My computer suddenly rebooted today. After the sudden reboot, Windows wouldn't load. I got a message saying "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \windows\system32\config\system" I Googled the problem and found a few possible solutions. First of all, I changed out my memory, but that didn't fix the problem. Second, I tried to boot from the xp cd and run the recovery counsel. When I tried to run the recovery counsel, I got a blue screen with the error "BAD_POOL_CALLER". I now get the "BAD_POOL_CALLER" error when I try to do anything from the xp cd, including reinstalling windows. Like I said before, this just happened today out of the blue. I've had the same hardware for a few years and have never had this problem before. My xp install is fairly new also. My system specs are as follows: XP Pro (dual boot with Ubuntu 5,04) amd xp 1800+ Gigabyte GA-7DXR+ motherboard 768 megs of ram radeon 9800 pro (128 meg) Any help is greatly appreciated! tbrickn

Search around a little http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?qu=Windows+could+not+start+because+the+following+file+is+missing+or+corrupt%3A+%5Cwindows%5Csystem32%5Cconfig%5Csystem You can be amused by the simplest of things. The smartest people in the world, over-look the smallest objects. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

Since you have been using this system for a few years and if you dont regularly defrag your HD, you must waste no time in checking it now. Boot problems, blue screens and corrupted files may be syptoms of an excessively fragmented hard disk. Windows Disk Defragger can advise you on whether you need to defrag or not else you can set one of the specialized softwares to do the task automatically. Good Luck!

You have a corrupted registry. Try this Link. Also this link. Also look carefully thru the microsoft site as this problem is quite common.