XP am I s**d cannot find system32\system vol?

[Daff_Duck]

For some reason my xp machine has decided that it cannot find win\system32\system volume and cannot continue other than using win system recovery?

BUT heres the deal I dont have a windows xp disc so borrowed a vlm windows disc and booted it up. trouble is that I do not get an option to repair even though a windows o/s is detected on the C drive .. it the system only gives me the option to start a new install which is something I dont want to do....

So is there, and I think it may be a bad news day for me, of getting round this so I can repair the system volume and not loose everything..Here's hoping

Thanks to anyone who can advise (apart from the obvious of making a backup image of my drive for exactly this scenario)

 

[theheyes]

By "lose everything" do you mean the install or data? You can get the data off there using a live CD, which is not a bad idea anyway if you're going to attempt a repair.

 

[Daff_Duck]

When I say loose everything the system tells me that it will create a new install on the C drive and all data will be lost . I dont really want to do this just want to be able to repair\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM - which my setup cannot find at the moment

If I understand correctly from the above post I need an original single user disc? and not the VL one I have. Again if someone can advise/clarify I would be greatfull