Missing System32ConfigSystem . . . but its there!

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.file_system (More info?)

Here at the office, there is this computer we use for a
hard disk copy station. It has 2 removeable bays, etc etc.
The hard disk in it, has an installation of Win2000 that's
less than 2 months old. It has all the correct drivers and
was working properly.

Then my client went to Austria, taking two hard drives
with him, but leaving this one (lets call it "#12").
Numbers 10 and 11 went to Austria. Those two got scanned
by Airport Security, and possibly had some data corruption
from it, but #12 stayed at home.

When my client came back, after the computer had been
turned off for two weeks and unplugged, we beilieve, the
hard disk gives us this error:

Windows cannot start because we cannot find Winnt\System32
\Config\System.

So I get HD#10, and put it in the boot slot of the
computer, and put #12 in the slave slot. It booted up of
course, and when I checked out the drive, I found the file
right away!

Has anyone else had this problem before? I'm anxious to
find the solution.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.file_system (More info?)

Hi, Ryan.

Without trying to follow your entire chain of events, I can tell you that
the "Missing System32\Config\System" problem is one of the
most-frequently-asked question in this newsgroup.

The Config folder holds the Registry files for NT-type versions of Windows,
and System is one of those Registry files. If it cannot find its Registry,
or if its Registry is corrupted, Win2K cannot boot.

Maybe the Registry is still good and exactly where it is supposed to be, but
the road map in C:\boot.ini point somewhere else. The boot-up process tries
to follow that road map and finds something that does not look like a
Registry; it doesn't know what to do, so it halts with an error message like
the one you are seeing. The problem might be in C:\boot.ini's pointer,
rather than in the \WinNT folder. This is especially likely since you have
been swapping HDs in and out of different computers.

Perhaps the problem can be solved as easily as configuring the system
physically as you want to run it, then boot from the Win2K CD-ROM and run
the Repair procedure, telling it to only Inspect the Start-up Environment
(or something like that; I haven't run Win2K since WinXP arrived over 2
years ago).

If the simple solution doesn't work, there are several KB articles about
this problem. You might start with this one:
Error Message: Windows 2000 Could Not Start Because the Following File Is
Missing or Corrupt: \Winnt\System32\Config\System
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;319011

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@corridor.net
Microsoft Windows MVP

"Ryan Trevisol" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:5f7a01c42df1$7fc239e0$a501280a@phx.gbl...
> Here at the office, there is this computer we use for a
> hard disk copy station. It has 2 removeable bays, etc etc.
> The hard disk in it, has an installation of Win2000 that's
> less than 2 months old. It has all the correct drivers and
> was working properly.
>
> Then my client went to Austria, taking two hard drives
> with him, but leaving this one (lets call it "#12").
> Numbers 10 and 11 went to Austria. Those two got scanned
> by Airport Security, and possibly had some data corruption
> from it, but #12 stayed at home.
>
> When my client came back, after the computer had been
> turned off for two weeks and unplugged, we beilieve, the
> hard disk gives us this error:
>
> Windows cannot start because we cannot find Winnt\System32
> \Config\System.
>
> So I get HD#10, and put it in the boot slot of the
> computer, and put #12 in the slave slot. It booted up of
> course, and when I checked out the drive, I found the file
> right away!
>
> Has anyone else had this problem before? I'm anxious to
> find the solution.

 

[muriel]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.file_system (More info?)

TO: "Ryan Trevisol"
I just updated my sons computer...after all updates were
installed...i got this air message everytime i rebooted.
C:\\companion file missing. I searched and finally found
it belonged in that systems 32 folder which was MISSING.
i couln't believe it. So i did after a few days of
searching...was to reinstall windows from the original disk
start. run ...setup. When it came to files that had been
updated..it warned me that a newer one was already in
place.
So..i think you need the original installation disk.
.....along with the product Key. (which i didn't have)
but i called ms co. and they gave me a new one. Hope i've
helped..a little. Muriel
>-----Original Message-----
>Here at the office, there is this computer we use for a
>hard disk copy station. It has 2 removeable bays, etc
etc.
>The hard disk in it, has an installation of Win2000
that's
>less than 2 months old. It has all the correct drivers
and
>was working properly.
>
>Then my client went to Austria, taking two hard drives
>with him, but leaving this one (lets call it "#12").
>Numbers 10 and 11 went to Austria. Those two got scanned
>by Airport Security, and possibly had some data
corruption
>from it, but #12 stayed at home.
>
>When my client came back, after the computer had been
>turned off for two weeks and unplugged, we beilieve, the
>hard disk gives us this error:
>
>Windows cannot start because we cannot find Winnt\System32
>\Config\System.
>
>So I get HD#10, and put it in the boot slot of the
>computer, and put #12 in the slave slot. It booted up of
>course, and when I checked out the drive, I found the
file
>right away!
>
>Has anyone else had this problem before? I'm anxious to
>find the solution.
>.
>