Disk I/O Error Disk Boot Failure insert system disk and press ente

This is what pops up on a black screen when I start my computer. I tried
going into System recovery from F8 and I got the message Stop: C0000218
Registry file failure THe registry cannot load the hive file \System
root\System
32\Config\Software. I went to the microsoft website and they tell me I need
to restore my registry the first step says Inser the Windows XP startup disk.
This is a reconditioned computer bought through Costco and I don't have the
start up disk. Is there any way to get this as a download? I have Windows XP
running on a different computer could I copy something from this other
working computer?

kmpatten wrote:
> This is what pops up on a black screen when I start my computer. I tried
> going into System recovery from F8 and I got the message Stop: C0000218
> Registry file failure THe registry cannot load the hive file \System
> root\System
> 32\Config\Software. I went to the microsoft website and they tell me I need
> to restore my registry the first step says Inser the Windows XP startup disk.
> This is a reconditioned computer bought through Costco and I don't have the
> start up disk. Is there any way to get this as a download? I have Windows XP
> running on a different computer could I copy something from this other
> working computer?

This message means there is a physical problem with your hard drive
and/or your motherboard. Software solutions (XP) aren't going to help.
There are various ways to test the hardware, but I'd start by testing
the hard drive with a diagnostic utility downloaded from the drive
mftr.'s website. You will create a bootable CD with the file you
download. You will need third-party burning software to do this such as
Roxio, Nero, or the free CDBurnerXP Pro.

http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

Boot with the CD you made and do a thorough test of the drive. If it
fails any physical tests, replace it. This kind of testing assumes that
you can see the hard drive from the BIOS. If you can't, you can connect
the hard drive into another computer and see if it works there. Unless
the hardware is identical you won't be able to boot into XP, but you'll
see if you get the same error. If you don't, then probably the
motherboard on the original machine is at fault. If you do get the error
or the testbed machine's BIOS doesn't see the drive, then you know the
hard drive has failed.

You also might want to try swapping out the hard drive ribbon cable for
a known-working one or even just reseating the one you have. You can
also try connecting the hard drive and cable to a different IDE (or
SATA) drive connector on the motherboard.

If the motherboard itself is bad, maybe you can return the machine to
Costco.

Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself, so these
are just suggestions based on many years of being a professional
computer tech; suggestions based on what you've written. You should not
take my suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing hardware failures
often involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good parts. If
you can't do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your
computer, take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not
your local equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have
all your data backed up before you take the machine into a shop.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User