How Badly Is My HD Corrupt?

[itslog1]

hi all, recently i've got this message popping up on my laptop's screen.

"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 repair."

ok, some facts:
-though i'm not sure this is a virus, i have had a lot of history with such problems on my laptop that have caused me to reformat and reinstall Windows XP
-i have many files that i would like to save before i eventually reformat (i imagine this is the ultimate solution)
-more importantly, i have "intellectual property" is what i believe is the term is, stored on my HD that i may or may not even be able to recreate, so recovering it is crucial
-i've done some research and saw the outlook is bleek, there are no permanent fixes, but there are ways to get around and boot windows up properly again
-this is my goal, to boot windows up properly and save my data to disks/cds, then whatever comes after that may be.
-does running "chkdsk /r" in recovery mean anything to anybody?

thanks, ANY tips are appreciated.

[CORed]

Your best bet is probably to boot the machine from a bootable CD (Bart's PE or a live Linux CD) and copy critical files to an external HD, or install the HD into a working PC and copy critical files. You could try the Windows repair, and again, get those files copied. However, repairing Windows may or may not work. Regardless of what you do to save your data, you should probably do a complete reformat/reinstall.

[mandatory lecture] For cryin' out loud people, backup your damned data, and you won't be in this situation[/mandatory lecture]

[stabn]

Do the repair it will probably fix it. Aftwards definitely do a chkdsk /r either from recovery or after booting to windows if it boots after doing the repair.

[itslog1]

i think i'll have to use a bootable cd, the repairs haven't worked, the HD freezes during the chkdsk /r sequence. is there any way to get to a restore point without booting up windows?? and yea backing up my data is a must, this has happened too many times.

[itslog1]

also are there any dos commands i can use without booting up windows to save files onto an outside source? or does a bootable cd help with that? i know the name of the folder i need to save fwiw.

ooo, and what types of media will something like bart pe allow me to save to, do i need to buy a external HD?