Windows XP System failure - any suggestions ?

[#1]

Being abroad, I am relying on a friends computer to access my email.  Not any more .....  I am now having to use a friend of a friends because of a catastrophic failure.
The XP system will not laod but simply gives the following message :
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or currupt :
Windows/system32/config/system
That is of little help.  Can anyone suggest any way of resolving this ?  Has anyone come across this before ?  It happened for no apparant reason - turned the computer off and four hours later re-started and there was the message.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.  The Windows System disks are available but we donèt want to do anything which could cause loss of the working data files - needles to say, no back-up but it is not my computer !!  So dont blame me !

[#2]

GIYF ... http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

[#3]

Deep joy, recovering a corrupt Registry from backup. 
The process does work, but it's not for the faint-hearted or IT-illiterate.
You will almost certainly get everything back but read the article in full and get help if you don't feel confident doing it.
I've done it several times, and have even worked out some shortcuts, but it still makes me nervous.

[#4]

Thanks for the advice.
I tried it and have discovered that the file system32/config/system can not be copied.  All the other rgistry files copy perfectly well, bu not that one.  It copies about half of it and then I get the message Cannot copy file.  It is nothing obvious like attribute settings.  In fact, half the file copies as $$temp$$.bak.  As I have said all the other ones copy perfectly well.
So at present, I am defeated unless anyone else has another suggestion - hopefully.

[#5]

is it possible that the disk is full and there's no space left?

[#6]

I have had this happen about four times on one of my computers. It happens about once every six months or so.
To recover the system, all I need to do is boot the Windows XP Installation CD, then select "R" to go to the Recovery console and boot to a Command Prompt. I then remove the Windows CD and exit the Command Promps and reboot the computer.
It boots up perfectly and is good for another six months or so.

[#7]

Quote from: shermans

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or currupt : Windows/system32/config/system

That's precisely the error I used to get about every 2-3months and the only way I could overcome it was by doing a re-install from the Recovery Disc, which after excessive use became damaged and unusable!
Which is why I am now a very contented Linux user 🙂

[#8]

Have you seen this?
http://community.plus.net/blog/2008/04/03/how-to-recover-from-a-corrupted-registry-that-prevents-win...
If you could get hold of an Ubuntu or Knoppix live CD you could try replacing the corrupt file with the one in the XP backup.

[#9]

Thanks Possum, an interesting solution which I hadn't seen before.
Good news - being a Linux Format Magazine regular, I have any number of Ubuntu, Knoppix etc, etc Live CDs.
Even better news - I no longer have WinXP installed.
I have been happily Windowless for 18months now 
But it is a neat rescue method which I certainly would have tried at the time.......