BleepingComputer.com: sfc /scannow & checkdisk

Hi All

I have a computer that I am debating about reformatting HD. Win XP Home. Having trouble getting it to boot. A couple of time got an error message system32 file missing or corrupt. Did it twice an now it does not come back up, will not boot. Can not get into safe mode. Nothing happens when tapping F8 key. When I tried to use Win XP disk and select "r" takes me to C:\<WINDOWS> and I am at a lost there. Just wondering about trying sfc /scannow or checkdisk. Would they do anything or is hopeless? Nothing important on drive and willing to try somethings. I did slave drive on another machine and was able to get some files off of drive.

Thanks, Doug

Try doing a Repair Installation. The beauty of a Repair Installation is that it will not affect your data.

Boot the computer from the XP CD. You may need to change boot order in the BIOS so that the CD-ROM is the first device in the boot order.

When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below

This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft
Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.

To setup Windows XP now and Repair Install , press ENTER.
You do not want to choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R.

Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.

Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair. If Repair isn't one of the option end the installation, this will mean that you will need to do a fresh installation of XP.

The repair will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot, the repair installation will continue after the reboot.

Thanks, I will give it a try.

Doug