|windows\system32\config\system error on xp home

My daughter has asked me to help her get her Dell Dimension 8400 back in service. It has xp home on it. She has neither the o/s nor the recovery Cd's. I have done much research on the web to seek solutions for the message she gets early in the start-up boot process which is "\windows\system32\config\system " error message. I have windows xp pro on disc and my wife has xp media recovery on disc. I believe that neither of them are applicable to this problem on my daughter's computer. At start-up the dos window displays the 1st 6 of the items listed and stops. The 7th i presume is the beginning of the missing or corrupt files.
    I have been to this page which seems to offer a solution and have downloaded and burned to a CD the suggested program (file) http://www.schrockinnovations.com/makeboot1.php . I can get into the "windows advanced options window" however none of the options will alter the outcome. Nor does starting the computer with the created CD change anything either. Suggestions would be appreciated. truenorth
P.S. Her computer does not have a floppy drive but we do have an external usb connectable floppy drive. Plus a multitude of flash drives.
PPS. I changed the boot order from sata hdd #1 to Cd #1 .

[Moderator]

Boot to the XP CD and select R (Recovery Console)

At the command prompt type:

ren c:\windows\system32\config\system system.old
copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config

Reboot

Allan,thank you for the input. May i draw your attention to this portion of my original post"She has neither the o/s nor the recovery Cd's" truenorth

[Moderator]

http://forums.pcpitstop.com/index.php?showtopic=150212

Again Allan thank you. I have read the web site and it does sound encouraging. I will certainly create the ISO it offers. However looking ahead. It seems from my research so far (and appears to be confirmed by the page as well) that at some point a password is going to be required. My impression from other articles that unless the computer has had an "administrator" password installed (which i sincerely doubt) typing in "administrator when asked will suffice. Do you have a comment on that? Will it ask for something else i may not have? truenorth

A blank password (just press enter) may work.

[Moderator]

You know, I recall from previous attempts to assist you with problems that you have a tendency to complicate things. Just boot to the recovery console and enter the commands in my first post above.

Allan, I will do that and keep the forum advised,thanks again,truenorth

[Moderator]

You're welcome.

The results are as follows:
1. ISO disc successfully created (shows a great deal of file content)
2.With ISO disc in Dell Dimension great changes in what had happened previously.
3.When i am given the option to press "enter" to enter setup or press "R" to enter recovery i pressed R.
4.Never asked for any password
5.Window indicated the program was analysing the computer for problems (or something to that effect)
6.Much activity occurred at the bottom of the window (i think) indicating things either being installed or checked
7.A small window opened indicating no hdd was found (actually it is a SATA hdd) and it was obviously present as i was able to change the boot order and it was not stated (as were other things like a floppy drive) as "not detected"
8. My only remaining option at this point was to press "F3" which in effect rebooted and brought me back to the start again.
truenorth

[Moderator]

You may have to install the sata drivers when you boot to the RC. Was there a message on the screen when you booted to the RC disc that said something like: Press F6 to install SATA drivers?

If so, have the sata drivers on a floppy and when you see that message press F6 and the system will find the drivers, then continue to the RC. I'm getting ready to log off but if you have additional problems someone else will jump in.

It is not specifying SATA drivers specifically but there is the brief presence at the bottom of the screen which states "if you need to load 3rd party SCSI or Raid drivers press F6". If F6 is not pressed it automatically advances to where it starts the installation of things(setup is loading files).
  As stated earlier this computer does not have a floppy. If i have to find some SATA drivers will the computer recognize the presence of an external floppy in a USB port at this stage? I too am drawing near the end of my computer time for today so an immediate answer is not essential. truenorth

[Moderator]

It wont specify...at the point you see the F6 message hit Enter...then it will ask for the location of the drivers...it doesn't have to be on a floppy...it can be on the HDD a thumb drive...wherever...just make sure to point it to the correct spot.

Patio, Thank you for coming on board.Your instructions are clear. Will i need to find specific SATA drivers relevant to the HDD which is installed? If so i will have to remove it from it's bay to try and find it's make and model. Or is there such a thing as a "generic" SATA driver? truenorth
P.S. These weary eyes are packing it in for today--will return again sometime tomorrow.

[Moderator]

The SATA drivers should come from the MBoard manuf. website....or they would be on the Driver CD that shipped with the machine if you still have it.

