26th June 2002
Lockergnomie James Kendrick isn't too happy with Windows XP right now: I have been running this OS for about four months with no problems. About three weeks ago, I booted it up only to discover an error preventing the boot from happening: 'Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS \SYSTEM32 \CONFIG \SYSTEM.' Since I had duly installed the recovery console as a boot option (I STRONGLY recommend everyone do this), I was able to peruse the listed file. It appeared completely normal and was definitely there. Since I had no access to another computer at the time I was completely stuck. Nothing I tried worked; I had to do a complete reinstall. Everything went along fine for three weeks and then BAM! My system went a little flaky, and when I went to reboot it, I got the same error. I did a little investigation and found the problem common enough to have a MSKB article (Q307545). Sometimes, one of 5 Registry files gets corrupted for an unknown reason - rendering your machine basically useless. The article contains a complete workaround which gets you back to your most recent System Restore point. It's cumbersome, but I was able to get back up and running."