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.

How to perform a repair installation of Windows XP if Internet Explorer 7 is installed

Before you perform a repair installation of Microsoft Windows XP, you must uninstall Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 from the Windows XP-based computer. If you perform a repair installation of Windows XP when Internet Explorer 7 is still installed, Internet Explorer will not work after the repair is completed.

To resolve this issue, uninstall Internet Explorer 7 from the computer, and then install Internet Explorer 6. After Windows XP is repaired, you can reinstall Internet Explorer 7.

INTRODUCTION

Before you perform a repair installation of Windows XP, you must uninstall Internet Explorer 7. If you do not uninstall Internet Explorer 7 in this situation, Internet Explorer will no longer work after the repair installation is completed. Specifically, the repair installation does not restore earlier versions of the files in the Program Files\Internet Explorer folder. Therefore, the Internet Explorer 7 files will be incompatible with the Internet Explorer 6 files that are installed in the Windows\System32 folder.

INFORMATION

If you performed a repair installation of Windows XP but did not uninstall Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer will not run. To troubleshoot this issue, follow these steps.

Verify the version of Windows XP that is installed on the computer

1. Click Start, click Run, type Winver.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.

2. In the About Windows dialog box, verify the version of Windows XP that is installed on the computer.

If Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is installed on the computer

If Windows XP SP2 is installed on the computer, uninstall Internet Explorer 7. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.

2. In the Currently installed programs list, click Internet Explorer 7, and then click Remove.

If Internet Explorer is not listed in the Currently installed programs list, follow these steps:

1.Restart the computer in the Recovery Console. For more information about how to use the Recovery Console, click the following article number to view the article in the Knowledge Base:

How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

2.Type the following commands.

Note Press ENTER after each command.

CD ie7\spuninst

batch Spuninst.txt

If Windows XP SP2 is not installed on the computer

If Windows XP SP2 is not installed on the computer, uninstall Internet Explorer 7. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.

2. In the Currently installed programs list, click Internet Explorer 7, and then click Remove.

If Internet Explorer is not listed in the Currently installed programs list, follow these steps:

1. Open a command prompt.

2. Type the following commands.

Note Press ENTER after each command.

cd \Windows\ie7\Spuninst

batch Spuninst.txt

Note ie7 is a hidden folder.

If Internet Explorer 7 cannot be uninstalled, but if the Windows\ie7\Spuninst folder exists, uninstall Internet Explorer 7 in the Recovery Console. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Restart the computer in the Recovery Console. For more information about how to use the Recovery Console, click the following article number to view the article in the Knowledge Base:

How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

2. Type the following commands.

Note Press ENTER after each command.

CD ie7\spuninst

batch Spuninst.txt

3. Insert the Windows XP installation CD into the computer’s CD drive, and then restart the computer.

4. Perform a Repair installation of Windows XP. After the Repair installation process is complete, start Internet Explorer 6, and then make sure that it works.

5. Install Windows XP SP2.

Reinstall Internet Explorer 7

When Windows XP has been repaired and is running correctly, reinstall Internet Explorer 7. To reinstall Internet Explorer 7, you must have the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. This installation package may still be on the computer from the first time that you installed Internet Explorer 7. Locate the installation package in the folder in which you saved the files.

Note This package may be located in the Temporary Internet Files folder.

If you cannot locate the Internet Explorer 7 installation package, visit the following Microsoft Web site to obtain this package:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx

To connect to the Microsoft download site, you must have a functional Web browser. If Internet Explorer 6 does not work on the computer after you uninstall Internet Explorer 7, you cannot download the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. Therefore, you will have to use a computer that has a functional Web browser to download the Internet Explorer 7 installation package. Then, use a shared network drive to install the program from the downloaded installation package on this other computer onto the repaired computer. If you cannot use a shared network for this purpose, copy the Internet Explorer 7 installation package onto a CD on the second computer. Then, use this CD to install Internet Explorer 7 on the first computer.