laptop issue

[suicidalpigeon]

i just turned on my sis' laptop and this message appears something along the line of: Windows could not start because the following file is missing or currupt: \windows\system32\config\system

you can attempt to repair the file by starting windows setup using the original setup cd-rom
select 'r' at the first screen to start repair

the system is a toshiba satellite a65
i tried booting in safe mode and last best known configuration
it did not come with the os cd
havent used recovery cd yet because i dont know what else it does other than format hdd and return to factory settings.

 

[Supermanowar]

It didn't come with a CD? What kind of junk is that? Throw it out and buy a new one. That thing must be, what, 8 years old?

 

[ValuedCustomer]

Originally posted by: Supermanowar
It didn't come with a CD? What kind of junk is that? Throw it out and buy a new one. That thing must be, what, 8 years old?

Jeez, settle down, Beavis - the guy's just asking for a little assistance.. and "no" it aint "8 years old". You can go down to BestBuy or wherever and buy one today if you'd like.

wafflesandsyrup
havent used recovery cd yet because i dont know what else it does other than format hdd and return to factory settings.

Yeesh! let's hope it doesn't format it.. I'd think the recovery CD would be your best bet. The recovery CD will prolly just reinstall any vital sys files that have been corrupted and/or gone south on you. I wouldn't worry too much, I'd bet you'll not lose anything.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Supermanowar
It didn't come with a CD? What kind of junk is that? Throw it out and buy a new one. That thing must be, what, 8 years old?

He means it didn't come with a full Windows installation CD, not that it doesn't have a CD-ROM drive...

It's pretty common with OEM systems -- they preload the OS, then just give you a "restore" CD that can be used to reinstall your apps or fix it if it gets hosed, but can't be used to install Windows on a different system.

As suggested, try the restore CD. It shouldn't format your hard drive before warning you repeatedly that it's going to do that, and hopefully there's an option to reinstall just the Windows system files.

 

[cjgallen]

This happened to a ton of computers at work, something to do with the BOOT.INI file replacing itself and pointing to the wrong partition. I'd boot to the command prompt and copy a replacement boot.ini file from a floppy to fix it.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

only two options from restore cd is:
-Recovery of pre-installed software
Restore the HD to the out of box state
-Erase the hard disk
Delete all the data and partition from the HD

clearly i dont want to do either, so is there any other alternatives like purchase a new os and try the procedures microsoft has on their site? or would that risk adding passwords to the oem version and then im really screwed? and cjgallen it doesnt have a floppy drive and i dont know what you're talking about.

 

[ValuedCustomer]

eww.. that kinda sucks. - cjgallen is right, btw, but it sounds like you'd have to have some detailed instructions (and have a floppy or flash-drive) to do it. - do you know anyone w/ a copy of whatever OS you're running that you could borrow? You could possibly boot to the OS CD and attempt to repair the install/affected file(s). Another option would be to pull out the hdd and slave it to a known good w/ the same OS. I've never done it myself but I've heard that the master hdd (w/ the same OS) will sorta automatically repair the slave after boot up. Can anyone confirm/deny this?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: ValuedCustomer
eww.. that kinda sucks. - cjgallen is right, btw, but it sounds like you'd have to have some detailed instructions (and have a floppy or flash-drive) to do it. - do you know anyone w/ a copy of whatever OS you're running that you could borrow? You could possibly boot to the OS CD and attempt to repair the install/affected file(s).

This is probably your best bet. You don't need a key, just a Windows CD of the appropriate type.

Another option would be to pull out the hdd and slave it to a known good w/ the same OS. I've never done it myself but I've heard that the master hdd (w/ the same OS) will sorta automatically repair the slave after boot up. Can anyone confirm/deny this?

That will definitely not happen. At least with Windows.

 

[ValuedCustomer]

Thanks for the clarification, mathias..:beer: -- that "recovery technique" always did sound a little fishy to me.