System configuration error!!!!!<<HELP!!

dav3011 · September 4th, 2006, 06:16 PM

Please can somebody help me my hp computer was working perfectly the other day and when i tried turning it on today i got the message 'ntldr is compressed press ctrl alt del to restart' which led me into a repetitive loop. i searched google for a solution to this problem; burn a recovery tools cd from the command prompt. so i did. then when i ran the recovery tools cd, i got a message saying that the cd couldn't be run on my computer!! well now i've got to a stage where the windows xp logo is on the screen and it is loading. but after it loads i get another message which i can't find a solution to, it says along the lines of 'system configuration error' and at the end of the error it says 'code purple'. i looked on the other forums and it says something like the motherboard is 'tattooed' i have no idea what that means . can somebody help me as i am only 14. i need a quick solution which doesnt cost me because my pc was working fine; it has just messed up over night ...suspicious i say.!

thanks .
dave x

Prince Lalijama · September 4th, 2006, 06:52 PM

did it come with the windows cd. If it did put that in. See if it helps it boot up cause thats one of the things its suppsed to do.

jetman · September 4th, 2006, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dav3011

Please can somebody help me my hp computer was working perfectly the other day and when i tried turning it on today i got the message 'ntldr is compressed press ctrl alt del to restart' which led me into a repetitive loop. i searched google for a solution to this problem; burn a recovery tools cd from the command prompt. so i did. then when i ran the recovery tools cd, i got a message saying that the cd couldn't be run on my computer!! well now i've got to a stage where the windows xp logo is on the screen and it is loading. but after it loads i get another message which i can't find a solution to, it says along the lines of 'system configuration error' and at the end of the error it says 'code purple'. i looked on the other forums and it says something like the motherboard is 'tattooed' i have no idea what that means . can somebody help me as i am only 14. i need a quick solution which doesnt cost me because my pc was working fine; it has just messed up over night ...suspicious i say.!

thanks .
dave x

Dave: Take several deep breaths and try this:-

1) Reboot PC. As soon as the HP logo screen comes up, slowly start tapping the [F8] key, until you see a Windows XP text menu. Among the choices on this menu, is an option to use your most recent working configuration. Cursor down to that option and hit [Enter]. All goes well, you're done. Otherwise....

2) I believe your HP PC came w/ a real XP install disc (ie. if you insert the CD in your CD/DVD drive and reboot, you should get a msg like 'Press any key to boot from CD....') You may need to go into the BIOS Setup and check the Boot menu, to make sure the 1st boot device is the CD/DVD.

Anyway, once you're this far and XP is booting from the CD, you'll see a med blue screen w/ a grey bar at the bottom. When the disc stops next, you should see a text screen saying 'Welcome'. Press [Enter] to move to the next screen, then [F8] to accept the EULA and move to the next screen, then at the bottom of the screen you should be offered R to 'Repair'. Press R and keep your fingers crossed.

From this point, XP will be reinstalled in Repair mode. Barring some hardware/data corruption issue, at the end of this process, you get XP back fixed. Same programs and data, as before.

There are other things to do that could help, but you'd need (sware) tools that don't come w/ XP.

HTH. Good luck....Jet

jrsweger · September 4th, 2006, 09:26 PM

Take a look at this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by outbak 06-04-2006 05:24 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know I am very late to this thread (3 years from the original post), but since it appears as the #1 response in Google to "Code Purple" errors I figured it would be wise for me to put my 2 cents in. Somewhere along the thread, tattoo'ing was mentioned as the ONLY fix and I'm sure that doing so would resolve the problem, however hp isn't forthcoming with the tools to do so. When I called hp's tech support, they said the only way they would help me is to send a replacement hard drive that was already tattoo'd. I was frustrated with that response so I kept looking and I came across another answer @ http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt...-error-hp.html that worked perfect for me. To sum it up, you need to put the hard drive into another computer as a slave or hook it up externally with one of those USB enclosures if you don't have space for a second hard drive. Then open up C:\hp\bin\ConfigCheck\cfgchk.bat with notepad and modify the section that checks to see if the hard drive is tattoo'd to have it not bother checking at all. (although the hard drive will be running as slave so replace the C:\ with whatever drive letter Windows assigns it) The line to remove is: "python c:\hp\bin\ConfigCheck\run.py". This worked great for me and I hope it helps anyone else who comes along this thread as an alternative to dealing with tattoo'ing the motherboard or hard drive.

