[RESOLVED] [Pro] Critical file missing!

:eek: i was playing a game (battlefield 2) when all of a sudden it crashed and i got a BSOD. he computer restarted and now i cannot get to widows. i got a message saying windows cannot start as it is missing a file. something like System/Command and to use my XP CD to repair the problem. i have the CD but the only problem is i don't know how to repair it. i have been to the recovery console but have no idea how to use it so and i cannot find any other way to repair as it just takes me to the install.

Check this out John: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how...ng_or_cor1.htm


Liam

:( why is nothing ever simple! unfortunately the 'easy option' doesn’t work for me, so the hard one it is. i feel and hour of utter frustration coming up :o
and knowing my luck something won't work along the way.

but anyway thanks for the link Liam. exactly what i need.

No problemo, Good luck. :)


Liam

shock horror! it didn't go to plan, i managed to fail even quicker than i thought. when you get to the repair console it asks you for the admin password. i have only ever used 3 passwords on this comp. 1 to get onto the uni network and 2 others that i use to lock my account. none of these work, and neither does just pressing enter. now i'm really stuck!

EDIT; may have found the problem. for some reason in the console it lists the repair as G: .yet my XP is on the C:drive and G: doesn’t even have windows installed on it.

The password that it wants is the one for the normally hidden Default Admin account, and would have been entered during the initial Setup. If you didn't enter one yourself, then it may have been entered by the PC maker and you'd need to contact them and find out what it is.

Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll have to do an over-the-top reinstall. Boot up with the XP CD in the drive and let Setup run. Go past the "C" and "R" repair options by presssing Enter just as if you're doing a clean install and you'll eventually get an option to "Repair an existing installation". That's the one you want. If it asks about formatting you've gone wrong, so start over.

You'll get to keep your existing apps & settings, but you need to re-install SP2, Windows Updates & any unsigned drivers afterwards. NOTE: Be aware that you'll lose any protection from Blaster / Sasser type worms. Don't go online without a firewall, whether the built in Windows one or 3rd party.

How to perform a re-install of WinXP

Repair XP

i see some problems. first of all i built the computer and installed windows myself so i know i never entered any password. and even if i did it would be the same one i always use for windows that isn't working. the over the top install i can live with and was my fist idea. only problem is that it doesn’t give me that option to 'repair'. i have done a 'repair' install before so I’m pretty sure i am not just missing the option. i get through to the part where you have to select your partition but it only gives me the option of formatting or deleting.

Hello judge john :)

Here is some help for that

You can check the Repair procedure here and if it is in fact missing, scroll down to "Warning # 2"

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm


Elaine

cheers. as suspected option 1 does not work as for some reason the repair option does not appear. so option 2 it is. only thing i want to do before i try this out is this;
"You can then connect the original hard drive after configuring the jumpers to a slave drive. You can retrieve important files."
as you can see by my specs i have 2 HD's and 2 OS's. in fact i am typing now from Vista. as such i have access to the partition where by XP is. i have about 50GB of files that i could do with keeping and would like to back them up first. the problem is that i cannot get access to my user account on XP. i go to the XP drive, Documents and settings, my user account, but then it won't let me access the files as i don't have permission! i think this is because my account had a password. so is there anyway i can get access to these files?
attached is a picture of the security settings that i currently have. Note: done using Vista.

What you need to do is "take ownership" of the files, and then you can copy them to the new one in the normal way with Windows Explorer. Here's how to do it in WinXP:

Right-click on the folder you want to take ownership of, choose "Sharing and Security", then in the Security tab, click "Advanced". Go to the Owner tab, choose the account that you want to take ownership (usually your Admin account), make sure "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" is checked, and then OK out of the dialogs.

I'm not sure if it's the same in Vista, various delays have meant that I don't anticipate getting Vista installed until the weekend :(

Try taking ownership folder by right clicking it and selecting Properties.
Select the Security Tab and click the Advanced button. You'll see an Owner tab so add your User Name to the list

You may need to go to My Computer/Tools/Folder Options/View tab and uncheck "Use simple file sharing" or you won't have a Security tab otherwise.

To apply to subfolders check the box "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" before you click “Apply”

Elaine

I’m a little bit lost but i think i found what i had to do, and it looks like Vista's security settings are set up in a very similar way to XP. i think it would be easiest for me to show you what’s going on with the pic attached.
the box in the top left hand corner is what i get when i go to properties/security/advanced/owner. as you can see the "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" is not available. so i then went to Edit(bottom left box) and it gives me then option this time so i selected it and press apply. but then i get the error message shown and it is repeated for every file in my user account. any more ideas?

:D
finally some luck! i some how, don't ask me how, managed to get the files authorised for me. i clicked some slightly different buttons and seemed to get to exactly the same menu's but this time the "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" was available to select. so now i will try and repair windows. cheers for the advice.

Phew!!

Good luck :)

Elaine

oops. didn't mean to post again