Laptop won't boot up

[TrevorW]

coming up with error

missing of corrupt file

system32/config/system

Help

Can this be fixed without resorting to having to reinstall windows and format the harddrive

laptop came with no disks all pre installed

:help:

[mithrandir]

Are you saying the manufacturer gave you no means whatsoever of restoring it after a failure?

Is is supposed to be restored from a recovery partition? That normally blows away everything on the disk.

Did you run it out of disk space?

Didn't Leon have almost exactly the same problem a week or so back?

Have you got a USB drive you can copy the internal drive onto by booting from something like a gparted CD? Then recover from the recovery partition or a Windoze CD/DVD, reinstall all your apps and copy your data back off the other drive.

In case you haven't guessed, I hate Windoze.

[RAJAH235]

Trevor,
Have you tried the manufacturer's web site for, maybe, an on-line scan service?
I know that HP have one.
Not sure if Dell or others do.

You should have received a recovery disk or at least , some way to do it.

[supernova1965]

Hi Trevor

Sorry to hear you are having these problems could you advise the OS eg XP or what? and whether it is Professional or Home Edition I may have a solution where you don't lose anything CROSSED FINGERS. And is there a sticker on your Laptop that looks like the one in the picture doesn't have to be the exact shape and colour as this one.

[Omaroo]

That's normal for many manufacturers nowadays. If you read the instructions (foreign concept.... I know) for my recent Asus Aspire it plainly states to hook up a CD burner and follow the instructions to burn a recovery set before you do anything - at all. Pretty silly to think that a manufacturer reckons males might read instructions, huh! ;)

[multiweb]

Ouch! Yeah you're stuck with it if you've never imaged your drive. You could try F8 on reboot and choose "Last known good configuration". If that fails then try safe mode. Otherwise that's it. OEM pre-installed OS are a pain and 99% of the time as you've now noticed you only get a CD image of your OS installation on disk, not the original OS installer. As Chris mentioned it is clearly (kind of) specified when you purchase the machine. Implicitly anyway. You'll know for next time.

[Barrykgerdes]

I got an Acer 4315 (they were too cheap to miss out on) Vista home basic installed. It had the make your own recovery idea but I must be too dumb as I could not figure out how to do it so I installed a copy of Acronis and made a second partition (Partition Magic does not work on Vista). Then made an image of the first partition in the second where I could put it onto a data DVD.

I got a larger HDD and installed DOS 7/Windows98 and XP on the first two of 5 partitions. I then borrowed a copy of Vista and installed it as a second system on partition 3. I did not need a key or anything. It installed the multiboot sector for Vista (and Windows 7) which was what is needed to allow access to a Vista partition.

Next I put the image of my original system in the new vista partition. Worked like a charm.

I now have a very useful multi boot lap top with a couple of spare partitions to store stuff on.

Barry

[mithrandir]

Does it say that in such a way that it is physically impossible to power up the laptop without reading the instruction? If not, that's not good enough. Have you read Dave Barry on the subject of instructions?

Congratulations! You have purchased an extremely fine device that would give you thousands of years of trouble-free service, except that you undoubtably will destroy it via some typical bonehead consumer maneuver. Which is why we ask you to PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE READ THIS OWNER'S MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU UNPACK THE DEVICE. YOU ALREADY UNPACKED IT, DIDN'T YOU? YOU UNPACKED IT AND PLUGGED IT IN AND TURNED IT ON AND FIDDLED WITH THE KNOBS, AND NOW YOUR CHILD, THE SAME CHILD WHO ONCE SHOVED A POLISH SAUSAGE INTO YOUR VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER AND SET IT ON "FAST FORWARD", THIS CHILD ALSO IS FIDDLING WITH THE KNOBS, RIGHT? AND YOU'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, RIGHT??? WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST BREAK THESE DEVICES RIGHT AT THE FACTORY BEFORE WE SHIP THEM OUT, YOU KNOW THAT? -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!"

The usual strategy is:

When all else fails, read the directions.

I always either build my own desktops, or have them built to my specs. I get all the media.

I won't even consider a laptop that does not have restore media. The closest I'd go to breaking that would be if it was supplied as one or more ISOs, and the laptop had the right burner.

[Omaroo]

Well, we're going to run out of choices pretty soon then Andrew - especially in netbooks if you're ever after one. Like you, I prefer media, but manufacturers are looking for ways to maximise their profit, and to bring the consumer price down - which is why we can go down to JB HiFi or wherever these days and buy a pretty decent netbook for somewhere around $450. It's perfectly legitimate for them to do this, whether we would like media or not. Most full-sized laptops will probably continue to offer media, but netbooks that don't come fitted with a DVD drive (and that's nearly, if not, all of them) will insist on you connecting your own drive and burning your own media if you really reckon it's important to you. I wonder how many do. I personally have not one single issue with this - at $500 they're pretty-well a throw-away item anyway. Manufacturers will continue their push to make the once-venerable and mystical laptop a blister-pack item that you'd find in aisle four. Time to get used to it mebbe? I connected a knock-around DVD burner to my Asus and had an image of it in minutes - really, no big deal.

[mithrandir]

Chris,

I have no use for a netbook. If it does not have at least a 14" screen, close to full size keyboard, and DVD writer it does not even go on the list for consideration.

As long as companies with the sense and quality control of today's Lenovo, Dell and Apple continue to make proper laptops for the business world, I'll be happy.

[Omaroo]

Agreed, which is the reason that I run IBM/Lenovo and Apple for my business requirements.

I use a cheap $450 netbook for PHD guiding as the device is small enough to mount directly on my G11, as such. I also don't really care if it gets soaking wet overnight, although close the lid so dew doesn't settle directly on the keyboard. There's no way I could use a 14" laptop for what I do. My main mission was to alleviate the need for cables to run from the mount to a table sitting nearby which people tend to bump n the night. Horses for courses, huh. :)

[scarper]

looks like u have a corrupt registry

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545

please read the warnings before doing anything.

cheers
Mart

[bartman]

Trevor, I have an Asus and it has a recovery partition on it. I have to press F12 and hold after I hit the power button. From memory it gives you options such as repair without losing data and complete reinstall losing every thing.
Like said b4 - check your user manual for the correct button to press for this option.
bartman

[TrevorW]

Thanks guys hot and humid here yesterday and my brains were not working

Found that F12 key that has the recovery partition

seems to have worked OK!! at least the computers booting and I don't appear too have lost anything

Predominately this computer is used by my wife and I only use it when imaging suffice it to say when some thing does go wrong with it guess who's using it

[supernova1965]

That's GREAT NEWS:thumbsup::D I would back up your data in case it is a HDD failure sign