Failed Windows Boot - Corrupt Registry

Last sunday I ran into a horrid problem with my Asus c90S machine and Vista.

I am unable to boot windows due to a corrupt or missing registry. I've tried repairing from Install disk and also using the restore point fix. Neither of those are able to fix my problem. I've used chcdsk /f and many other command prompt commands to try and fix the problem myself, but I'm at a loss.

here is the direct file that I think is causing the problem:

\windows\system32\config\system

Status: 0xc000000f


I would love to be able to save a few of my files. Can I transfer my files from my HD to an external USB HD? If I attempt to reinstall vista from start, would I lose all of my files?

And finally, does anyone have an suggestions as to the problem and/or fixes?

Thanks,

troyst83

 

You can try this procedure, to copy a backup of your registry:
http://www.vistax64.com/vista-general/177614-re-0xc000000f-registry-missing.html

It depends how you have it set up if you'll lose your files. If it's all in one partition, you should first use a live CD or some other method to get the data off your drive and onto an external disk or onto a CD. If you are using one partition for the OS and one for data, you can choose to restore the first partition only and your second partition will be untouched.

Either way the thing to do is to try recovering the automated backup of your registry before you try anything else. Best of luck.

 

You win at search. I looked everywhere for some tips on Mic's site. I'll give that a shot at least.

 

You can re-install Vista and it will save all of your files in to the Windows OLD folder. Or you could just use a LIVE Linux CD or USB stick to boot up and save your files. Just make sure you DO NOT "format". Do you have a Vista install disc? If so then you should be good. A "restore" could go either way as there are restores that will save all your data and restores that will DELETE all your data. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I tried their suggestion of C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack. This is the command line, but I received the following message: "The system cannot find the path specified."

so, I start out at x:\Sources - Type in c: to change the directory to c:\>

From there i type in: \windows\system32\config\regback

So my final command line before hitting enter looks like this:

c:\>\windows\system32\config\regback

I also tried c:\>windows\system32\config\regback

 

er... what... no... that is a directory not a command... so you want to do something along these lines, if not exactly:

Code:

c:
cd \Windows\System32\config\RegBack
copy SYSTEM.OLD C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM

 

still nothing. once I switch the command line prompt to c: I type in cd \Windows\System32\config\RegBack

Still can't find the specified path.

Command line including the c:\>cd \Windows\System32\config\RegBack

 

Did you already try doing a windows repair install? That would've wiped out your windows folder with the registry backup in it. Your old windows folder might be under c:\windows.old so try replacing 'windows' with 'windows.old'... if that doesn't work it's probably best to prepare a live CD like knoppix so that you can boot off of that and move your data off before you do anything else.

 

I'll try the windows.old in a few.

Now, I sort of know what a live cd is but I do not know where to start with creating one.

 

I'd recommend knoppix, it's pretty straightforward... you can read the docs on their site if you want, or you can just burn the CD image and fool around with it... here are the mirrors

http://knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html

You can go for a CD or DVD, the DVD has more stuff, but the CD should suffice for just copying some data... get the latest ISO you can find on the mirror sites, for example...

http://www.kernel.org/pub/dist/knoppix/KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso

for the CD version.

It's not too scary, and there are a lot of other Live CDs out there, but knoppix is pretty much the standard tool.

If you want to read up (not a bad idea), here's the wiki page:
http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Main_Page

 

Still no luck. I am unable to get the file on a cd. I've put the file on a USB flashdrive but I am not able to boot it.

I believe I'm stuck.

 

It's an ISO image, so you have to burn it as an image if you were going to put it on a disc. If you are going to a USB device, there are tutorials here:

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/

Here's the one for knoppix:
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/usb-knoppix-510/

Don't let yourself get frustrated, it's actually pretty straightforward.

 

Thanks for those links. I've been working on my girls mac, so the .exe file that I have to download won't work on this thing. Hopefully I can find a pc soon!

 

Well, I have finally succeeded in starting up Knopixx from USB drive. Now, how do I proceed to transfer my files from my harddrive to my external harddrive?

 

You should be able to drag & drop after setting your USB drive to read/write mode.

http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Using_FAQ#File_transfer_between_Knoppix_and_Windows_or_other_systems:

 

Hmm. I can't seem to find my existing hard drive with all of my files. It's acting like it isn't even there.

 

If you go to the console as the root user and run fdisk -l (lowercase L) it should show up, you might have to mount it manually.

 

did not run. I'm done with this. What the highest I should pay for my data recovery?

 

Well... if you're ripping your hair out over knoppix the next best thing to do, besides making a BartPE disc or using another livecd, is to get an external 2.5" sata enclosure for about 20 bucks and throw the drive in there. If you bring it to a shop I bet they'll want at least fifty bucks... ah well, good luck man.

 

Before you give up, try the Ubuntu live CD. I'm not sure how it compares to Knoppix, but it's extremely user friendly and should auto-mount your drive.

~ Brett

 

Yeah, you're right about it being much friendlier than knoppix... although they're both basically the same at the core, being based on Debian, it's worth a shot, especially before throwing down hard earned ca$h.

The LiveCD isn't at all easy to find from the Ubuntu homepage, so here's the link to the ISO image (either will work, when in doubt use 32 bit)

32 bit:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/intrepid/ubuntu-8.10-desktop-i386.iso

64 bit:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/intrepid/ubuntu-8.10-desktop-amd64.iso

And some useful documentation:

https://help.ubuntu.com/8.10/hardware/C/disks.html

http://library.gnome.org/users/user-guide/stable/gosnautilus-460.html

 

Depending on how my conversation goes with this repair shop near my apartment, I may be trying Ubuntu this evening. If they quote me a reasonable price, then I'll go with the repair shop. I'm having withdrawals from Team Fortress 2.

I'll keep this post updated!