I found it here: http://www.resellerratings.com/forum...threadid=50892

Maybe it will help you. I make no guarantees.

dav3011 · September 5th, 2006, 01:35 PM

the computer did not come with a windows xp disc , it was pre-installed.

dav3011 · September 5th, 2006, 01:39 PM

i tried the 'most recent working configuration' at the options screen after tapping f8, it said the file '\windows\system32\config\system' is missing or corrupt. and to insert the windows xp cd and click 'r' ....but i didn't get the cd with the pc!?!?!?!

Prince Lalijama · September 6th, 2006, 06:00 PM

Uh oh. That could be bad.

Ok listen you *should have* gotten a cd with your commputer.
When my family got their dell it had a DELL windows xp cd
Find all of the cases that came with your computer with important stuff in it (you didnt throw it away i hope) Look for any cd that says HP Windows cd *warning already installed on your computer* If you dont have it maybe you should contact microsoft and/or HP.

My dell cd was red not the normal color of windows xp.

I think that is the end of my knowlege, but maybe not.

jetman · September 6th, 2006, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dav3011

i tried the 'most recent working configuration' at the options screen after tapping f8, it said the file '\windows\system32\config\system' is missing or corrupt. and to insert the windows xp cd and click 'r' ....but i didn't get the cd with the pc!?!?!?!

That's very not good. The only way you didn't get a Windows XP disc of any kind is if you bought the PC used. Typically, people throw the discs away or accidentally misplace them, but if you bought a new HP PC, then it came w/ a disc. The big mfrs always provide XP on media, even though XP is pre-installed. Only the mom-and-pop operators don't offer a XP disc, bec they're giving you bootleg software.

To make matters worse, the missing directory you mention almost certainly means you had a hdrive glitch, Windows is damaged, and isn't coming back w/o a reinstall. Can't say if your data is still there, but short of finding the missing XP disc, you'll have to buy a copy of XP Home. You mite be able to find as used copy on eBay, but that's best I can offer. Sorry....Jet

jrsweger · September 6th, 2006, 09:21 PM

It is not true that an XP disc is always provided. Some vendors i.e. HP and Compaq put a special partition on the hard drive that contains all of the originally installed software then you use a special key sequence on startup or some other program from within Windows to access this partition. On occassion you are given the opportunity to create a set of Recovery CD's.

Follow this link Microsoft XP Boot Disk to see how to get the 6 boot disks then search on the last error you mention.

jetman · September 6th, 2006, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrsweger

It is not true that an XP disc is always provided. Some vendors i.e. HP and Compaq put a special partition on the hard drive that contains all of the originally installed software then you use a special key sequence on startup or some other program from within Windows to access this partition. On occassion you are given the opportunity to create a set of Recovery CD's.

Follow this link Microsoft XP Boot Disk to see how to get the 6 boot disks then search on the last error you mention.

Actually, you're one-thousand percent correct ! I forgot about that one. OTOH, HPs usually do include a disc. Same company, go figure....

Having said that, boot discs really only help if you have the CD, bec it's a crap shoot if the \I386 sub-dir works to bootstrap the rest of the installation. MSOFT provides the disc images for PCs that can't boot from CD or can't boot via PXE (a major can of worms.) Moreover, MSOFT's boot floppies are completely useless, if your PC has one of those hidden partitions w/ a recovery image. Only a tool from mfr itself will make that accessible.

IAC, if you do get the boot floppies, try this for the hell of it:

C: <enter>
CD \386 <enter>
WINNT <enter> *or* WINNT32 <enter>

will fire up the installer manually, assuming the folder is still there and is functional.

I've dealt w/ the very kind of failure several times before and it's very tough unless you're a pro. Good luck....Jet