Please Help!

[neale dunham]

When i start my computer i just get the error message: windows could not start because the following file is missing:WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM"
So i put in my oem windows xp disk.... the cd boots...then proceeds to install a load of stuff i dont understand then promptly turns its self off!!!
What is going on, and can anybody help me fix this please?
kind regards.
Neale.

[Monty007]

Hi try this link http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

[RockyTDR]

Maybe your harddisk is damaged? A friend of mine had the same problem. Try to replace your harddisk with a temporary one, maybe that fixes the problem.

[Ant]

Yes, unless you've been deleting stuff for no apparent reason, it seems likely that your hard drive has been corrupted, and might possibly herald a failure coming soon. First thing is to make sure you back up any important data you have on it just in case (you might need to attach it to another computer to do this), then try a repair installation or a reinstallation of xp, but to be honest, a new hdd isn't that expensive nowadays it might be worth just replacing it.