I have a regsitry error at bootup, how can i restore w/o losing data

[wncads]

I have a registry error at bootup on a Win2K Pro workstation. I can only catch a glimpse of the blue screen before the computer starts a reboot, it does this over and over. I put the Win2K cd in the drive and changed CMOS to boot from cd. Tried to run the REPAIR utility and it would not run. I then tried a full install of Win2K to another directory other than winnt (i used winnt2) which does allow me to see all the users original docs, profiles, etc... so how can i get a registry re-created without having to format the c drive and start over? I tried the LAST KNOWN GOOD CONFIG utility by pressing F8 at startup but no luck either. right now i have two boot options for winnt (the first one which is actually the second install on dir winnt2) that works but none of the programs or profile settings, or device drivers are correct, or the second option which is my FIRST install of win2K in the directory winnt that still will not boot properly. No software was installed yesterday and nothing downloaded. The machine worked fine at shutdown yesterday and would not boot up today???? hopefully someone has an answer for me to prevent me from having to format and start over on this one. Thank you. Keith Buchanan
AplusNetworking.com
keith@aplusnetworking.com

 

[suffocate83]

really wierd, because i have the exact same problem (or so it seems) the only difference being that i just installed norton utilities, and upon restart, chkdsk ran and right afer chkdsk finished, and windows started loading, BAM! blue screen, reboot. it was so fast i couldn't see anything except memory dump. if i don't touch anything, it goes in an endless cycle. it always hits blue screen right after the logo screen that displays "Starting Up" and the little blue loading bar on it is finished loading. if i find anything i'll let you know, and hopefully you can let me know if you find something out!

thanks.

 

[wncads]

the machine i am having probs with has Norton Anti-Virus 2002 and updates automatically, I am curious as to whether or not a virus definition update may have caused my corruption??? I will let you know if I find out anything Keith Buchanan
AplusNetworking.com
keith@aplusnetworking.com

 

[suffocate83]

here is a possible resolution to the problem. i'm going to try it right now:

http://www.jsiinc.com/subb/tip0500/rh0526.htm

 

[suffocate83]

after following the instructions on that page, it allowed me to see the blue screen uninterupted and the error message was as follows:

============================================
STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure}
The Registry cannot load the hive (file):
\SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE
or its log or alternate.
It is corrupt, absent, or not writable.

Begining dump of physical memory
Physical memory dump complete. Contact your System Administrator or
Technical Support Group.
============================================

so i looked up the error code on microsofts knowledge base and i am now in the process of completing the following:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307545

it is for XP, but looks like it would work with 2000. hope this helps!!! Dave Williams
Network Administration Student
floating_torso_man@taprootgift.com

 

[suffocate83]

i'm now assuming it won't work with 2000. there is only 1 file in the system volume information folder. Dave Williams
Network Administration Student
floating_torso_man@taprootgift.com

 

[wncads]

Dave:

I have tried several things to no avail. I have reinstalled win2k to a different folder (winnt2) as i stated earlier. I have then been able to access the files we need off that workstation. I don't have anymore time to play the Microsoft games with the registry and I am going to cut my losses and format and reinstall win2K. I am concerned in my research that if I did manage to get the sys back up and runnning it would not be very stable. I have been in the business over 15 years and I have found this to be true many times in the past. Let me know how yours works out but I am going to pull the workstation and reload windows over the weekend. Best of luck Keith Buchanan
AplusNetworking.com
keith@aplusnetworking.com

 

[suffocate83]

i also did the same thing. copied all valuable data to another hard drive, and reinstalled. from this point forward, i'm going to keep a backup of the registry files in the event they become corrupted again. you can use the recovery console to copy the files from your backup source to the correct directory. but without a backup, i don't think anything can be done. Dave Williams
Network Administration Student
floating_torso_man@taprootgift.com