ntoskrnl.exe on XP

here we go:

helping out a friend w/ his machine,

HP Pavillion series, don't have all the details, new within last 6 months,

problem: on start up get the message- windows/rootsystem32/ntoskrnl.exe please install copy, that may not be complete as this is second hand info.

cannot boot into safe mode.

i have searched VDr, lots of answers, but the big problem is they want to install XP cd, this is not possible-no cd!

can i : reboot>F10>system recovery and select "R"?

system restore is not an option because he deleted all restore points for some reason

hope someone can help...thanks!

That is usually caused by a corrup or missing Boot.ini file. If the partition is formatted as FAT32 then you can just paste a generic one into the root folder of the C: drive. from a DOS prompt If the partition is NTFS, then you will need to get to the recovery Console, for which you need the Windows CD. If you can borrow a Windows CD, that will do, there isn't any licensing problem in using it just for the RC.

Here is a defualt boot.ini file, which assumes that WinXP is installed on the C: drive - if it isn't let me know and I'll change the file.

[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

supersparks- thanks for the help!

all better now..

just a learning curve!!