PCG-9L1M - Lightning Strike Aftermath

[tombal]

Newbie here...
AC adapter died. I replaced it. At boot time I got "Windows failed to start last time...". Whichever option I chose he died.
Booted 4 different XP CDs and the recovery CD. They ran but died at the point they should have done someting useful apart from load themselves. Same with the XP 6-diskette set.
Bought BootMaster and reset the MBR. Now, one time, after many boot attempts, I got "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\windows\system32\config\SYSTEM".
BootMaster can see the files on the C drive but he will only let me copy from C to A.
I have good data backup so I'd be happy if I could boot something that will let me reformat the HDD and try an XP reinstall. I have no idea what that something might be. Any thoughts? Thanks, Tom

[Blencogo]

Hi tombal and welcome to ClubVAIO.

It sounds like you have more serious problems and your Vaio may need professional repair. Do you have Household Insurance?

You could try the Recovery Console from the XP Disc or if you can get hold of a MS-DOS boot disc this is worth a try.

[tombal]

Hi tombal and welcome to ClubVAIO.

Thank you!:smileyhappy: And thank you for responding.

It sounds like you have more serious problems and your Vaio may need professional repair.  Do you have Household Insurance?

It does look bad, doesn't it?:smileysad: My insurance does not cover ligtning hits. Is fitting a replacement HDD something I could tackle myself?

You could try the Recovery Console from the XP Disc or if you can get hold of a MS-DOS boot disc this is worth a try.

As I said, I can boot XP CDs but they freeze after loading. I never get the offer of recovery console. The VAIO recovery CD loads and freezes with "Please wait..."
I tried booting 98 and ME diskettes; they don't see C: - they load their RAM drives into C:. Perhaps you can point me at another DOS system that knows about NTFS?

[frannys]

Boot onto the DOS Disk and use the Format utility.You can also repartition while your in DOS.Dont worry if DOS also fails to recognise the whole disk,thats just DOS disk limitations as to HD size.Once XP is installed it will have corrected the size of the drive.

[tombal]

In another forum someone suggeted that the Vaio might have a hidden partition that I might be able to boot by pressing a function key at start-up.
Bootmaster did reveal a hidden partition.
Anyone know how I might give that a try?

[frannys]

btw,Buy some proper Surge Protector Strips for the house and use them.Belkin are highly recommended,I use them,plus I have an ACP UPS backup,my Hubby uses a Belkin UPS too.These UPS and the Surge Protecters also carry insurance with them from the Manufacturer,They Gaurentee your Equipment from damage ect.
If you cant get any joy from your system though,then claim on your Contents Insurance.

[frannys]

Press F10 on boot.- F8 is safe Mode,- F2 is Bios.

[tombal]

Boot onto the DOS Disk and use the Format utility.

But the 98 and ME boot diskettes don't see the hard drive. How do I point the Format utility at it?

[frannys]

Set Bios to boot to floppy (A:) Put Dos disk in and Boot.When your on the Command Prompt A:\ ,then type FDISK and press enter.Then when the Menu comes up,look for Delete Partition,do it,then back to Menu and choose Make Partition,then back to Menu and choose Format,choose NTFS.Then you can exit and reset Bois to Boot to CD/DVD.Try your Windows disk,if it Boots,Then during the install you can Repartition when Windows asks where to install too.Follow the same Proceedure.Delete,Make,Format,Install.

[tombal]

Set Bios to boot to floppy (A:) etc...

Thank you for that. I'm out in a few minutes for nine days. I'll report back here after I return.