Patio, No she (I) does not have any discs associated with the machine. She has moved 4 times since the purchase and any she did have are long gone. However i have downloaded the complete manual on her computer so hopefully the description of the MB will be there. I have not read the full manual yet but i have looked at the part dealing with the "RC">This is the part that worries me "Restoring Your Operating System
You can restore your operating system in the following ways:
• Microsoft Windows XP System Restore returns your computer to an earlier operating state
without affecting data files.
• Dell PC Restore by Symantec restores your hard drive to the operating state it was in when
you purchased the computer. Dell PC Restore permanently deletes all data on the hard drive
and all files and applications installed since new will be lost"
I do realize we are not using that RC but as i get deeper into my research it appears that DELL is less user friendly to a recovery than other computers.
 It has occurred to me as a question. Could this be caused by an error by an incorrect date emanating from the CMOS battery?
Now the $64,000 question what do you think of this to solve the SATA drivers/F6 problem ?
http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=122
I got to this via a search for the SATA  drivers for xp. I am concerned by the reference to "overclocking". However the impression i get is that it will present other choices when it is accessed in the problematic computer. I am feeling my feet coming off the bottom of the pool as i delve into deeper water. truenorth
P.S. Or what about this it DOES seem very specific to the dell dimension 8400 ?
http://www.burchwords.com/archives/82

[Moderator]

As i stated earlier travel to the MBoard manuf. site for the SATA drivers...
They will work the best...

From my research the MB is a CH776.Going to the Dell Support site and inputting that information for the Dell Dimension 8400 results in what i believe are a choice between 2 SATA drivers . Here is the web link for them
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?os=WW1&catid=41&dateid=-1&impid=-1&osl=EN&typeid=-1&formatid=-1&servicetag=&SystemID=DIM_PNT_P4_8400&hidos=WW1&hidlang=en&TabIndex=&scanSupported=False&scanConsent=False
Could someone please tell me which one is the one i need. truenorth

[Moderator]

Use the 1st one listed...but DLoad them both just in case...
The 1st one seems to match the MBoard revision # more closely though...
Unfortunately when it comes to manuf. drivers sometimes it can be a hit or miss situation....be thankful there weren't 7 of them.

Patio, Wilco. An interesting anomaly occurred with your last reply. I normally go to "replies to your posts" to ascertain if any new input has happened. Your post did not occur there in this one instance.It was only by going to the specific forum and scrolling to the specific post that i observed an new post had occurred. Never have had that happen before. Please stay tuned for result of new efforts. truenorth

OK I'm back. !st the good news= the dell dimension computer has been fully recovered and is fully operational.
Now how it was done. I must state at this point a great deal of experimentation was done (some perhaps a little unorthodox). I will try to tell what i think was relevant to the success.
1.I downloaded the 1st of the Dell MB SATA drivers as per my link in the earlier thread (the one patio advised to try 1st). I put it on a cd-rw disc.
2. I inserted and ran the "XP home iso" that Allan had me create.
3.When the option to press F6 for 3rd party drivers came up i selected F6.
4.This created an insurmountable problem within the ISO program in that the only option EVER available was to insert a floppy into drive "A" (which as stated is unavailable on that computer). There NEVER was an option to "point" it anywhere else. Thought i was sxxxxxd.
5.Remembered from an earlier issue with one of my own computers (Sony Vaio desktop xp pro) that was caused by what turned out to be an incompatibility between that computer and the Paragon Backup software (determined by their tech support) that they had me create 2 discs.
a) Paragon Backup and recovery
b)Paragon WinPer CD
6.I first tried the B/U & Recovery--no help
7.Then i tried the WinPer CD. It lead me to a point (experimented with many avenues ) where i was able to direct a "driver" installation from a chosen existing optical drive.
8. Inserted the Dell SATA driver disc. Stated successfull install.
9.Restarted the computer with all discs removed from drives.
10. Successfully booted into Xp Home.
11.Called daughter for user password.
12.Full access.
    I want to acknowledge and again express my thanks to both Allan and Patio without whom i believe i would not have been able to achieve these results. Thanks guys,truenorth

[Moderator]

This is indeed excellent news ! !

Congratulations on both your success and determination to work a solution...

Well Done I say....