When I try to boot I get the message that the following file is missing or corrupted: \windows\system32\config\system I found out the solution suggested in the microsoft knowledge base article Q307545 and went through part one of the solution (replacing system, software, sam, security and default files in the config folder from those in the repair folder) Then for part two you need to boot into safe mode to get access to the hidden system Volume Information folder, but there I get the message Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\drivers\ntfs.sys Using the listsvc command I found out that ntfs is disabled. I tried booting into the last working configuration (not sure this is the exact wording of the boot option, but you know what I mean), but there I got: C000021a (fatal system error). The session manager initialization system process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0xc000003a (0x00000000, 0x00000000) According to microsoft knowledge base article Q316503 this occurs when you have GoBack present in the boot sector. The suggested solution is to disable GoBack at the GoBack start-up screen. However, this screen doesn't appear any more and when I check with listsvc I do not recognise any service that could be related to GoBack. What now?

Try running Windows Repair by Booting to Windows XP CD. Choosing R for Repair. Once at the DOS Prompt type chkdsk /p [Press enter] Follow through with prompts. When back to DOS Prompt type fixboot [Press enter] and Reboot. If that one does not work. Boot back to Windows XP CD back to Repair and try chkdsk /r ( Will take about 30 - 45 minutes ). If this does not work boot back to Recovery/Repair and try sfc /scannow [Press enter] If that does not work. Drop me a Email and Ill tell you about Reloading Windows to a 2nd Directory and fixing it without format and losing. Whatever you do , DO NOT Install Windows Over Windows. Good Luck, Mike

A question from the bleachers for Mike. I had the same problem a few weeks ago. I took the M$ plunge and went for the $35 service call. Their next to last recommendation, (last being a fresh install) was to run a repair install. When you say NOT to install Win over Win, are you referring to the repair install as well? Please excuse the question, but it appears this XP registry corruption issue is becoming more common than one might think. Not that I know squat about computers, but I’m the guy many friends & family call on when they experience trouble. Just trying to understand the best fix. FYI, the M$ tech made a disturbing comment to me. He said even if you are successful at recovering from a corrupted registry situation, a fresh install is still recommended. In other words, he alluded to the fact that there was no such thing as a full “recovery” just a temporary fix to get at your data. In my case, after hitting one brick wall after another, I chose to install a second hard drive, put the original to slave, and run a fresh install. Pain in the butt, yes – did it work with no loss of data, yes. There’s got to be a better way… Thanks for your time.