i think i have a virus

[mr hezloop]

hello all,
my friend has a problem with his lap top.when booting up his system an error report come up within the first 10 seconds.it says

-windows could not start because the following file is missing or currupt.
\windows\system32\config\system. it then says you can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using the original setup cd/rom select R at the first screen to start repair....

i installed the cd/rom disc but would not boot up.also went into bios and selected cd/rom drive but still nothing happened...
has he got a bad visus and will have to format the hard drive?he doesnt want to do this as he has alot of important documents.can anyone help me on this one? thanks for all the help.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

We need a more exact error-message.
Try booting into Safe Mode, by pressing F8 a few times upon booting.
If you select to boot from CD first, make sure you SAVE those settings, that laptop should really start from CD, unless the CD is not a bootable CD!

 

[ricvai7]

Can u provide your system spec as well like what ver of windows did your friend used and sort of...most of the Original Windows Installation Disc is bootable...if it doesn't, remember the path when the error message occured and try to replace the missing file from aother computer with the same version of windows. Before attempting that, make a back-up for your documents and export all of your registry to a safer place like at 2nd partition with no o/s installed.

BTW, what do u mean by "u've installed the cd/rom disc but would not boot up"?