Folks,
To ensure I removed all of Norton SystemWorks 2003 Professional
Edition -- so that I could either reinstall it or begin using a
freeware antivirus program -- I journeyed into the inner sanctum,
gasp, the registry of WinXP Pro on my notebook (laptop?), and
deleted each and every reference to Norton or Symantec. (I've
done this before and, in fact, a Symantec tech suggested I do it
last time I had such a problem).
Anyway, now I have a new problem, of course. When I rebooted, I
received this message:
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or
corrupt:
\Windows\system32\config\SYSTEM
You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup
using the original Setup CD-ROM.
Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
The first screen is the COMPAQ logo screen with the message F10 =
ROM based Setup.
I clicked 'r' repeatedly and my next choice was Please select the
operating system to start: Microsoft Windows XP Professional or
Windows Recovery Console.
By selecting the former, i.e., Microsoft Windows XP Professional,
once again I get the message that: Windows could not start
because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\Windows\system32\config\SYSTEM
You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup
using the original Setup CD-ROM.
Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
Next time I booted I selected Windows Recovery Console, which
took me to the following DOS-like screen:
Microsoft Windows XP (TM) Recovery Console.
The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery
functionality.
Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.
1: C:\WINDOWS
Which Windows installation would you like to log onto
<To cancel, press ENTER>?
Folks, I typed in 1, which took me to
C:|WINDOWS
I typed "help /?" and explored all of the commands that I thought
might offer a solution, e.g., BOOTCFG, ENABLE, SYSTEMROOT,
FIXMBR, NET, FIXBOOT, MA and even LOGON. The paltry explanations
weren't helpful to me.
I have all of the CDs that came with my Compaq Evo N1000v
notebook and I began trying to boot from each of them.So I tried
the latter, which took me to the following DOS-like screen:
Microsoft Windows XP (TM) Recovery Console.
The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery
functionality.
Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.
1: C:\WINDOWS
Which Windows installation would you like to log onto
<To cancel, press ENTER>?
Folks, I typed in 1, which took me to
C:|WINDOWS
Remembering all the old DOS commands -- I've been at this for a
few years -- I typed "DIR" and low and behold, I was treated to a
listing of all the files in the WINDOWS directory. (If there are
subdirectories listed, I can't tell.)
What, pray tell, do I do at this point to start my Windows XP Pro
and/or fix that corrupted file?
Thanks, my friends.
Munchausen
"Hold No Punches.." Rode brings you great shareware/freeware
programs with his honest opinions in this weekly column.
http://freepctech.com/rode
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