reinstall windows xp sp2 system files

Hi,

I have a windows xp sp2 and it would not boot. It says that the ntdlr is
missing or corrupt and I should repair installation.

When I try to boot from the cd, it gives me the option of reinstalling by
entering "r".
The system then goes to msdos. Where do I go from there??

Also, when I try to do the method 2 in
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;315341 It does not
give me the option of pressing R to repair Windows XP in step number 5. It
only gives me the option of formatting the disk?

please help. I do not want to do a clean install as it would erase all my
documents. I just need to reinstall the system files. I dont care about the
other installed program. I just want to access my files to back up.

Thanks,
Eric

eric wrote:

Hi,

I have a windows xp sp2 and it would not boot. It says that the ntdlr
is missing or corrupt and I should repair installation.

When I try to boot from the cd, it gives me the option of reinstalling
by entering "r".
The system then goes to msdos. Where do I go from there??

Also, when I try to do the method 2 in
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;315341 It does
not give me the option of pressing R to repair Windows XP in step
number 5. It only gives me the option of formatting the disk?

please help. I do not want to do a clean install as it would erase all
my documents. I just need to reinstall the system files. I dont care
about the other installed program. I just want to access my files to
back up.

Thanks,
Eric

1. Is there a floppy in the drive? If so, remove it and reboot. The
error will be gone.

2. Otherwise, boot with a real Windows XPSP2 cd (not an OEM recovery
disk). Take R for Repair which will take you to the Recovery Console.

3. Recovery Console will ask you which XP install you want to repair.
Usually there is just the one so type the number and press the Enter
key. When it asks for the Administrator password, press Enter (default
password is a blank).

4. Now you will be the Recovery Console prompt. Type:

COPY D:\i386\ntldr C:\ [enter]
COPY D:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\ [enter]
(a file that may also be missing)

This assumes that your cd drive is D:; if it isn't, substitute the
correct letter.

then rebuild the boot configuration boot.ini file by typing:

Attrib -H -R -S C:\boot.ini [enter]
(if not found skip the next line)
DEL C:\boot.ini [enter]
BootCfg /Rebuild [enter]

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

Thanks for responding. answers inline..


1. Is there a floppy in the drive? If so, remove it and reboot. The
error will be gone.

No there is no floppy drive.


2. Otherwise, boot with a real Windows XPSP2 cd (not an OEM recovery
disk). Take R for Repair which will take you to the Recovery Console.

I have an original windows xp pro disk and a separate sp2 disk....not OEM
version


3. Recovery Console will ask you which XP install you want to repair.
Usually there is just the one so type the number and press the Enter
key. When it asks for the Administrator password, press Enter (default
password is a blank).

Already did this and i will try your steps below.
I forgot to mention, sometimes I am getting a "c:\windows\system32\config"
corrupt error and system suggest to repair installation. waht is the command
for this fix?



4. Now you will be the Recovery Console prompt. Type:

COPY D:\i386\ntldr C:\ [enter]
COPY D:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\ [enter]
(a file that may also be missing)

This assumes that your cd drive is D:; if it isn't, substitute the
correct letter.

then rebuild the boot configuration boot.ini file by typing:

Attrib -H -R -S C:\boot.ini [enter]
(if not found skip the next line)
DEL C:\boot.ini [enter]
BootCfg /Rebuild [enter]

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

eric wrote:

Thanks for responding. answers inline..


1. Is there a floppy in the drive? If so, remove it and reboot. The
error will be gone.

No there is no floppy drive.


2. Otherwise, boot with a real Windows XPSP2 cd (not an OEM recovery
disk). Take R for Repair which will take you to the Recovery Console.

I have an original windows xp pro disk and a separate sp2 disk....not
OEM version


3. Recovery Console will ask you which XP install you want to repair.
Usually there is just the one so type the number and press the Enter
key. When it asks for the Administrator password, press Enter
(default password is a blank).

Already did this and i will try your steps below.
I forgot to mention, sometimes I am getting a
"c:\windows\system32\config" corrupt error and system suggest to
repair installation. waht is the command for this fix?


There isn't a command for a Repair Install. You have to do a Repair
Install. You'll need to create a slipstreamed XP install cd. Here are
links to help you with that:

How to slipstream sp2 into XP
http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?act...showarticle=49
http://www.windows-help.net/windowsx...p2-bootcd.html

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

Hi,

This worked although I have a new error when I boot windows xp..


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4. Now you will be the Recovery Console prompt. Type:

COPY D:\i386\ntldr C:\ [enter]
COPY D:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\ [enter]
(a file that may also be missing)

This assumes that your cd drive is D:; if it isn't, substitute the
correct letter.

then rebuild the boot configuration boot.ini file by typing:

Attrib -H -R -S C:\boot.ini [enter]
(if not found skip the next line)
DEL C:\boot.ini [enter]
BootCfg /Rebuild [enter]

Malke
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

it says that:

windows\system32\config\system is missing or corrupt.

I tried copying the "system" file from the windows xp disk but I cannot
locate it.

eric wrote:

Hi,

This worked although I have a new error when I boot windows xp..


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4. Now you will be the Recovery Console prompt. Type:

COPY D:\i386\ntldr C:\ [enter]
COPY D:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\ [enter]
(a file that may also be missing)
(snip)

windows\system32\config\system is missing or corrupt.

I tried copying the "system" file from the windows xp disk but I
cannot locate it.

Corrupted Registry Recovery -
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q307545
and http://support.microsoft.com/?id=822705

It might be smart for you to do some hardware troubleshooting, too. With
all the errors you're getting, I'd test the RAM and the hard drive.
Here are some steps to do that:

1) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

2) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
errors, replace it.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User