How To: Windows XP System File Missing or Corrupt
Posted in Tips & Tricks | By AhTim @ January 11th, 2010
Image by Roberto F.
It is important to properly shutdown your computer. Windows system file may corrupt if the computer was shutdown unexpectedly.
When the next time you boot up the computer and saw “Windows XP System File Missing or Corrupt”, what should you do? Same error happened on my user’s computer and I have learned the quick way to fix it!
Repair Master Boot Record
Boot up the computer with Windows Installation CD. Select “R” to enter advance repair mode. You need administrator password to login.
Once login, you can choose two DOS command to repair the Master Boot Record. I suggest the first command, because it not only fix the MBR but scan the hard-disk for corrupted files too. It then repair it automatically, but need longer time compare to the second command.
chkdsk c: /r /p
This command only fix the MBR, and it run faster.
fixmbr
Fortunately I don’t need to reinstall whole Windows. The MBR repairing process just took few minutes before it could reboot into a normal Windows without losing your installed software. 
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Tags: file corrupt, file missing, master boot record, MBR, system file, windows xp