Windows 2000 users, please help... (systemced)

[dcdomain]

I just tried using the ERD disk, can't believe no one tried sending it to me!? It was only a couple of kb's! Anyway, it didn't work anyway. . So stupid me, I searched the web this time for SYSTEMCED instead of ERD and found a bunch of helpful links. Notably the following, in case someone runs into a similar problem:

http://www.jsiinc.com/TIP2700/rh2783.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q269/0/75.asp

But guess what?! It didn't work! I tried everything it stated on those pages, and Win2k would go through startup... where that status bar is going across the screen with the logo. And right when it finishes, I see some small blue screen and then it reboots. Let it do it a couple of times and it wouldn't get through to finishing. So doing what I should have done days ago, I decided to format. This time I went dual boot, with ME and Win2k. Hope no one else runs into this problem... cost me so much in time!


---original post below---
My Win2k box is a couple days old, and today, when I tried to bootup, it refused to finish booting saying that system/config/SYSTEMced file was corrupted or not present and told me to boot using the bootdisks and then select R for repair.

So I do as told, and now it's asking me for the ERD (emergency recovery/repair disk). The stupid thing is that I never knew about this disk before hand. So now I don't have one, and I can't find one online to download.

Yes I know, the disks are for the specific machines they were created on, but it's too late for that now. Since it's a system file and not a registry problem, I figure almost any Win2k ERD should work fine. I only need the file that inspects and repairs the booting part of the OS...

So if someone can point me in the right direction, where I can download this file (did a couple of searches, no luck) or if someone could post it up, I would be very grateful.

Merry X-mas... =) and thanks in advance.

[edit]... by the way, by selecting repair, and then recovery console, I was able to get into the command prompt. Is the SYSTEMced file on the win2k cd-rom? If so, maybe I can use DOS and just manually place it back onto my harddrive.

I've never used DOS much (got into computers rather late) so could someone write the commands on how to copy and paste a file?

 

[dcdomain]

Here's a two line poem I just made up...

Why oh why,
Did Win2K
Crash on Christmas Day...

Please help...

 

[MulLa]

Haven't done a lot of "Reparing" for W2k. But I believe that there is an option that allow W2k itself to search for repairs even if you don't have the ERD handy. It's on the same screen of option where you pressed "R". Sorry I can't remember which option it was but it is there.

 

[dcdomain]

Yeah, I tried that too, but for some reason it can't find my Win2k cd, which is in the dvd-rom drive. Is the SYSTEMced file on the cd? If so... I could possibly just copy the file from the cd to the designated folder in the WINNT folder... anyone know the DOS command to do so? Wish I got into computers earlier...

 

[Octoberblue]

This is a little whacked out, and I've never tried it, but could you go into C:\format, (don't mess with your current partition!) then create a secondary DOS partition, and install W2K on it?

Now my point is this, during setup of W2K on your secondary partition, it would give you an opportunity to create an emergency repair disk. After creating it, you could then boot back into your primary partition and use the emergency repair disk created on your second one. If this worked, then once you got everything working you could go back in and delete your secondary partition. You would have to make that second partition active I believe, (like I said I've never done this), but then after you were finished making the emergency disks you could go back into DOS and set the first partition as active again.

I'm sure there's a way to do this that would work. It may be easier to do like you said and copy the files over, but on the other hand it's always nice to be able to give the machine a rescue disk when it asks for one. It seems like that works better for most of us non-programmer types.

Also, did you post this thread on the tech support forum or the general hardware forum?You may find someone who knows the exact procedure in one of them. Wish I could help more... Good luck!

 

[dcdomain]

Thanks, it's a lot of work, I guess that will be my last resort. But it is a great idea... how long did it take you to come up with that?

Linked back to this thread a little while ago in those other forums...

In a few days, a couple of friends who all use Win2k will be back from their short vacations, so I'll just make an ERD on their computers. But it would be nice if I could just fix this myself... of course with Anandtech members help...

 

[spellbound]

If you can set your mb bios to boot from your cd drive you can boot that way
and then run a repair.

 

[dcdomain]

Hehehe... wish I had a real Win2K cd. But nope, it's copy and non-bootable. The thing is, even though it's a copy, I'm licensed to use it since I'm a student at Carnegie Mellon. They got some license thing where all students have access to almost every single program Microsoft produces.

 

[Octoberblue]

... how long did it take you to come up with that?

I just recently installed W2K in a dual boot configuration with Win98, so I was in a "partition/dual boot" mindset. Unfortunately I took the easy route and used PartionMagic to do the hard part for me, so I couldn't give the nitty-gritty details off the top.

Good luck.

 

[Tominator]

I'm unsure of your disk, but the origional has a boot disk set on the W2K cd made by clicking on a executable file. You need 4 blank formatted floppies. You could make them on another machine or in Win98 if you boot both OSs.

 

[dcdomain]

Octoberblue I swear!!! I have a legal copy!!! All CMU students have to do is go to any of the libraries or computing services, scan our school id's and we get to borrow the software for 24 hours.

I got the bootdisks off www.bootdisk.com... they worked fine.

I'm gonna write about the rest of my experience in the original post...

 

[superbaby]

I think the ERD takes a computer's configuration and registry and writes them to those 4 blank floppies.

Therefore a set of ERD's from another computer wouldn't necessarily work on yours.

 

[Steelo]

The ERD only copies system repair information to the floppy, including registry hives, system startup environment and the SAM (security database). The four floppies you mention are the installation boot floppies. You can recreate these from the bootdisk folder on the win2k cd, theres an executable in there called something like makeboot.exe / makeboot32.exe or something. Just run that and it'll create the four floppies. Alternatively as mentioned above, set your bios to boot direct from the cd and you dont need to worry with the floppies. As for the ERD, it is system specific, and using one from other machines for any repair procedure other than to simply repair the system startup environment, could be more trouble than its worth, as you will replace your registry hives and your user accounts database. Also, if you've only just installed win2k, telling it to use the repair information on the system will fail as the information stored in this folder is only updated when you run the create repair disk info. You can see the repair disk info in %SYSTEMROOT%\repair.

Anyway, i notice that you've found the other thread which talks about the exact cause of the problem your having. Follow the fix in there and you wont need to perform a repair so often!!!


http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=34&threadid=290037

Hope that all helps

Steelo

 

[dcdomain]

Just finished doing a clean install... freaking installing a dual boot is a pain... not only do you have to sit through one operating system installation, you have to sit through two!!!

I'm refraining from installing too much software, only the ones I need for now, in case I didn't follow the install directions right in that thread over at Apu...and it screws up again.

As of now, I have all that power management stuff disabled on the OS level. In that Apu thread, someone... forgot who, stated that messing with the BIOS isn't really worth the time... (but I did a little anyway... not too much though).

I did the F5 install option. Chose the first option, which was Standard PC... then finished installing. I noticed that I didn't really get to choose to customize the install (which parts to install or not to install). Anyway, as of now, I have to hold down the power button to get the computer to shut down. The APM on the OS level... everything is disabled... still haven't enabled it yet, some other people including Steelo (I think) enabled it, but I'm still too chicken...

By the way, while messing around in my BIOS, there was this option (MSi Pro2a board):

Soft-off by PWRBUTTON and the options were Instant Off and 4second delay... just spoke to a friend and he told me that it's how long I have to hold down the power button until the computer shuts down. But why is it called soft-off then? I figured it was 'software' off, like the OS...