Recover Windows XP from corrupt or missing C:\Windows\System

Ever seen the old Windows XP error message:


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


I've seen it several times and on all but the most recent occasion it has resulted in me having to completely reinstall Windows. This is not an ideal solution and so I sought out an alternative that would mean I could recover Windows XP from this error. Eventually I found this solution on the Microsoft Support site: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545


Open Recovery Console (or Windows PE with command prompt) and then enter the following:

md tmp
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak

delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
delete c:\windows\system32\config\default

copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default


The Microsoft Support site goes on further than the brief commands listed above, but the commands above are enough to get Windows XP up and running again. I've used this solution several times since discovering it and I'm thinking about setting up a batch script on a USB memory stick to automate the recovery procedure. 


Thank you support.microsoft.com for yet another solution to make my life a little less stressful!