[Maedhros]

I posted this earlier on the Dell forums and didn't get a response.

Any knowledgeable Freepers willing to help?

[damnlimey]

If you don't have a boot disc you need to beg borrow or steal one to replace the missing system files.
The worrying part is what caused it to happen,fatal system crash or a virus are both possibilities.
I also read that using an aftermarket partition tool can cause this error.
Of course if you have another 'pooter running 2k you could make a boot disc on it.
Good luck,hope someone else can be of more help.

[editto]

Also, if you can borrow a Windows 2000 installation CD from someone, you can boot off of this CD and run an installation repair, by pressing the 'R' key when prompted. Make sure you don't use a Windows Recovery CD; that's most likely what came with your computer, and will just reload your machine to its exact initial factory configuration (translation: goodbye data files & any new programs you've installed). You can do that if you want, but that's your last-ditch fix.