| If you think your operating system has been compromised or corrupted, either through an inadvertent action on your part or perhaps by a computer virus infection, you can take some steps to try and recover. The first action is to recognize that something is wrong. In some cases, it might be fairly subtle, and you will not necessarily notice anything wrong. In other cases, it will be painfully obvious that something major is wrong. Table 4-1 lists a few common problems related to virus infections (some of these could also indicate a physical hard drive failure). Table 4-1. Common Virus-Related ErrorsWindows Error Message | Probable Cause |
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Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM | System registry is corrupted or destroyed. | Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate | System registry is corrupted or destroyed. | Invalid partition table | Corrupted or missing boot sector. | Error loading operating system | Corrupted or missing boot sector. | Missing operating system | Corrupted or missing boot sector. | BOOT: Couldn't find NTLDR | Corrupted or missing boot sector. | STOP: 0x0000007B (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4) INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE | Corrupted or missing boot sector. | Windows File Protection Files that are required for Windows to run properly have been replaced by unrecognized versions. To maintain system stability, Windows must restore the original versions of these files. Insert your product CD-ROM now. | Operating system files have been replaced or corrupted. |
If you do seem to have a major issue, you can attempt to remedy the problem several ways. The recommended steps are as follows: Step 1. | Run an antivirus scan (see Chapter 3) and determine whether the antivirus program can remove and repair the problem.
| Step 2. | If the computer is virus free (the antivirus scan completes with no problems found), try to restore the computer to a previous restore point.
| | | Step 3. | If System Restore is not possible, or it has no effect, check and repair the Windows system files:
Click Start > Run and enter sfc /scannow in the dialog box, as shown in Figure 4-14. Click OK.
Figure 4-14. Running the Windows XP System File Check 
The Windows XP System File Check (SFC) utility will examine all the Windows system files on your computer. If it detects corrupted or missing files, it will replace them with the original correct files. It can take 20 to 30 minutes or so to finish, so be patient. You might need your original Windows XP installation CD handy because you might not have all the proper utility files loaded on your computer; in which case, you will be prompted for files that are on that CD.
| Step 4. | It might be necessary to reload the Windows operating system from the installation CD.
| Step 5. | Check for recommendations on the specific issue and error message that is appearing, by consulting the Microsoft website:
http://support.microsoft.com/
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