Recursive activation requirement after boot error message missingconfig SYSTEM

[Guest TitianLady]

<2 year old DELL Dimension Desktop B110

 

After a good shutdown, Boot the next day quickly displays black screen with message:

 

....Missing or corrupt file

....\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

 

and message like...

Boot the system CD and use the r option to repair.

 

 

There is no system CD. There are two CD with tools and add-ons.

There are three partitions on the 80 GB Seagate HD.

1) 39 MB DELLUTILITY (FAT)

2) 70 GB C: drive (NTFS)

3) 04 MB ? (CP/M Concurrent DOS, CTOS)

 

I mounted drive as a slave in service machine and scan w/Windows Defender / Live OneCare virus scan. Nothing found.

 

I viewed the SYSTEM (registry?) file it named it seems to be a good +25 MB file (no extension)

 

Safe mode fails boot the same way.

 

I finally tried booting last known good configuration and it booted.

 

Now I am caught in a recursive Windows Activation loop.

 

After selecting user ID to log on, I get message "...must be activated..." Do you want to activate now?

 

Click yes (Or NO behaves the same).

 

I hear the Windows Exclamation ding.

Then I get logged off.

Then I am left with only the Shutdown option.

Reboot, and the cycle repeats.

 

wpa.dbl shows only 3K and dated today.

wpa,bak not found.

 

How do I activate? or otherwise fix this problem?

 

Carl

[Guest Patrick Keenan]

Re: Recursive activation requirement after boot error message missing config SYSTEM

 

Re: Recursive activation requirement after boot error message missing config SYSTEM

 

"TitianLady" <feelingdumb@nowhere.net> wrote in message

news:upmJ2cM$HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> <2 year old DELL Dimension Desktop B110

>

> After a good shutdown, Boot the next day quickly displays black screen

> with message:

>

> ...Missing or corrupt file

> ...\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

>

> and message like...

> Boot the system CD and use the r option to repair.

>

>

> There is no system CD. There are two CD with tools and add-ons.

> There are three partitions on the 80 GB Seagate HD.

> 1) 39 MB DELLUTILITY (FAT)

> 2) 70 GB C: drive (NTFS)

> 3) 04 MB ? (CP/M Concurrent DOS, CTOS)

>

> I mounted drive as a slave in service machine and scan w/Windows Defender

> / Live OneCare virus scan. Nothing found.

>

> I viewed the SYSTEM (registry?) file it named it seems to be a good +25 MB

> file (no extension)

>

> Safe mode fails boot the same way.

>

> I finally tried booting last known good configuration and it booted.

>

> Now I am caught in a recursive Windows Activation loop.

>

> After selecting user ID to log on, I get message "...must be activated..."

> Do you want to activate now?

>

> Click yes (Or NO behaves the same).

>

> I hear the Windows Exclamation ding.

> Then I get logged off.

> Then I am left with only the Shutdown option.

> Reboot, and the cycle repeats.

>

> wpa.dbl shows only 3K and dated today.

> wpa,bak not found.

>

> How do I activate? or otherwise fix this problem?

>

> Carl

 

I've been in that same spot. Unfortunately, I don't have good news. The

only way I have found past this is a clean reinstall, which will be a

problem for you if you don't have either system CDs or a recovery partition.

 

Dell was required to provide you with a method of recovering the system. I

would suggest that you check your manuals and call them.

 

You could try portions of the method here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

 

to see if you can get to a registry that allows the system to boot. If

you do not have the recovery console installed, you can use *any* other

bootable XP CD (borrow one) to load it or a bootable Linux CD to perform the

file operations.

 

HTH

-pk

[Guest TitianLady]

Re: Recursive activation requirement after boot error message missingconfig SYSTEM

 

Patrick Keenan wrote:

> "TitianLady" <feelingdumb@nowhere.net> wrote in message

> news:upmJ2cM$HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>> <2 year old DELL Dimension Desktop B110

>>

>> After a good shutdown, Boot the next day quickly displays black screen

>> with message:

>>

>> ...Missing or corrupt file

>> ...\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

>>

>> and message like...

>> Boot the system CD and use the r option to repair.

>>

>>

>> There is no system CD. There are two CD with tools and add-ons.

>> There are three partitions on the 80 GB Seagate HD.

>> 1) 39 MB DELLUTILITY (FAT)

>> 2) 70 GB C: drive (NTFS)

>> 3) 04 MB ? (CP/M Concurrent DOS, CTOS)

>>

>> I mounted drive as a slave in service machine and scan w/Windows Defender

>> / Live OneCare virus scan. Nothing found.

>>

>> I viewed the SYSTEM (registry?) file it named it seems to be a good +25 MB

>> file (no extension)

>>

>> Safe mode fails boot the same way.

>>

>> I finally tried booting last known good configuration and it booted.

>>

>> Now I am caught in a recursive Windows Activation loop.

>>

>> After selecting user ID to log on, I get message "...must be activated..."

>> Do you want to activate now?

>>

>> Click yes (Or NO behaves the same).

>>

>> I hear the Windows Exclamation ding.

>> Then I get logged off.

>> Then I am left with only the Shutdown option.

>> Reboot, and the cycle repeats.

>>

>> wpa.dbl shows only 3K and dated today.

>> wpa,bak not found.

>>

>> How do I activate? or otherwise fix this problem?

>>

>> Carl

>

> I've been in that same spot. Unfortunately, I don't have good news. The

> only way I have found past this is a clean reinstall, which will be a

> problem for you if you don't have either system CDs or a recovery partition.

>

> Dell was required to provide you with a method of recovering the system. I

> would suggest that you check your manuals and call them.

>

> You could try portions of the method here:

> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

>

> to see if you can get to a registry that allows the system to boot. If

> you do not have the recovery console installed, you can use *any* other

> bootable XP CD (borrow one) to load it or a bootable Linux CD to perform the

> file operations.

>

> HTH

> -pk

>

>

 

That was a very helpful link!

From there I was able to get to the right place....

 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

 

And use the System Restore function, manually applied to fix the registry, and recover.

 

Since I have the ability to mount the hard drive as a slave, I did not have to use the CD and the Repair function or the

Recovery console (in this case). I understood the task at hand and performed it from the full function of the Windows

File Explorer.

Thanks for the good pointer. I learned a lot.