# Windows could not start because the following file is missing or ...



## drixt (Jul 16, 2008)

Hello ppl, i have a problem going on for a few months. 
i have a HP desktop, and this is what happened... The day i decided to format my entire system was the worst day of my life tho lmao! not really but it's giving me a headache 
that day i found a lenovo CD it's like windows xp and 
Right after i formatted my system with that CD even though my system is 64x bit and this lenovo cd is 32x bit so i said im gonna install this windows cus to be honest i was in a hurry at that moment i was looking for a second computer with a normal system anyway so started with the installation everything was going fine then i really can't remember wat happened i think it was like when the cd starts to install the new operating system sometimes the cd finds a dll as missing so u know i kept skipping all these errors about dll missing and all that. 
then i can't remember what happened after skipping all those messages i think my system just couldnt go further with the installation so it asked me to boot it up or i think everything went well and right when the system asks u to reboot in order to install the operating system thats when this message shows up:

WINDOWS COULD NOT START BECAUSE THE FOLLOWING FILE IS MISSING OR CORRUPT: 
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

YOU CAN ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THIS FILE BY STARTING WINDOWS SETUP 
USING THE ORIGINAL SETUP CD-ROM. 
SELECT "R" AT THE FIRST SCREEN TO START REPAIR

and the repair process doenst help me at all cus when i press R my system reboots and the message shows up ALL THE TIME. 
SO! i dont know what to do right now im kinda frustrated cus ive been looking for a solution on the internet but nothing seems to help me to solve this problem, i will really appreciate it if u guys help me on this one







PLS! thank u in advance.


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## TheOutcaste (Aug 8, 2007)

The Lenovo CD is customized for the particular Lenovo system it shipped with. It may be missing many of the drivers and files you would find on a normal XP CD, and will likely only work on a Lenovo System. Or the disk is damaged and can't read those missing files. Either way you'll need a different XP CD.

Your HP Product key probably won't work with the Lenovo disk either, and you can't use the Lenovo key on the HP.
You can see if HP has the Recovery Disks still available for your system, usually $10-$25.
HP and Compaq Desktop PCs: Looking for Recovery Discs?
Or see if you can find an OEM XP CD of the same version (Home/Pro/MCE) you can borrow.
Most systems would have had a Recovery Partition that you can use to re-install, and create Recovery Disks, though this attempted install may have broken the ability to access it.

[WEBQUOTE="http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07143&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN"]*NOTE:* Most HP and Compaq desktop PCs that ship with Windows Vista and XP do not come with recovery discs. Instead, they use a partition on the hard drive. Using a hard drive partition provides a convenient, more stable recovery solution. To access a hard drive recovery, turn on the computer and repeatedly press F11 until a recovery window opens. If your computer originally came with Windows XP or earlier, press F10 to enter recovery.[/WEBQUOTE]


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## drixt (Jul 16, 2008)

nope it didnt work, so im guessing its the disk right? now wat kinda disk can i buy the model of this computer is HP pavilion a1700n


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## TheOutcaste (Aug 8, 2007)

drixt said:


> nope it didnt work,


Do you mean the F10 or F11 didn't work, or you borrowed an XP disk that didn't work?

For the Product Key on the HP sticker to work, you have to use an OEM copy of the same version of Windows as indicated on the sticker. For XP there are 4 different versions:
OEM or Retail:
XP Home
XP Professional
These two are OEM Only:
XP Media Center Edition
XP Tablet Edition.

Have you contacted HP to see if they can provide a Recovery disk set?
You can purchase a new copy of XP, any version you want (Home, Pro, Media Center), as it will come with it's own key, but this would be more expensive of course.


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## drixt (Jul 16, 2008)

yeah but i dont wanna do that, wat if i just buy a new disk i dont even know wat disk we r talking about ... lets say non of those cd's worked as expected wat else could be causing this problem then? could that be the disk? the cdrw? and if u stop and think for a second u will realize that replacing one of those parts it will be a lot cheaper than buying one of those oem recovery cd's.
could u also tell me where i can buy them, thx in advance.


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## TheOutcaste (Aug 8, 2007)

The cheapest DVD player at www.newegg.com is $23.98 including shipping. About the same price as the recovery disk from HP.

You can always borrow a CD drive from another PC, see if it will install with a different drive. If it gives you the same missing files errors, then the Lenovo CD is either damaged, or missing files that the HP system needs.

If it does work, it may still reject your product key, so you may need both a new CD/DVD drive _and_ a new XP CD; either the Recovery disk from HP, or a new copy of XP.

You could also download an ISO for a Hard Drive diagnostic disk and run Hard Drive diagnostics to test the hard drive. The original problem may have been caused by a failing hard drive. This will also let you see if the CD can read that disk and run the tests.

Another option is a Linux Live CD. If that boots and runs, you know the CD and hardware other than the hard drive is working.

Linux CDs:
Knoppix
Ubuntu
Puppy Linux

*Hard Drive Diagnostics*:

Seagate/Maxtor
Western Digital
IBM/Hitachi
Fujitsu/Seimens

Free Hard Drive Testing Applications:
HD Tune
HDAT2 (Diagnostics and bad sector recovery)
MHDD Low-level Diagnostics
Bootable Hitachi Drive Fitness Test Floppy or CD Image (works on most drives)
.


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