When booting XP, I get message that \windows\system32\config\system is missing or corrupt. How do I repair this (as best as possible) using Spybot's registry backup files?? Thanks!
Sounds like the best way to fix your problem would be to repair windows. You should not lose any documents or settings, below is taken from another forum and was the given solution for a probelm of my own. Hope it helps:
You can use this guide to repair XP
Possibly, you will need to press the start button and keep tapping the delete key until the PC enters set up. Change the boot order to CD ROM Drive then hard drive, press F10 then press enter, load the XP CD then type Y then press enter, as it reboots, look for press any key to load from CD, press enter
You will need the XP product key to complete this
If you have audio / video files which are subject to DRM you should check with the provider for known issues with performing an XP repair install
XP Repair Install
Windows XP repair feature won't delete your data, installed programs, personal information, or settings. It just repairs the operating system
After running XP Repair you will need to install all Windows Updates
guide taken from: http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=114087&st=15
I'm sorry, but I can't perform a repair install on a system with a missing "system" registry file. It doesn't see the current installation as repairable - it just asks if it's ok to overwrite. Does XP keep a number of registry backups anywhere or must we rely on that inane System Restore facility? Please help! Thanks!
If you can get far enough in to windows to implement the system restore, its worth a try.
However if you cant, I found an interesting article on the Internet that may help you:
NTFS and XP, 2000, or 2003:
The Recovery Console will not let you move files around that are not within the Windows folder; so you will need to make two repairs to complete the restoration.
What we are going to do is to install a Registry that was created the last time you installed Windows. The Windows installation program made a set of backups for you. However, they have not been updated since you last installed Windows. This set of Registry files is pretty basic, and none of the software that you have installed since then is going to be in the Registry. Further on, we'll discuss how you can bring this basic registry up to date.
First, you will need to get to the Windows\ System32\ folder in Recovery Console. Here you will find all your Registry files. You will need to locate the files (these files will have no extension) Default, Sam, Security, Software, and System. Rename them to something like Default.xxx so that they are available later.
Now you will need to go to the Windows\Repair folder, where you will find the backup files that Windows installer made for you. Copy the files Windows\Repair\Default, Sam, Security, Software, and System to the Windows\System32\Config folder and reboot. You will be back in Windows.
Now the problem you will have is getting your old Registry information back. If you have Windows 2000 or 2003 then scroll down to the Registry Drill section. Users of XP can continue reading.
If you have XP, Windows makes current backups of the Registry in the System Volume Information folder on the Windows Drive. This is a hidden folder, so you will need to remove the hidden attribute. Use the View Folders option in the Windows Explorer to view Hidden Files and Folder.
The Registry backup files can be found in the sub folder _restore{FB57....., The {FB57... can be anything that looks like {D86480E3-73EF-47BC-A0EB-A81BE6EE3ED8}. Then it will have a sub folder of RBx, the x is a number. The RBx folder will also have a subfolder "Snapshot". Example: C:\System Volume Information\_restore{D86480E3-73EF-47BC-A0EB-A81BE6EE3ED8}\RP1\Snapshot. In here you will find files named:
_REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM
Copy each of them to a temp folder in the Windows folder, like C:\Windows\newreg . Rename each file to remove the _REGISTRY_MACHINE_ part. Your new files will have names like SOFTWARE and SAM.
You will need to reboot to the Recovery Console and move the files from C:\Windows\Newreg to C:\Windows\System32\Config and then reboot back to Windows. You should be back up and running Windows again with little or no lost information in the Registry. You can recover any information that is not in the new Registry using Registry Drill.
Registry Drill:
Easy Desk has a tool, Registry Drill, that will load your last, first or current backup Registry into RegEdit. It can load a Registry file from another machine. You can search, edit, delete, replace, Keys and repair this file. It can create a repair file for you to Import into another machine.
If your Registry is corrupt on any machine, you can load the repair file that Windows makes when you install Windows. Then have Registry Drill create a repair Import file for you. Now take this file and Import it to you corrupted Registry.
Info taken from: http://www.easydesksoftware.com
Hope it helps