XP is not loading (file missing)

Try to boot from the original windows CD and run the repair. If stil not working, you must reinstall the windows.

A repair file may be located in windows\repair\

1. Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.
Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
3. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console.
4. When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
5. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
md tmp
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak

delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
delete c:\windows\system32\config\default

copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default

6. Type exit to quit Recovery Console. Your computer will restart.

I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago and this is how I solved it:
Get hold of a CD with ERD Commander 2005 or similar and boot from this. Run a System Restore on your Windows XP installation and you?ll be up and running.

First thing to check is your HDD, I find this file i.e. the registry is usually corrupted by a failing HDD. I personally use HDDregenerator to check/repair the drive, then use a BARTpe boot cd with a43 file explorer to navigate to the system restore folder and go back to the most recent RP folder and get a copy of the files which are mentioned in the reply above. I copy them to windows\system32\config, rename the originals so that if there are faulty sectors on the disk, the original files will cover them. Rename the files copied over from the RP and test. If all is well, change the HDD if faulty sectors were originally found.

I am having a problem with windows not loading but I don't get an error message. If ya'll could look at this post maybe someone would be able to help. https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5217-6257-0.html?id=4511680
Could this be fixed by doing the steps described by Randle in Answer 3?

Answer 3 is closest but will probably only give you a system as at when Windows was first installed.

There is stuff in Microsoft's knowledge base which will help you fix this (which is almost certainly where the text in answer 3 comes from) but you need to get the files named in Answer 3 from a recent System Restore point, and these are stored in a normally inaccessible folder called System Volume Information (or something very similar).

I don't have the details of the KB articles to hand, but, with the application of a bit of nous that should help you find the right answer.

Good luck.

I just had this happen Tuesday - here is what I did and recovered everything.

Follow the instructions that everyone has given to boot with the XP CD for recovery console, copy your system file from windows\system32\config\system to windows\system32\config\system.org (do not just rename).

If it writes out then it may not be corrupt unfortunately if it is truly missing or corrupt then I cannot help - I can only offer condolences - but if all is still OK then copy the system file from windows\repair\ folder to windows\system32\config\ and overwrite the system file. Remove the CD and reboot. Your computer will start up as it did after the install just let it ID all the drivers and hardware and such again - you do not have to let it install the drivers when it finds them. All you want to do is just get to a point where you can shut it down. Use the CD and boot into recovery console then copy your windows\system32\config\system.org to windows\system32\config\system and boot.

After that worked for me I started a backup regime and all the other stuff that I should have been doing all along.

Best of luck to you.

Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands: Page (2)

Proceeding With the Repair Functions

* There are eight commands you must enter in sequence to repair any of the issues I noted in the opening of this guide. I will introduce them here, and then show the results graphically in the next six steps. These commands are as follows:
o C: CD ..
o C: ATTRIB ?H C:\boot.ini
o C:ATTRIB ?S C:\boot.ini
o C:ATRIB ?R C:\boot.ini
o C: del boot.ini
o C: BOOTCFG /Rebuild
o C: CHKDSK /R /F
o C: FIXBOOT
* To ?Go up a directory? in computing is to revert back to the directory above the current folder you?re operating in. If, for example, I?m in the C:WINDOWSSYSTEM32 directory, and I want to get at a file in the WINDOWS directory, I would merely type CD .. and I would be taken out of the SYSTEM32 folder and up one level to WINDOWS. We?re going to do the same thing here from the WINDOWS folder to get to the basic root of C:

* Now that we are at C: we can begin the process of repairing the operating system

and that begins with modifying the attributes of the BOOT.INI file. Briefly, BOOT.INI controls what operating systems the Windows boot process can see, how to load them, and where they?re located on your disk. We?re going to make sure the file is no longer hidden from our prying eyes, remove the flag that sets it as an undeletable system file, and remove the flag that sets it as a file we can only read, but not write to. To do this, we will issue three commands in this step:

* C:ATTRIB ?H C:\BOOT.INI
* C:ATTRIB ?R C:\BOOT.INI
* C:ATTRIB ?S C:\BOOT.INI

to remove the Hidden, System and Read Only flags.

