Need Help!!

Hey,
I need some help.
I was messing around with my friends computer today helping him hook his computer up to his HDTV. I got it working then I was messing around with the resolution settings to get it just perfect. Didn't happen, so I reset it. What do you know everything boots up normal then I get a blue screen saying can't load registry file or back-up.... I'm like WTF?!?!?!
Not only that, but when I go to re-install windows it doesn't detect the RAID HDD it just detects the IDE... He has 2 120gb raid drivers hooked up as one and he has a 80GB IDE drive and thats the only one it detects.
Here my dilema. Should I reinstall windows on that 80GB HDD? and hope and pray I can restore the registry file from the 2 raid drives? and reboot and just try to boot from them?
or what should I do... please advise. I told him I know what I'm doing and I usually do, but now... I don't know... it's like oh shyt panic mode....
please please help!..!.

 

What OS are you using? If you are using a Raid controller you usually have to hit F6 at a specific time (watch the status bar on the bottom of the screen) to install Raid controller drivers for all NT installs (NT4.0, XP). Not following you on which was the boot drive, that will determine where you are going to do the OS install.

 

He has windows XP.
It booted from the RAID drive.
Here's the scenario.
The Windows XP screen comes on with the little status bar scrolling then goes off as if it's about to enter to the login screen, but instead it gives me a blue screen saying" cannot load registry file \systemroot\blahblah\" or its backup." dumpin core"
some other nonsense like that.
so i'm guessing the only way to get the computer back to working properly is to reinstall windows. correct?
I don't know what & the hell I did.... I hooked up the dvi to his tv.. everything worked.. we had the split screen going and all was good. I started messing with the resolution, didn't like it so switched the screen over to the tv to see if I could see better since the split screen was pretty messed up(resolution was off). So it went to the tv and then I couldn't find the resolution box where you set the screen resolution and what not. So I'm like well ok, I can disconnect the computer from the tv and the output should go to the monitor now. Well when I did and then restarted the computer... all looked normal..... then instead of going from the little "windows XP" and the status bar screen to the login screen it went to the blue screen with that error.

 

Did you do a power cut to shut down the PC?
It looks like a file corruption and you can try to use the Recovery option on your Windows XP CD to try an rescue the installation.

 

I think it may have been a power cut-off...
if it was how would i save it?
I mean I know how to get the the recovery DOS prompt from the XP cd, but then after that I have no clue as in what to do once I'm at the DOS prompt.

 

OK what you can do on the Command Prompt is to run a CHKDSK on your system. And see if it will fix the corrupted files.
If it does not work let me know again and I will think of another method.

Good Luck!!

 

ok didn't work?
will i have to re-install all over again?

 

The fastest method would be a re-install.
The other method is after a CHKDSK do a repair command on the command prompt... I don't remember what is the command for that.... there should be a HELP option for you to list the command available

 

well i installed winxp on the IDE drive and I'm able to access the RAID drive from the IDE one.... but when I try to copy the files from documents and settings to the IDE drive I get an access denied... how can I bypass this? i want to copy all of the contents of the documents and settings to the IDE drive.

 

See if this thing will read it.

http://www.runtime.org/

They saved a raided drive I thought was gone.

 

Either that or the permissions on the drive was set to allow only the original owner to copy. Which in any case you should be able to do it as an administrator user... ...

 

Yes,
I got it.
It was a loonnnggg process... instlaling windows to the IDE grabbing info from the IDE re-installing windows on the RAID... etc.... but I have everything up and running again.
Thanks.