How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting
This article was previously published under Q307545 SUMMARY This article describes how to recover a Windows XP system
that does not start because of corruption in the registry. This procedure does
not guarantee full recovery of the system to a previous state; however, you
should be able to recover data when you use this procedure. Warning Do not use the procedure that is described in this article if your computer has an OEM-installed operating system. The system hive on OEM installations creates passwords and user accounts that did not exist previously. If you use the procedure that is described in this article, you may not be able to log back into the recovery console to restore the original registry hives. You can repair a corrupted registry in Windows XP. Corrupted registry files can cause a variety of different error messages. See the Microsoft Knowledge Base for articles about error messages that are related to registry issues. This article assumes that typical recovery methods have failed and access to the system is not available except by using Recovery Console. If an Automatic System Recovery (ASR) backup exists, it is the preferred method for recovery. Microsoft recommends that you use the ASR backup before you try the procedure described in this article. Note Make sure to replace all five of the registry hives. If you only replace a single hive or two, this can cause potential issues because software and hardware may have settings in multiple locations in the registry. If you experience a repetitive occurrence of registry corruption related issues, Microsoft recommends that you obtain and install the hotfix in the following article: 318159 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318159/) Damaged Registry repair and
recovery in Windows XP
This update is also included in Windows XP Service
Pack 1. MORE INFORMATION When you try to start or restart your Windows XP-based
computer, you may receive one of the following error messages:
Windows XP could not start because the following file is
missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing
or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive
(file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate System error: Lsass.exe The procedure that this article
describes uses Recovery Console and System Restore. This article also lists all
the required steps in specific order to make sure that the process is fully
completed. When you finish this procedure, the system returns to a state very
close to the state before the problem occurred. If you have ever run NTBackup
and completed a system state backup, you do not have to follow the procedures
in parts two and three. You can go to part four.When trying to update a password the return status indicates that the value provided as the current password is not correct. Part oneIn part one, you start the Recovery Console, create a temporary folder, back up the existing registry files to a new location, delete the registry files at their existing location, and then copy the registry files from the repair folder to the System32\Config folder. When you have finished this procedure, a registry is created that you can use to start Windows XP. This registry was created and saved during the initial setup of Windows XP. Therefore any changes and settings that occurred after the Setup program was finished are lost.To complete part one, follow these steps:
If you have access to another computer, to save time, you can copy the text in step two, and then create a text file called "Regcopy1.txt" (for example). To create this file, run the following command when you start in Recovery Console: batch regcopy1.txt With the batch command in Recovery Console, you can process all the commands in
a text file sequentially. When you use the batch command, you do not have to manually type as many commands.
Part twoTo complete the procedure described in this section, you must be logged on as an administrator, or an administrative user (a user who has an account in the Administrators group). If you are using Windows XP Home Edition, you can log on as an administrative user. If you log on as an administrator, you must first start Windows XP Home Edition in Safe mode. To start the Windows XP Home Edition computer in Safe mode, follow these steps.Note Print these instructions before you continue. You cannot view these instructions after you restart the computer in Safe Mode. If you use the NTFS file system, also print the instructions from Knowledge Base article KB309531. Step 7 contains a reference to the article.
The current system configuration is not aware of the previous restore points. You must have a previous copy of the registry from a previous restore point to make the previous restore points available again. The registry files that were copied to the Tmp folder in the C:\Windows folder are moved to make sure that the files are available under Recovery Console. You must use these files to replace the registry files currently in the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder. By default, Recovery Console has limited folder access and cannot copy files from the System Volume folder. Note The procedure described in this section assumes that you are running your computer with the FAT32 file system. For more information about how to access the System Volume Information Folder with the NTFS file system, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 309531 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309531/)
How to gain access to the System
Volume Information folder
Part ThreeIn part three, you delete the existing registry files, and then copy the System Restore Registry files to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder:
If you have access to another computer, to save time, you can copy the text in step two, and then create a text file called "Regcopy1.txt" (for example). Part Four
REFERENCES
For more information about using Recovery
Console, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307654 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/)
How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
216417 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/216417/) How to install the Windows XP Recovery Console
240831 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240831/) How to copy files from Recovery Console to removable media
314058 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058/) Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
For more information about System Restore, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
306084 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084/)
How to restore the operating system to a previous state in Windows XP
261716 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/261716/) System Restore removes files during a restore procedure
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