Windows\system32\config\system

Hi all,

My 6-month old Acer Aspire M5-481pt does not boot to windows anymore. All I see is the acer logo for more or less a minute when I turn on my laptop then it goes to a blue screen saying that the following:

The operating system couldn't be loaded because the system registry file is missing or contains errors.

File: \Windows\system32\config\system

Error code: 0xc0000185

I've tried pressing Alt+F10 but the screen just blacks out for a while then returns to the blue screen.

Can anyone please help me fix this. I don't want to lose my files. Can I just download the missing file anywhere from the internet and burn it in a cd so perhaps my laptop can copy it? I'm really no wiz at computers so I desperately need some help on this.

Can anyone please help me fix this. I don't want to lose my files.

Alt + F10 is used to return the computer to the factory condition.  If you do this you will lose everything which has been added to this computer since you first started it.

Can you boot into Safe Mode?  

Safe Mode is found in the Advanced Boot Options, to access this start tapping the F8 key immediately after pressing the power button.  If the Advanced Boot Options opens use the up or down key to move the cursor to Safe Mode and click on Enter.

You should backup your personal files to external media first !!!

Then maybe copying the files

DEFAULT, SYSTEM, SAM, SOFTWARE, SECURITY (5 files)

from

"C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\"

to

"C:\Windows\System32\config\"

can restore system registry files to an older (see date of files) but good state.

Copying can be done using Windows 7/8 recovery/installation CD/DVD/USB from command prompt:

rename existing file

1) ren "C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM"  "C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM.BAK"

copy backup file to config directory

2) copy "C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SYSTEM"  "C:\Windows\System32\config\"

I think you should rename all 5 system registry files in ....\config and then copy the corresponding 5 files from .....\RegBack to ....\config.

If backup files are very old some installed programs may disappear (not the program code and data but their registry setup).

You should backup your personal files to external media first !!!

Thanks for your reply guys! I really appreciate it.

dc3, I've tried pressing F8 before and nothing happened. It just went to the blue screen after a while. I've tried it like 10 times.

boyans, my laptop didn't come with a windows recovery/installation cd. I've read somewhere in the internet that a partition of my hard drive contains the recovery media as well as the OS I think. I've been meaning to burn a recovery DVD but I just never got to it. ooooops.

Also, I don't know how to back up my files. That's what I plan to do if the OS is already ireparable - copy my files to an external hard drive and just reformat my laptop. The problem is I really can't do anything with my laptop. The only screens I can get to are the Acer logo upon startup and the blue screen saying the error. I don't know how to access the command prompt from any of those.

Just an additional piece of info, there are two blue screens I encounter upon startup. The first screen indicates the error code 0xc000000f. After hitting Enter to retry or F8 for Startup Settings as indicated in the instructions at the bottom of the screen, the screen just blacks out for almost a minute then gives me the second blue screen indicating the error code 0xc0000185 saying the missing file \Windows\system32\config\system.

Hi

Your issue seems to be a registry corruption at first look but there should be a root cause which is the real reason behind the corruption. In most cases it is the hard drive which is failing. So i recommend running a full surface test before making any software repair attempts. Can you tell me the brand of your hard drive ?.

This laptop has a 500GB hdd and a 20GB SSD.  As I understand it the SSD has two partitions, one for the operating system, the second I would presume is the recovery partition.

You will need to remove the SSD from the computer in order to determine who the manufacturer is.  Once you have this information include it in your next post, we can then provide you with a link to their website where their diagnostic tool/s are located and instructions to either burn a ISO file to a disc or run their downloadable tool.

You can use Ubuntu to back up your files to a removable source of media, e.g, an external hdd, CD, DVD, flash drive.

 Please download Ubuntu, you will need to burn this to a CD in order to make a bootable disc.  To do this please download ImgBurn.

Edited by dc3, 13 August 2013 - 09:33 AM.

Thanks dc3! I will try that thing with Ubuntu.

Btw, how do I distinguish the HDD from the SSD? I've already tride opening it. I can't really remove the top part of from the bottom part because some flex cables (not sure of the term) are connected to both. All I can do is to peak through a gap of about 4 inches coz that's how far i can open it. I apologize, I must seem really dumb at this.

Also, how do I access the BIOS? I've tried all the F keys but none of them really does anything. As i said before, I've only seen two screens so far, the acer logo screen and the blue screen with the error message.

Thank you so much for your time. I can't thank you enough.

Hi

I referred the manual of your model and it seems removing hard drive is very difficult in this model. Since the machine is still under warranty, it is better to not take it apart. We can try the Seagate Seatool for DOS which works fine with all manufacturer's hard drives. Please follow the below steps.

Download Seatool disc image from the below link.

      http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/seatools/SeaToolsDOS223ALL.ISO

Burn the ISO to a blank disc using Imgburn.

 Enter BIOS setup and change SATA mode from AHCI to IDE (if possible).

 Boot from the CD and run a long test with the utility. Report whether it detects any errors.

Edited by Anshad Edavana, 14 August 2013 - 03:22 AM.

How do I go to BIOS exactly?

Also, my laptop was bought in the States by my dada but I am currently in the Philippines it's no longer covered by the warranty. boohoo. I did try calling some Acer service centers here but what they all suggested was a complere reformat which sucks. That's why I turned to you guys.

I'll do your suggestions as soon as anyone confirms how I open BIOS.

Hi

Usually you can access the system BIOS by pressing F2 during powering on. 

F2 is the correct F key for accessing the BIOS.

I already burned Ubuntu to a cd so I can back up my files. And I already accessed the BIOS and made my CD/DVD the first priority when booting up. I inserted the CD and restarted my laptop but nothing happened. After what seemed to be a minute on the acer logo screen, a message said that there was no device to boot.

Hi

Since your machine came with a UEFI firmware instead of standard BIOS, there should be an option called Secureboot which prevents booting non signed boot loaders like Linux . Enter the BIOS setup and turn off or disable the Secureboot and you should be able to boot from the Ubuntu CD.

Below links will show you how to do this on Acer Desktops. The same applies to Laptops but the location to disable Secureboot might be different. 

http://acer--uk.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/27071/~/how-to-enable-or-disable-secure-boot

In addition to disabling Secureboot, you may also need to change the boot mode to Legacy from UEFI.

http://acer--uk.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/27044/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMzc2NjcyNzg0L3NpZC95QjI1dFd4bA%3D%3D/~/how-to-enable-or-disable-secure-boot

Edited by Anshad Edavana, 16 August 2013 - 12:23 PM.

The option to enable or disable secure boot is greyed out. But I can change it to Legacy from UEFI. Should I proceed even though secure boot is still enabled?

Hi

Try booting from the Ubuntu CD with legacy mode enabled.