I create the floppy.

I have a cd already called Hp recovery but not sure if I can just insert that in his machine.

I am going up in the loft to insulate for the next few hours but hope someone can help or provide suggestions.

Thank you

Mr_Skint_2

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;%5BLN%5D;310994

Make sure you make the correct boots disk i.e SP1, SP2.

masonic

Mr_Skint wrote:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;%5BLN%5D;310994

Make sure you make the correct boots disk i.e SP1, SP2.

6 disks, Skint? You can download a free NTFS-friendly boot disk creator here. Stick the offending file on the disk, boot it up, run ReadNTFS, and hopefully copy the file across.

Mr_Skint_2

I was Occupied so I gave a quick fix (sort of ) :rolleyes: ......

Anyone wanna swap places and change nappies? :eek:

viney

Thank you for the suggestions

Coincidentally I have 6CD's for the HP recovery disk is that the same as what mr skint was suggesting, although theywere done some time ago and will be SP1. is that the same thing, probably not as 6 floppies should easily fit on one cd?

masonic - I had a look at the site, but am unsure what to do, do I need to go to the bit where it says the following?

DOS NTFS floppy boot disk to access NTFS partitions in Windows XP 2000 or NT
How to make DOS boot disk to access NTFS partitions in Windows ?
Download self-extracting Bootable Floppy Disk Creator for NTFS Reader.
Insert floppy disk and run NtfsFloppySetup.exe
Follow the instructions on the screen
To access NTFS drives from DOS :
Reboot your computer from a new boot disk.
The program (ReadNTFS.exe) will start automatically from autoexec.bat
Note: You can use NTFSDOS boot disk to access NTFS drives in Windows 98 95 and 3.1. This is a DOS program, but can be run from Windows.


Then do I just copy this on to one floppy and insert and my machine will read it?

Sorry, bit techie for me.

Thanks

Mr_Skint_2

Yes thats correct insert your Boot disk then restart the PC
if you have problems just take out disk and restart the machine
if its the one you use to post on this forum......

John_Gray

Unless I'm wrong, the "System" file that has been lost is part of the Registry, which might make it a bit difficult to recover...

It would be worth a read of How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting.

Good luck -- but you may be looking at a reinstallation of XP if the procedure given in the TechNet article doesn't work for you.

John

masonic

So now, viney, the question is do you have or can you get your hands on a windows xp installation CD?

Edit: Based on the bombshell that John has just dropped upon us, I think the long and the short of it is if you want to help your friend, prepare for some headaches...

If you have an original windows xp installation cd, then you can follow the advice in that knowledge base article, either by booting directly from the CD or using either of Mr Skint's links to make a set of bootable floppies if your friend can't boot from it directly.

If you don't have a winxp cd, you might be able to use the bootdisk I suggested to complete Part 1 of that article and get your friends computer to startup in safe mode, so that you can follow the rest of the article, but your original idea of simply copying files from your computer to your friends is not going to work.

gizmoleeds

You don't actually need the six disks - I use an old windows 95 boot disk and it works fine. Just escape the windows 95 installation menu and in dos type

e: [ENTER] (or whatever the drive letter for your CD-Rom is)

cd\i386 [ENTER]

winnt [ENTER]

Should work with any old boot disk which takes you to a DOS prompt.

masonic

gizmoleeds wrote:

You don't actually need the six disks - I use an old windows 95 boot disk and it works fine.

You won't be able to access NTFS formatted drives that way. Well, unless you just talking about booting a winxp cd from a non-bootable cd-rom drive.

Mr_Skint_2

http://www.nerdlabs.org/bootdisks/