ActiveSync borks my Windows! Please help!

[manveruppd]

Following an install of ActiveSync 4.1 Windows won't boot! it gets as far as the OS selectioñscreen and if I select Windows XP it immediately freezes with the message

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the original CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair

is there any way I can avoid reinstalling? last time I did it it played havoc with my application settings so I desperately need a better way to fix it! I can't boot into safe mode as, if I try pressing F8 to force Windows to show me the boot options screen, it immediately reboots the computer. otherwise I just get the above error immediately. i've got O&O Bluecon installed and it's been supposedly saving my system settings at bootup for a week now, but I don't even get the option to run Bluecon as Windows stops loading before Bluecon starts.
sorry abour the caps and typos-i'm posting from ,ý phone, which is the reason I was updating &%#*ing ActiveSync in the first place... please help!

 

[manveruppd]

also, could someone please link me to the site that hosts images of Windows with all the latest updates slipstreamed in? I don't want to have to go through the whole update process so i'll get a friend to make me an updated installation cd, but I can't access my bookmarks for obvious reasons. I know it's been posted before but if somebody were kind enough to repost it here you'd save me a few really slow and expensive minutes of WAP or GPRS searching through the forum!

 

[manveruppd]

never mind, found it. will be reinstalling tomorrow. bit concerned because, when I put my pre-SP1 cd in the drive and tried to reinstall from there, I didn't get the repair option, except through recovery console. i'm sure there was an automated repair option available. hopefully slipstreaming sp2 in there will work.