Windows wont boot

[Microsoftplzwork]

I have dell dimension 3000. With windows Xp home. When I start my computer says: Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
I have googled this Click here and tried to follow this. But i dont get asked for a pw for administrator. What should i do?

 

[Microsoftplzwork]

Also when i enter the copy part it says access denied

 

[fuzzynavel]

I presume that you are referring to this bit----

Go ahead and hit the number 1 on your keyboard, or whichever number corresponds to the operating system you were using when havoc struck. Enter your administrator password, and then hit enter. You're in! Now it's time to run with the big dogs! Do not be afraid, dear reader, I am here to help you.

If you don't have an admin password for windows then don't worry.....just carry on with the rest of the guide!

 

[Zugzwang152]

link to the Microsoft document your link was copied from.

 

[Nocturnal]

Boot using your Windows installation cd, go into your recovery console, do a chkdsk /r and you should be good to go.

 

[Microsoftplzwork]

I continue on with the guide but when i enter the copy commands it says access denied.

 

[engineereeyore]

if you're having that many problems, you'd probably be better of just doing a repair. it'd take 30 minutes and then just install a couple drivers. problem solved. otherwise, you might be fighting it for a while because the computer probably does have an administrator account, but only dell would have the information for it, and good luck getting that. with a repair, it should allow YOU to set the administrator password and alleviate the access denied problem in the future