Laptop wont boot.....

[ClassicRed]

Im beginning to hate computers >:3 ~ This is currently a loander laptop as mines in for repairs so I dont know a whole lot about it but here we go~

Compaq Presario V6000
512mb ram (srsly wtf D)
AMD Sempron 3400(1.8GhZ)
60gb HDD (Main)
XP Media Center

blah blah anyway it has a second HDD that is the restore HD but I cant for the life of me get it to boot from that(can you even do it?) ~ Reason I want to is because windows will currently not boot it keeps giving me this error~

"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
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 the repair."

It never came with the Setup CD, (the guy at the RTO place just formated from the second HDD while i was standing there) and for some reason all of my windows cds are at home and Im at work and now bored cause this wont boot!

I've looked up several different tech sites/help sites and so far all are saying CD Rom and load safe mode with command promt ~ I dont has the CD >.< and it wont load in safe mode with command promt -- The laptop worked perfectly fine all night and all morning before I shut it down b4 work -- First boot attempt at work gave me the above error ~ Nothing installed nothing changed in usage from last couple of weeks >.<;

[Kriz]

Somehow the file got borked, that's for sure. Sometimes it's a bad sector, in which if you can burn a copy of SpinRite it may help. If it's a bad file, you'd definitely be best off getting a Windows XP SP3 install cd and repairing it.

But, going off only what you have, you say you have a recovery partition on the drive. On boot up, there may be a F-key option to reach said partition, whether they call it Recovery or Utility or something else. If it's not a main option on your BIOS boot screen, you can enter the boot order screen (normally like F12, I'm sure it will say it on BIOS) and hopefully your recovery partition will be an option there.

Best of luck.

[Seanr]

Since we're having a fixit session. My Pavilion dv6000 wont even charge... I bought a new charger and everything. but when plug in, none of the indicator lights are on, nor will the laptop power on. I'm guessing the Mobo is fried or the power section where the charger plugs in?

[ClassicRed]

buahaha F11 got to Compaq PC Recovery ty! <.< God pls work If I have to work for the next 20hrs w/o dvd's ima go insane :3!

[ClassicRed]

bleh D: It worked in theory ~ Im now in windows again but its weird ~ I can get to all my old files by digging in my C: Drive (even some show up in program files) but it wont open anything up cause there is no registry entrys apparently(keeps giving me cannot open registry key for install path of 'blah file')~ Sadness ~ :3 oh well least i can watch dvd's now~

[Ikith]

bleh D: It worked in theory ~ Im now in windows again but its weird ~ I can get to all my old files by digging in my C: Drive (even some show up in program files) but it wont open anything up cause there is no registry entrys apparently(keeps giving me cannot open registry key for install path of 'blah file')~ Sadness ~ :3 oh well least i can watch dvd's now~

IIRC Recovery pretty much pushes it back to when it was shipped from the factory to the store or whatever... I honestly don't know why you still have some of your program files maybe it just rewrites a fresh registry and rewrites a fresh windows folder.