I have WinXP Home.

My computer will not start. I get the message:

"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

Widows_root\System32\Ntoskrnl.exe

Please re-install a copy of the above file. "

Here is what I did:

1) Boot from the system disk (plus SP2).

2) Press "R" to get the recovery console.

3) But the recovery console does not launch. Instead I get the C: prompt

4) At the C: prompt, I do "dir" to verify that the "windows" directory
exists.

5) Type "cd windows"

I get the message "access denied"

When I try to start in Safe mode, I get the same message that Ntoskrnl.exe
is missing or corrupt.

Any advice?

BTW: Last actions before the last good shutdown were:

) Run Secunia to identify files that are not up to date from a security
point of view. (This is a read-only passive program.)

) As a result, I updated Flash, Adobe Reader, MS XML, and Windows Update.

Create an NT boot floppy diskette with an all purpose boot.ini file on
it and try booting the computer with it.
http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/ You must format the diskette with an
NT type operating system, if you format it with W9x the diskette will
fail to boot Windows XP. Tip, you don't need the /sos switch in the
boot.ini file, this switch just displays the device driver names while
they are being loaded, it slows down the boot up.

If you cannot boot the Windows installation with the boot floppy the
drive may be experiencing file or file system corruption, boot to the
Recovery Console and run a chkdsk on the drive.

John

OldGrantonian wrote:

> I'm sorry, but you are not understanding the issue. Probably due to my poor
> description. Let's have another go.
>
> As I mentioned in my first post, after I select "R" for the recovery
> console, the screen clears, and the following message appears:
>
>
>>The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.
>>Type EXIT to exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.
>
>
> Now, I agree that the next line would normally be something such as you
> entered in your post:
>
>
>>1: C:\WINDOWS
>
>
> I do not get this line. Instead I get the *real, genuine* command prompt,
> with the cursor ready for an entry:
>
> c:\>
>
> And in that prompt, I can type things such as "dir" to list the directory,
> or "cd windows", for which I get "No access", and so on.
>
> All this is described in the Microsoft article:
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022/
>
> The text is:
> -------------------------------
> Additionally, you may experience one or more of the following behaviors:
>
> · If you start the computer to the Recovery Console, a command prompt may
> appear with no option to log on to the Windows installation.
> · If you try to access the Windows folder, you may receive the following
> error message: Access denied.
> · If you try to perform a Repair operation from the Windows XP CD-ROM,
> the Windows installation is not detected and you cannot repair Windows.
> --------------------------------------------
>
> Unfortunately, 3 of the troubleshooting methods need the use of the Recovery
> Console
>
> The fourth method needs "bootcfg"
>
> And this is where I start to get lost. Because I don't have privileges to
> edit "boot.ini" (I'm the administrator, but there is no login to grant me
> those privileges.)
>
>
> "John John (MVP)" wrote:
>
>
>>At the Recovery Console you have to enter a number to log on to the
>>Windows installation, for example, you will see something like this when
>>the Recovery Console starts:
>>
>>Microsoft Windows(R) Recovery Console
>>
>>The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.
>>Type EXIT to exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.
>>
>>1: C:\WINDOWS
>>
>>Which Windows Installation would you like to log on to?
>>(To cancel, press ENTER)
>>
>>In the above example you must answer the question "Which Windows
>>Installation would you like to log on to?" by typing the number "1" and
>>then pressing enter, only then will you be logged on to the Windows
>>installation and only then will you be able to run your commands.
>>
>>There are only a limited set of commands that can be run when not logged
>>on the the Windows installation, for example, Chkdsk, Fixboot and Fixmbr
>>can be run without logging on to the installation.
>>
>>John
>>
>>OldGrantonian wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hi Peter,
>>>
>>>The link in your post refers to the use of the recovery console.
>>>
>>>As I mentioned in my first post, I cannot get the recovery console to
>>>launch. I get the message:
>>>
>>>Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.
>>>
>>>But after that message, I get the C: prompt.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>"Peter Foldes" wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>http://www.ozzu.com/mswindows-forum/...en-t24580.html
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Peter
>>>>
>>>>Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
>>>>Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.
>>>>
>>>>"OldGrantonian" <OldGrantonian@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:7DB9BA64-2EA0-4B48-B573-172C77D0E773@microsoft.com...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>I have WinXP Home.
>>>>>
>>>>>My computer will not start. I get the message:
>>>>>
>>>>>"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
>>>>>
>>>>>Widows_root\System32\Ntoskrnl.exe
>>>>>
>>>>>Please re-install a copy of the above file. "
>>>>>
>>>>>Here is what I did:
>>>>>
>>>>>1) Boot from the system disk (plus SP2).
>>>>>
>>>>>2) Press "R" to get the recovery console.
>>>>>
>>>>>3) But the recovery console does not launch. Instead I get the C: prompt
>>>>>
>>>>>4) At the C: prompt, I do "dir" to verify that the "windows" directory
>>>>>exists.
>>>>>
>>>>>5) Type "cd windows"
>>>>>
>>>>>I get the message "access denied"
>>>>>
>>>>>When I try to start in Safe mode, I get the same message that Ntoskrnl.exe
>>>>>is missing or corrupt.
>>>>>
>>>>>Any advice?
>>>>>
>>>>>BTW: Last actions before the last good shutdown were:
>>>>>
>>>>>) Run Secunia to identify files that are not up to date from a security
>>>>>point of view. (This is a read-only passive program.)
>>>>>
>>>>>) As a result, I updated Flash, Adobe Reader, MS XML, and Windows Update.
>>>>