Is My Laptop Dead???

pixie1

Ive been having a problem with my laptop for approx 4 weeks, winfixer keeps on popping up and as much as i scan for viruses nothing would stop it.

Over the last couple of days its 'froze' on occasions and Ive had to re-boot but today after rebooting Ive got this message....


Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt :

\windows\systems32\config\system

You can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using original setup cd-rom
Select R at the first screen to start repair.


For one, Im not sure where my orginal set up disk is and two if this actually works will i loose any data i have stored on my laptop???

Im really worried, my life is saved on there LOL

any advice apart from throwing norton anti virus out of the window is welcome

With thanks

Pixie

dealwala

Its not dead but its a severe problem, The files should still be on the hard disk, your problem would be getting hold of them. the suggestion of using the windows disk is ok but i wouldnt risk it if you know nothing about computers.

my advice find a geek who can come and look at it for you, its difficult to solve this kind of problem on a forum.

pixie1 wrote:

Ive been having a problem with my laptop for approx 4 weeks, winfixer keeps on popping up and as much as i scan for viruses nothing would stop it.

Over the last couple of days its 'froze' on occasions and Ive had to re-boot but today after rebooting Ive got this message....


Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt :

\windows\systems32\config\system

You can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using original setup cd-rom
Select R at the first screen to start repair.


For one, Im not sure where my orginal set up disk is and two if this actually works will i loose any data i have stored on my laptop???

Im really worried, my life is saved on there LOL

any advice apart from throwing norton anti virus out of the window is welcome

With thanks

Pixie

pixie1

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I will search for a geek right now

Thanks again

Pixie

wildheart_2

reinstalling windows will do just that without touching any other files in the hard drive.all previous programs will have to be reinstalled but all your data will be safe.

amyparr

Hi,

If I was you I would take it to a computer shop (NOT Pc World though, they are a complete rip-off!) and ask them to simply remove all of the data which you feel is essential, and put it on a DVD for you. They should only charge you £30-£50 and definitely no more! It's possible to get the stuff off your computer with windows not working, as long as you know whereabouts the stuff is on your computer (e.g. "My Documents"). Then just reinstall everything from scratch, and put the stuff from the DVD back on.

I would say from what you said, there probably isnt anything wrong with the computer itself, it sounds as if you have spyware or virus problems, which can easily be solved by installing good antivirus and spyware programs (I recommend AVG for viruses and Ewido for spyware).

Good luck!

Amy

intel

Why not just try an XP Repair Install (its free)

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

albertross_2

You have a corrupt registry, (software hive), probably caused by switching the machine off, without shutting down. If you can, boot into safe mode, and do a system restore:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/systemrestore.mspx

or

boot from your XP CD (if you can find it), go into recovery console, and type chkdsk c: /r

if that doesn't work, try this

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/en-us

If that doesn't work, post back before doing anything drastic, like wiping the disk.. You can usually get your data back in this situation , with something like this, or a linux live cd

http://www.bootdisk.com/ntfs.htm
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/NtfsDos.html

pixie1

albertross wrote:

You have a corrupt registry, (software hive), probably caused by switching the machine off, without shutting down. If you can, boot into safe mode, and do a system restore:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/systemrestore.mspx

or

boot from your XP CD (if you can find it), go into recovery console, and type chkdsk c: /r

if that doesn't work, try this

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/en-us

If that doesn't work, post back before doing anything drastic, like wiping the disk.. You can usually get your data back in this situation , with something like this, or a linux live cd

http://www.bootdisk.com/ntfs.htm
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/NtfsDos.html

OK i want to try this but I cant get past the first black screen with the text in my original message? How do i get to some sort of menu?

Thanks

pixie

Hillfly

You will need to put your xp disk into the machine. You may then need to change the boot order for your laptop. This is the order the devices try and start up when the pc boots. You'll need to set the cd-rom to start before the hard disk drive.

To do this you need to enter the bios when the pc boots up - pressing an F key (mines F2) before windows starts to load will enter the bios setup. In the bios setup look for 'boot order' section and set the cd drive to load before the hard drive (there should be basic instrucions on screen on how to change the order). Save the changes and exit.

You will then find the pc checks for a cd/dvd before it begins to boot windows. If a disk is present it will ask you to 'press any key to boot from cd drive'. Press a key and you will boot from cd.
If you have an xp disk in the mahine you will eventually get to an option to enter the recovery console. Then follow the instructions as posted previoulsy.

pixie1

Thanks Hillfly, Im not sure where my xp disk is I will have to search for it and then get back to this thread.

Thanks for the help

Pixie