Solved Issue : \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM - file missing or corrupt

This error arises when the System registry hive is either deleted or corrupt. System registry hive contains configuration information necessary for the system to boot.

Option 1:

The first thing to try is to run chkdsk command from the Recovery Console and then reboot the system.

If chkdsk does not solve the problem, then the System file should be restored from backups. There are two places to look for the backups, one is the System Restore folder and the other is \Windows\Repair folder.

Option 2:

 (Using backups from System Restore feature): From the Recovery Console, navigate to the folder \System Volume Information\ folder of the root drive, using the command:

cd "C:\System Volume Information"

Here, locate and navigate to the folder whose name begins with _restore using the command:

cd _resto~1

This folder contains many subfolders which have names of the form RPxxx, where xxx is a number indicating the restore point. Locate an RPxxx folder which has the highest number as its suffix (highest xxx) using the command dir command. Then navigate into that folder using the command:

cd RPxxx (don't forget to replace xxx with the corresponding number!)

Now, there will be a folder named snapshot. Navigate to this folder using the command:

cd snapshot

There should be a file named _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM, copy this file to the \Windows\System32\Config folder with the name System using the command:

copy _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\Config\System

Reboot the system and check whether Windows loads properly.

Note: Option 2 works only if System Restore feature of Windows XP is enabled. If System Restore was disabled or if option 2 did not work for some reason, then try the next option.

Option 3:

While installing Windows, the setup backs up the System registry hive in Repair folder. If the System Restore feature is turned off, then this backup can be used to restore the System hive. From the Recovery Console, navigate to folder \Windows\Repair, using the command:

cd C:\Windows\Repair

Copy the System file to its original location using the command:

copy System C:\Windows\System32\Config\System

Reboot the system and check whether Windows loads properly.

Note: There is a disadvantage in this method! Since this backup is created during the installation of Windows; system configuration and driver installations (made after fresh installation) will be lost after restoring this backup Registry hive file.

Courtesy :

http://www.dbsecurity.net/