What and How to Fix System32 Error

Yesterday my brother in law came to me with his laptop complaining that his computer is not booting because the “system” file is missing. He was totally weird with the situation as a presentation for one of his project is due by next Monday and it matters everything to him right now as he have devoted last 7 months trying to grab that.

Finally after a half an hour tooling with his system the problem got fixed and he was the happy fellow. But then I thought why not blog something regarding System32 error right here on my blog today.

What is a System32?

The “system” file is one of many that is stored in windows/system32/config folder and it tells Windows XP how to start your computer and who to log in at startup. If this file is missing, your computer will not boot and you will see an error on a black screen stating: “Windows/System32/Config/System file missing or corrupt.”

There are two scenarios where this can happen. In the first scenario, the system file is simply corrupt or missing and needs to be replaced with Windows XP’s backup copy.

Recovering System32?

The first step in recovering from this problem is to boot into the Recovery Console and replace the missing or damaged system file with a backup copy. To do this, you will need an original Windows XP CD, or a recovery CD from your computer’s manufacturer, or a set of 6 Windows XP boot disks.

Once you have booted from your Windows XP CD or floppy disks, press the letter “R” at the first screen asking you for input. The computer will now ask you “Which Windows installation would you like to log onto.” Each profile is represented with a number. Press the number associated with your profile (usually the number 1) and presses enter. Now you will be prompted to ‘Type in the Administrator Password.” Enter your password and press enter.

After you enter your password you should be at a prompt that reads “C:/windows”. Type the commands below to navigate to your Windows/System32/Config directory and replace the appropriate file:

1. cd system32
2. cd config
3. ren system system.old
4. cd ..
5. cd ..
6. cd repair
7. copy system c:\windows\system32\config

You should now see a message stating that the file was copied successfully. Reboot your computer and you are done with your System32 Fix.