Help for the unsavy

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james_jamesjr

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My laptop turns on but won't boot because the file "\windows\system32\config\system" is missing or corrupt. I have to use a windows xp setup disc and push "r" to repair but my computer came with the os already loaded, so I don't have the setup disc. I was looking for other ways to go about fixing it and I read about the "last known good option". But for some reason my computer doesn't ask me which os I would like to use when it boots. And the only f function that is displayed is f2 to enter setup. In the setup there isn't any options to do anything that can help me as far as I know. I can't even find a way to open in "safe mode". Is there anything that I can download to a disc or a floppy to correct the problem? I googled my problem and I came across different methods but I can't understand what all of the abbreviations mean. Can someone walk me through what I need to do? Please..:eek:
 
So you don't have any OS disk at all?


When you first boot to an OS disk, you need to click "install" before you select Repair....
 
I know 2 courses of action to resolve this issue.

First is to boot to recovery mode from the install disks and get into the console. (DOS prompt) From there you can replace the system file with the system.bak file. ("copy system.bak system" once you are in that directory)

The other option is to rebuild the boot.ini file.

I've only ever done the first, (and then only on a 2k box) but I know there are instructions for how to do the second somewhere on the interweb.
 
where the i386 folder located? they keep them on notebook hard drives, that doesn't come with os discs.
 
No, I don't have any os disc at all. But it seems like I'm going to need one to fix the problem. I run windows xp professional and my laptop is an imperial notebook. If I was to rebuild my boot.ini file what would I have to do? Or to find my i386 folder, can I do that without the os working? I'd like to fix this myself so I can learn something new about how my laptop operates.
 
do a search for the i386 folder. select show hidden file and folders in the search tab
 
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