BleepingComputer.com: Getting and installing windows setup disc for laptop...HELP!

Alrighty, so let's just say I dont know TOO much about computers, let alone fixing them.
But I do know for a fact that I CANNOT afford to take it anywhere! So please help!!
It starts out like this: Turn on my laptop, and I hear 3 loud beeps, then it goes directly to a black screen that says "Could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \windows\system 32\config\system You can attempt to repair by starting windows setup using the original setup cd and select "R" at first screen to begin repair.

Okay first things first: Where can i download the disc? And can i download it to a external flash drive because my desktop computer I want to download it from doesnt burn cd's and the laptop im repairing doesnt have a floppy drive.

Second: what do i do from there, and what steps do i take?

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

oh and if it matters, my laptop is a HP Pavillion dv5000

Take a read: How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545.

<<You can attempt to repair by starting windows setup using the original setup cd and select "R" at first screen to begin repair.>>

For users who don't have a MX XP CD, the following allows creation of a bootable CD which contains the XP Recovery Console: How to Create a Bootable XP Recovery Console CD - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic276527.html

Additional info that may be useful: How to successfully burn or write an ISO-image to cd or dvd - http://iso.snoekonline.com/iso.htm.

You might also check the documentation for your system...and see if there are other repair options available.

Louis

The bootable CD can be burned on any working system, the download is available from any system with Internet access.

This post has been edited by hamluis: 04 February 2010 - 06:03 PM

I have one of these laptops HP Pavillion dv5000 on the waiting line to repair.

reseat the memory chips. If that does not work...

if you have two, take one out and try to boot with each one as the single chip.

You MUST unplug it and remove the battery! before you touch the memory. Touch the metal body of something grounded to make sure you are not carrying static.

You may have a memory chip gone bad.

The minipci (probably wireless card) compartment has to be opened to get to the memory compartment.

Here is the service manual in pdf format if you want to learn about your computer.
http://www.frc-tech.com/docs/manuals/SG/hp...on%20dv5000.pdf

If you laptop has AMI bios, (some confusion in the available docs) here is the list of meanings for the beeps:
http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.ht...ssageID=2466746


If you were in seattle I could fix it for ya