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Solve : Corrupt Registry Hive? |
| Answer» <html><body><p>Thanks in advance for your help.<br/><br/>This is my work computer, which has been on all morning, when suddenly it's a blue screen. I try to reboot and get "windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt" \windows\system32\config\system<br/><br/>I've been researching this for the last couple hours and I do see where people have been successful by getting into the "recovery console" by selecting f8 when booting. Although, every instance says to use your "start-up" disc. I have no idea where mine is.<br/><br/>Is there any way around this?<br/><br/>Thanks guys, really, really, appreciate it.You need an XP <a href="https://interviewquestions.tuteehub.com/tag/cd-236847" style="font-weight:bold;" target="_blank" title="Click to know more about CD">CD</a>. Once you get one, boot to it and select R (Recovery Console)<br/><br/>At the command prompt type:<br/><br/>ren c:\windows\system32\config\system system.old<br/>copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config<br/><br/>RebootI don't know where my XP cd is. Can I call a friend with one and use theirs?As long as it's the same version as yours (Home/Pro), yes. And it's even legal to do so.<br/><br/>I've also renamed this thread to something more relevant.Thank you.<br/><br/>I assume "last known good configuration" won't work? That would be too easy right, lol.<br/><br/>Is there any way I tell whether I have the XP "Pro" or "Home" addition?You have a corrupt registry hive. There are only two ways to fix it and both require an XP cd:<br/><br/>1) Replace it with a backup created by your system and stored in c:\windows\repair<br/>or<br/>2) Do a repair install<br/><br/>Unless you had the foresight to install the recovery console as a boot option (and you didn't), those are your choices. Go ahead and borrow a copy of XP - it's been so long since I've done this I'm not sure it won't work even with the incorrect version. Worst case, it won't work and you'll know you need the other version.<br/><br/>This assumes you don't have a recovery partition on your system which would allow you to return to "system shipped" state - that would be your only other possibility.<br/>By the way, in the future you should really consider creating a regular backup (image) of your drive. It will provide a safe haven to which you can return in the event of a major failure such as you are currently experiencing.Thanks Allan.<br/><br/>Well, for the moment, it appears I got very lucky (knock on wood). I went and got an XP Pro disc to boot from. Went to "R", let her run a bit, then it asked for "Admin" password, I hit enter, and got "wrong password". So I started entering "exit", kept getting wrong password. On the third try it said I had entered the wrong password too many times, and asked if I wanted to restart. So I hit "enter" to restart, and she fired up as normal, lol.<br/><br/>I'm backing up the entire system right now. This might be a lame question, it's backing up to a folder I created on my desktop, can I back it up to a disk, or thumbdrive?Backing up to the same drive serves no purpose. You MUST backup to a separate drive or off-disc medium. Here's something I put together a while ago - you might want to use disc imaging - I think everyone should:<br/><br/>Disk Imaging software takes a "snapshot" of your drive as it exists at the time you create the image. You can then restore the entire image or any file(s) or folder(s) you choose. It is a virtually foolproof way of backing up your system and providing a safe haven in the event of a catastrophe that requires you to blow away your system partition and restore it to a previous state. It also allows you to "test" various software and be confident that you have a the ability to return to the prior state any time you choose.<br/><br/> <br/>I use Acronis True Image. It is the best of <a href="https://interviewquestions.tuteehub.com/tag/breed-903993" style="font-weight:bold;" target="_blank" title="Click to know more about BREED">BREED</a>, but it isn't free. The best free alternative is Macrium Reflect. <br/><br/><br/>1) I create an image of my system partition once a week to a second hard drive and keep the 2 or 3 most <a href="https://interviewquestions.tuteehub.com/tag/recent-613715" style="font-weight:bold;" target="_blank" title="Click to know more about RECENT">RECENT</a> images. I also image my other partitions about once a month. I always enable "verify image" in the options. It takes a little longer, but insures a valid image.<br/><br/>2) I also create an image before performing any drive level function (ie, changing the size of a partition) or making any significant change to the OS (installing a <a href="https://interviewquestions.tuteehub.com/tag/service-239469" style="font-weight:bold;" target="_blank" title="Click to know more about SERVICE">SERVICE</a> pack, upgrading IE, etc). Also sometimes before installing new software.<br/><br/>3) Images may be created on any medium (cd, dvd, external drive, etc). For obvious reasons they should not be stored on the same drive you are imaging. The best option is a second internal hd if you have one.<br/><br/>4) Images may be created "in the background" within the OS. If you need to restore the system partition, that will need to be done before the OS loads. You can start the process within the application in the OS and it will then tell you it needs to reboot to <a href="https://interviewquestions.tuteehub.com/tag/finish-989314" style="font-weight:bold;" target="_blank" title="Click to know more about FINISH">FINISH</a> the process. Alternatively, you can boot to a "recovery disk" which you can create when you first install the software (or to the application disk itself if you have one). Other partitions can be restored without a reboot.<br/></p></body></html> | |