system files corrupted, question about repair install

[theMan]

i have windows 2000. i turned on my computer and it said c:/windows/system is corrupted. it said to do a repair install. my question is, will i lose my programs? what other options do i have?

thanks.

EDIT: ok, i just did last known good configuration, it seems to be booting fine now. what do i do after? wont it just happen again, the next time i boot? im so so scared...

 

[sipuncher]

A repair install should just reinstall windows over the top of your existing install, therefore replacing the corrupted files with fresh copies. You shouldn't lose anything installed such as programs and documents etc.

If the error tells you which file(s) are corrupted you could try replacing them from the cd.

 

[theMan]

it just said that whole folder. if it has to replace the whole system folder, wont that mean i lose my programs? also, i just did last known good config. now, i have to get to the root of the problem and fix it so the next time i boot this doesnt happen. what can i do in windows?

 

[redbeard1]

Run a chkdsk on it to verify the file structure. Also download the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostics, and see if the drive is beginning to fail.

 

[theMan]

ok, i'll try that, thanks.

 

[theMan]

i ran the diagnostics, everything is fine there. but, im scared of running chkdsk because i might lose all my stuff. i ran it a long time ago, on a different computer, and it just deleted all the windows system files, and i had to reinstall.

 

[lucky9]

Only thing I ever lost with a repair install was the updates to Win itself. You have to update all over....all the updates that are not on the original disk that you repair with.

 

[theMan]

ok, so just making sure. i do a repair install. it might completely replace my registry. then, nothing will work. however, if i make a backup now, i can import it and then i will get everything back?

 

[FlyingPenguin]

A repair does not affect installed apps. It does reset your OS to the version on the CD (if the CD is SP1 then it's reset to SP1). This can be a BIG problem if your Win2K disc is a very old version. For instance 48bit LBA hard drive support (drives larger than 137Gb) was only added after SP2. You should make sure your Win2K CD is AT LEAST SP3. SP4 would be better.

Fair warning: Win2K Repair installs are very hit-and-miss. XP is much more robust in that regard. Backup your data and plan for the possibility of a full re-install. I personally would NOT recommend a repair install at this point if it's working. You mis-interpreted the message - if your whole system folder was gone it wouldn't boot. Win2K was just trying to tell you it couldn't find a registry file in the system folder.

HOWEVER since you fixed it using "last known good" then the problem was a corrupt registry (all "Last Known Good" does is restore a backup of the registry made the last time it succesfully booted into the desktop).

I would be concerned as to the cause of the registry corruption, though. Often this is an indication of a failing hard drive. It could have just been a fluke: surge, turning the power off before Windows saved the registry, a random corruption of the HDD, etc. Or the drive may be going south. The diagnostic will tell you.

I would recommend you download the HDD manufacturer's drive diagnostic from their web site and run the FULL (Advanced) diagnostic. This may take an hour or more depending on the size.

If the diagnostic passes the drive you're okay. If it fails the drive then backup any important data immediately and replace the drive ASAP. As long as the drive is working and doesn't suffer further corruption, you can probably safely clone the entire drive to a new drive using whatever cloning software comes with the new drive or a product like Norton Ghost.

If the drive does pass the diagnostic you SHOULD still run a full chkdsk on the drive to recover any damaged files or MFT corruption.

Hope this helps...

 

[RelaxTheMind]

chkdsk /r

 

[theMan]

well, the strange thing is, that the day before, when i turned it on, it said disk read error, but when i just restarted, it was fine. that day, i did numerous reboots, and they were fine. i thought the problem was gone, but then, yesterday when i turned it on, i got the error. i havent done a cold boot since. could this possibly only happen on cold boots or something?

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Ghost it just in case, then chkdsk or sfc /scannow from the recovery console

 

[FlyingPenguin]

THEMAN: As I said previously, you should definately run the manufacturer diagnostic. Only way to know if the drive is failing.

ALSO, this could easily be caused by a bad ribbon cable or just some corrosion on some of the pins on the ribbon cable header. First thing you should ALWAYS do when getting HDD errors is disconnect and reconnect the ribbon cable (tech support always tells you to do this first) on both ends. This scapes the crud off the contacts and improves the connection. Cheap as they are, wouldn't hurt to swap out the cable either.

Hope this helps...

 

[theMan]

well, this is a sata cable, could it still be the problem? just downloaded the diagnostic, running it asap.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

Sata is just as prone to corrosion on the cable contacts. Less likely to crack internally as it gets old and brittle though, so I'd say the cable is probably good. Just unplug it and plug it back in on both ends.