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[Ogami]

Hi

I came here after watching your Youtube vid of the same name -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHvJlwf88vQ

My mother's computer (XP) crashed and gave this message -
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

Tooling around the net, I found a few of your video tutorials.  I tried doing a "rollback" using ERD Commander as you instructed.  Everything seemed to be doing fine, until I went to restart.  Upon rebooting, her computer seems to be stuck in a rebooting loop.  It starts with the Intel Pentium logo, then goes to the Windows (loading) logo, then back to Intel, and so on.

I tried undoing the rollback with ERD, then choosing a different restore point, but the same problem occurs.


I'd appreciate any further instruction or help, and I'm sure she'd appreciate it even more.  I'm not very tech savvy, so please type slowly 

Thanks in advance

[Britec]

well there is a reboot loop virus so might be wise to scan for virus, trojan, malware etc
you can use one of these

http://www.briteccomputers.co.uk/forum/virustrojanspywaremalware/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-list/

let me know if it comes back clean

[Ogami]

I DL'ed and ran BitDefender, and it found 3 infected files, but the scan interface closed down without letting me know what the problems were or how to resolve them.  I ran it a 2nd time and it found 3 files again, but closed out again immediately after finishing scanning (I think it had completed scanning anyway).   It seems like it skipped the "Resolve Issues" and "Results Summary" stages altogether.

Should I try another program from your list, and if so, any recommendation as to which?

Thanks

[Britec]

It looks like your infected try another scanner best to scan full scan with 2 scanners make sure there removed

[Ogami]

Ok, I've run Panda SafeCD and BitDefender and it found and disinfected
hda1/... Application/FunWeb
hda1/... Application/PRScheduler
hda1/... Application/ViewPoint
hda1/WINDOWS/pss/PowerReg SchedulerV2.exestartup

Have since run Panda again and it came up clean.  I've also tried another rollback (and system file repair) with ERD, as well as opening the computer case and making sure the connections were secure.  It's still stuck in the rebooting cycle.

I'm open to any further instructions/advice you can offer.

Thanks

[Britec]

Make a bootable cd or usb with malwarebytes, superantispyware, dr web cure it
and run a scan...also if you have another computer you can remove hard drive and plug it in that as a slave
or second drive and run scans that way

[Ogami]

OK I will try.


Also, I have managed to copy most of her important data off the PC.   If fixing it turns out to be impossible or beyond my capabilities -

1. Would reinstalling Windows solve the problems?
2. Would I have to slave her HD to my PC to reformat, or can it be done from hers even though her PC won't boot up?

[Britec]

If you have ERD Commander you could try this
http://www.briteccomputers.co.uk/forum/tutorials-and-how-to/perform-a-system-restore-rollback-offline-on-a-non-bootable-windows-xp-computer/

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHvJlwf88vQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHvJlwf88vQ</a>

or you can do this
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMndA_ND9_A" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMndA_ND9_A</a>

[Ogami]

Thanks

The first video is the one that lead me here, so I've already tried that.  I just followed the instructions in the 2nd video (UBCD4Win) and the computer is still stuck in the rebooting loop.

That said, I haven't actually had the "Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" problem since I did the first rollback.  After that I was stuck in the rebooting loop.  I have since undone and redone a couple more rollbacks, and never had that message appear again, so maybe the solution in the 2nd video is to a different problem than I'm having at the moment?

[Britec]

My mother's computer (XP) crashed and gave this message -
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

You need to be clear on what you type and mean, because at the start you said you have had this error above.
Its very hard to help you if you are not clear in whats happening to your computer.

[Ogami]

My mother's computer (XP) crashed and gave this message -
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

You need to be clear on what you type and mean, because at the start you said you have had this error above.
Its very hard to help you if you are not clear in whats happening to your computer.

Sorry for being unclear

*  The original problem was that I got this message when trying to boot up.  Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

*  I looked online for help and came across your video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHvJlwf88vQ

* As instructed in the video, I used ERD Commander to do a rollback.  After that, I no longer received the CONFIG\SYSTEM message, but the computer was now automatically rebooting itself, but never getting past the loading screen.  The Intel Pentium logo will appear, followed by the Windows XP loading screen, then back to Intel, etc.

*  Using ERD Commander, I undid the previous rollback and did another rollback from a different restore point.  No change.

*  I ran BitDefender & Panda SafeCD several times to scan for viruses that might be causing the rebooting problem.  4 infections were found (listed in an above post) and disinfected.  The rebooting problem persisted.

*  I then followed instructions from the 2nd video you posted, using Ultimate Boot CD For Windows -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMndA_ND9_A

and the eternal reboot problem remains.



This is where I'm at right now.

[Ogami]

Will reformatting and reinstalling Windows likely fix the problem?  And is it possible to do that to a PC that won't boot up? 

I've got all my mother's important documents saved, so I don't mind losing everything else and starting clean.  I'm just looking to get it back to some kind of working condition.

Thanks

[Britec]

Well you got nothing to lose trying a fresh install..if it falls over the you know there something else
wrong ie: hardware

[Ogami]

Any advice on how to go about it?  I've never done a reformat/reinstall on a working computer, much less one that won't even boot!

[Britec]

Follow this guide
http://www.buildeasypc.com/sw/windows_xp.htm