* Now that we?ve modified the attributes for the BOOT.INI file, it?s up for deletion.

the syntax for it is simple: { DEL | FILE NAME }, e.g., C:DEL BOOT.INI deletes the BOOT.INI file.

* Now for the most important step of our process, the BOOTC

Answer 3 is very much on target, but here's a quicker way that works great to, basically accessing your restore points:
At the Press any key to boot from CD prompt, perform the following steps:
Press the .
The Windows Setup screen appears and several files are loaded.
Press the key.
If prompted, select the number corresponding to the Windows installation you would like to log on to (usually C:\WINDOWS).
Press the key.
Enter the Administrator password (if any) and press the key on the keyboard.
The C:\WINDOWS> prompt appears.
NOTE: If the system fails to boot, the following method of recovery is not possible.

NOTE: If a message Access Denied is displayed while attempting this fix, perform the following steps:
Type cd \ and press the key.
Type cd windows\system32\config and press the key.
Type ren system system.bak and press the key.
Type exit and press the key.
Restart the computer.
Continue troubleshooting below.

I had to continue since there's too many characters and it was truncated:

To copy the restore point in the recovery console, perform the following steps:

Type cd \ and press the key.
Type cd system~1\_resto~1 and press the key.
Type dir and press the key.
A list of the restore points appears listed alphabetically. Choose the restore point folder which is dated the day prior to the occurence of the error reported.
Type cd rpX (where X is the restore point you chose in the step above) and press the key.
Type cd snapshot and press the key.
Type dir and press the key.
Type copy _registry_machine_system c:\windows\system32\config\system and press the key.
Overwrite system? (Yes/No/All): appears.
Type Y and press the key.
Type copy _registry_machine_software c:\windows\system32\config\software and press the key.
Overwrite software? (Yes/No/All): appears.
Type Y and press the key.
Type copy _registry_machine_sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam and press the key.
Overwrite sam? (Yes/No/All): appears.
Type Y and press the key.
Type copy _registry_machine_security c:\windows\system32\config\security and press the key.
Overwrite security? (Yes/No/All): appears.
Type Y and press the key.
Type copy _registry_user_.default c:\windows\system32\config\default and press the key.
Overwrite default? (Yes/No/All): appears.
Type Y and press the key.
Remove the operating system CD and type exit to restart the computer.
NOTE: If any error message is returned while in the recovery console, use an earlier restore point.

Do you have an XP CD, try running it and see if there isnt a repair function or reinstall ur windows opr syst.

To solve this problem you're going to need an XP cd or I believe you can use the XP boot disks. Similarly you may also be able to use a Preboot environment if you can't get your hands on XP disc.

Boot your computer to CD with your XP disc in your optical drive making sure your boot order looks to CD/DVD first. The first option screen you come to after XP loads some preliminaries will give you the option of the recovery console. Select "R" for the console, and once loaded select the appropriate OS (usually 1. C:\WINDOWS\). The system will prompt you for your admin password, and upon entering it you'll come to a C:\WINDOWS\ prompt, from here enter the following lines verbatim, pressing enter after each line (you'll receive a prompt when copying from the repair folder to check if you want to overwrite the chosen file, answer "yes" each time).

cd system32\config
copy sam sam.bak
copy system system.bak
copy security security.bak
copy default default.bak
copy software software.bak
copy c:\windows\repair\sam sam
copy c:\windows\repair\system system
copy c:\windows\repair\security security
copy c:\windows\repair\default default
copy c:\windows\repair\software software
exit

and that's it! You've just replaced your registry from a backup stored in the "repair" folder of windows. When your system reboots you should boot successfully into XP. You might consider running a system restore after a successful boot to a time before your issue. Good luck.