well I just updated my windows xp and restarted and it said ntoskrnl.exe was corrupted or missing while booting, and I saw lots of messages with the same problem, I found a solution so here it is get ur xp cd, boot from it, wait till the screen with options come up, press r for repair console, go through the drive selecting stuff and then u should be at a command prompt. first go to the system32 folder by typing cd system32 then rename ur ntoskrnl.exe file to wat ever u want, if it's still there that is ren ntoskrnl.exe (file name) without the ( ) Now, go to ur cd drive by typing (drive letter): without the ( ) and then type cd i386 then extract the ntoskrnl.ex_ file expand ntoskrnl.ex_ c:\windows\system32\ then you are all good to go!!! yay! --------------- Above was an old post on this forum, it is my problem exactly. But when I follow these steps and get into the recovery console, I typed "cd system32" and this is what it responded with: "The path or file specified is not valid." How is it not valid? When I try to do a "dir" command, it responds by telling me "An error occurred during directory enumeration." Please help. Any ideas?

Try these ways . Repairing Corrupted or Missing Boot.ini Files http://sft-cyber.com/Bootini.htm http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm This behavior can occur if any or some of the following conditions are true: 1. The default value in the [Boot Loader] section of the Boot.ini file is missing or invalid. 2. WiinXP is not installed in the location specified in the Boot.ini file. 3. The Ntoskrnl.exe file is missing or damaged. 4. The partition path in the Boot.ini file is not set correctly. 5. A general hardware failure. To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods: Method 1 Edit the Boot.ini file to restore or correct the default entry and to ensure that the other entries in the [Operating Systems] section of the Boot.ini file point to the appropriate directories. Se MS Q289022; HOW TO: Edit the Boot.ini file in WinXP. Your Boot.in file should look something like: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect Method 2 Use the boocfg utility in the Recovery Console to correct the Boot.ini file. 1. Start your computer with the WinXP CD. 2. When you receive the message to press R to repair Windows, by using the Recovery Console, press the R key. 3. Select the Windows installation you want, and then type the administrator password, if you have established one. Otherwise press Enter. 4. Type bootcfg /rebuild, and press Enter. When the Windows installation is located, the following instructions are displayed: Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All). Type Y in response to this message. Enter Load Identifier: This is the name of the operating system. Type Window XP Professional or Windos XP home Edition. (See above example) After WinXP has successfully loaded, the Boot.ini can be modified to remove the incorrect entry. Method 3 1. Start your computer with the WinXP CD Migrate to the Recovery Console as described above and your installation (usually number 1) 2. Log into the administrator accound by typing the password for this account. (Remeber that if you have not previously established a password, you simply hit Enter 3. Type expand cd-rom:\i386\ntoskrnl.ex_ X: \Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe CD-rom is the drive letter of you CD-ROM drive, and X is the drive letter of the hard disk on which WinXP is installed. If you receive a prompt to overwrite the file, press Y Type exit, and press Enter at the command prompt.