corrupt or missing software.sav

The registry cannont load hive |system32/config/software | the log or alt is
corrupt, absent or not writable.

Ive been getting the above blue screen upon bootup and Ive already read
several solutions to the problem(mostly from Dave Patrick ). My question
is if I were to instead do an update install of Win2000 pro. could I have a
succesful install w/ only having to reinstall the hotfixes and device
drivers? or is the software registry hive not altered by the fresh OS install
and therefor leaving the software hive corrupt?

Thank you in advance,
Chris

Setup has two stages: text mode and graphics mode. The hive is copied to a
..sav file after the text-mode stage of setup to protect it from errors that
might occur if the graphics-mode stage of setup fails. If setup fails during
the graphics-mode stage, only the graphics-mode stage is repeated when the
computer is restarted; the .sav file is used to restore the hive data.

If the system hive is corrupt, and assuming you already tried LKG, It may be
possible to rename the system hive found in
%windir%\system32\config\system
to system.old
then rename
%windir%\system32\config\system.alt
to
%windir%\system32\config\system

You can also try using the most recent backup found in
%windir%\repair\regback

If that fails you haven't much choice but to copy/ use the
original-as-installed system hive from
%windir%\repair\system
to
%windir%\system32\config\system
You'll need to reinstall the device drivers for any hardware added since the
original OS install.

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks.
Press ENTER at the "Setup Notification" screen. Press R to repair a Windows
2000 installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The
Recovery Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do
not have the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the registry is corrupted
or missing or no valid installations are found, the Recovery Console starts
in the root of the startup volume without requiring a password. You cannot
access any folders, but you can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot,
and fixmbr for limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated,
you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer:
%systemroot% and %windir%

You can't do an in-place upgrade when the registry is corrupt.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

"CA Jones" wrote:
| The registry cannont load hive |system32/config/software | the log or alt
is
| corrupt, absent or not writable.
|
| Ive been getting the above blue screen upon bootup and Ive already read
| several solutions to the problem(mostly from Dave Patrick ). My
question
| is if I were to instead do an update install of Win2000 pro. could I have
a
| succesful install w/ only having to reinstall the hotfixes and device
| drivers? or is the software registry hive not altered by the fresh OS
install
| and therefor leaving the software hive corrupt?
|
| Thank you in advance,
| Chris
|

Should have been;

If the software hive is corrupt, it may be possible to rename the software
hive found in;
%windir%\system32\config\software
to software.old
then copy the most recent backup found in
%windir%\repair\regback
as
%windir%\system32\config\software

If that fails you can copy/ use the file
%windir%\repair\software
This file is an image of the hive at the time the OS was installed, so you'd
have to reinstall all software. This being the case you might just as well
blow it away and start a new install. (note: this would at least allow you
to start the OS to make any necessary backups prior to wiping the drive.)

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks.
Press ENTER at the "Setup Notification" screen. Press R to repair a Windows
2000 installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The
Recovery Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do
not have the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the registry is corrupted
or missing or no valid installations are found, the Recovery Console starts
in the root of the startup volume without requiring a password. You cannot
access any folders, but you can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot,
and fixmbr for limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated,
you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer:
%systemroot% and %windir%

You can't do an in-place upgrade when the registry is corrupt.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

Thanks for the reply and one final question. My last OS install happened to
also be an "in-place upgrade" so my previously installed software registry
was retained and no 3rd party software re-installation was necessary. If I
copy/use the
%windir\repair\software file, will the registry values of the previous
software be part of that image? I asume yes. I havent installed many
applications since the last "in-place upgrade" so I would benefit more from
working with the %windir\repair\software image if it
retained the 3rd party registry from the previous "in-place upgrade". Sorry,
I may just be stating the same thing twice. All the same, I was just looking
for a second opinion before I gave it a try.

Kindest regards,
Chris

"Dave Patrick" wrote:

> Should have been;
>
> If the software hive is corrupt, it may be possible to rename the software
> hive found in;
> %windir%\system32\config\software
> to software.old
> then copy the most recent backup found in
> %windir%\repair\regback
> as
> %windir%\system32\config\software
>
> If that fails you can copy/ use the file
> %windir%\repair\software
> This file is an image of the hive at the time the OS was installed, so you'd
> have to reinstall all software. This being the case you might just as well
> blow it away and start a new install. (note: this would at least allow you
> to start the OS to make any necessary backups prior to wiping the drive.)
>
> To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
> Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
> floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
> use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks.
> Press ENTER at the "Setup Notification" screen. Press R to repair a Windows
> 2000 installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The
> Recovery Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do
> not have the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
> computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
> Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the registry is corrupted
> or missing or no valid installations are found, the Recovery Console starts
> in the root of the startup volume without requiring a password. You cannot
> access any folders, but you can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot,
> and fixmbr for limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated,
> you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
> disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer:
> %systemroot% and %windir%
>
> You can't do an in-place upgrade when the registry is corrupt.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
> Microsoft Certified Professional
> Microsoft MVP [Windows]
> http://www.microsoft.com/protect
>
>
>

I'm up and running. I had a Reg backup from about 1 yr ago so I didnt have to
use the %windir/repair/software image. Now its just a matter of sifting
through the programs that have been added/removed since then and reinstall or
remove reg values. Thanks again!

Chris

In microsoft.public.win2000.registry =?Utf-8?B?Q0EgSm9uZXM=?= wrote:

> I'm up and running. I had a Reg backup from about 1 yr ago so I
> didnt have to use the %windir/repair/software image. Now its just
> a matter of sifting through the programs that have been
> added/removed since then and reinstall or remove reg values.
> Thanks again!

You should consider regular full registry backups as part of your
routine. Either 3rd-party such as ERUNT or by using the ntbackup.exe
program. Might save you some day when you really need it. JMHO.

Glad to hear you got something going.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

"CA Jones" wrote:
| I'm up and running. I had a Reg backup from about 1 yr ago so I didnt have
to
| use the %windir/repair/software image. Now its just a matter of sifting
| through the programs that have been added/removed since then and reinstall
or
| remove reg values. Thanks again!
|
| Chris