c0000218 hive error - maybe a special case?

[rsilverst]

Hi-

I've got the blue screen 218 error, but this might be a special case so
I wanted to describe and ask if there are any easier solutions than
those posed in previous posts.

I was performing a file search, and I decided to cancel it, but the
windows explorer went to "not responding" and i couldn't quit the
process, and then it hung the whole computer and I was forced to do a
hard reset. That's when I got the registry error. So I'm guessing
it's a corrupt registry file as opposed to a disk problem.

The difference here is that I've got a second bootable drive in my
machine, which I'm hoping might give me more options.

Some details:

I can't do safe mode.
I can't do "last good configuration".

But the second drive boots fine, and I can see all the files on the
main drive.

Is there any way I might be able to fix this problem *without* ending
up in a situation where I'll need to reinstall all my software on the
main boot drive?

FYI, I installed my operating system myself, since this was a
home-assembled computer. And though the second drive is bootable, it
doesn't have all my software on it, so I can't just blow away the first
drive and start over.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Post, or email me at rsilverst-at-gmail-dot-com.

 

[Dave Patrick]

You didn't mention the hive. Assuming the system hive and you already tried
LKG, It may be possible to rename the system hive found in
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
to system.old
then rename
%systemroot%\system32\config\system.alt
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system

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

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

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

If that fails you can copy/ use the file
%systemroot%\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. At
the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Press F10 or 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: drive
root, %windir% or %systemroot%

Since you have a parallel install you can do the file copy from the other OS


--

Regards,

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

| Hi-
|
| I've got the blue screen 218 error, but this might be a special case so
| I wanted to describe and ask if there are any easier solutions than
| those posed in previous posts.
|
| I was performing a file search, and I decided to cancel it, but the
| windows explorer went to "not responding" and i couldn't quit the
| process, and then it hung the whole computer and I was forced to do a
| hard reset. That's when I got the registry error. So I'm guessing
| it's a corrupt registry file as opposed to a disk problem.
|
| The difference here is that I've got a second bootable drive in my
| machine, which I'm hoping might give me more options.
|
| Some details:
|
| I can't do safe mode.
| I can't do "last good configuration".
|
| But the second drive boots fine, and I can see all the files on the
| main drive.
|
| Is there any way I might be able to fix this problem *without* ending
| up in a situation where I'll need to reinstall all my software on the
| main boot drive?
|
| FYI, I installed my operating system myself, since this was a
| home-assembled computer. And though the second drive is bootable, it
| doesn't have all my software on it, so I can't just blow away the first
| drive and start over.
|
| Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
|
| Post, or email me at rsilverst-at-gmail-dot-com.
|

 

[rsilverst]

whoops.

Dave, thank you for this response. As I mentioned in the other forum,
I realized after the fact that I accidentally posted this to win2k
instead of winxp. I tried to remove the message, and then reposted it
on winxp. But I never bothered to check for responses over here since
I thought it was deleted! My mistake. Sorry.

Bob

You didn't mention the hive. Assuming the system hive and you already tried
LKG, It may be possible to rename the system hive found in
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
to system.old
then rename
%systemroot%\system32\config\system.alt
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system

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

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

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

If that fails you can copy/ use the file
%systemroot%\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. At
the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Press F10 or 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: drive
root, %windir% or %systemroot%

Since you have a parallel install you can do the file copy from the other OS


--

Regards,

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

| Hi-
|
| I've got the blue screen 218 error, but this might be a special case so
| I wanted to describe and ask if there are any easier solutions than
| those posed in previous posts.
|
| I was performing a file search, and I decided to cancel it, but the
| windows explorer went to "not responding" and i couldn't quit the
| process, and then it hung the whole computer and I was forced to do a
| hard reset. That's when I got the registry error. So I'm guessing
| it's a corrupt registry file as opposed to a disk problem.
|
| The difference here is that I've got a second bootable drive in my
| machine, which I'm hoping might give me more options.
|
| Some details:
|
| I can't do safe mode.
| I can't do "last good configuration".
|
| But the second drive boots fine, and I can see all the files on the
| main drive.
|
| Is there any way I might be able to fix this problem *without* ending
| up in a situation where I'll need to reinstall all my software on the
| main boot drive?
|
| FYI, I installed my operating system myself, since this was a
| home-assembled computer. And though the second drive is bootable, it
| doesn't have all my software on it, so I can't just blow away the first
| drive and start over.
|
| Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
|
| Post, or email me at rsilverst-at-gmail-dot-com.
|

 

[rsilverst]

FYI - the error message indicates the SOFTWARE hive, not the system
hive.

Is there any chance that the recovery method of grabbing a "snapshot"
that is described in Q307545 will work for me? It says that it will
not work with OEM installations - I am pretty sure that my installation
is NOT an OEM because I installed it myself on a home-built PC.

Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks again!
Bob

You didn't mention the hive. Assuming the system hive and you already tried
LKG, It may be possible to rename the system hive found in
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
to system.old
then rename
%systemroot%\system32\config\system.alt
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system

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

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

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

If that fails you can copy/ use the file
%systemroot%\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. At
the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Press F10 or 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: drive
root, %windir% or %systemroot%

Since you have a parallel install you can do the file copy from the other OS


--

Regards,

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

| Hi-
|
| I've got the blue screen 218 error, but this might be a special case so
| I wanted to describe and ask if there are any easier solutions than
| those posed in previous posts.
|
| I was performing a file search, and I decided to cancel it, but the
| windows explorer went to "not responding" and i couldn't quit the
| process, and then it hung the whole computer and I was forced to do a
| hard reset. That's when I got the registry error. So I'm guessing
| it's a corrupt registry file as opposed to a disk problem.
|
| The difference here is that I've got a second bootable drive in my
| machine, which I'm hoping might give me more options.
|
| Some details:
|
| I can't do safe mode.
| I can't do "last good configuration".
|
| But the second drive boots fine, and I can see all the files on the
| main drive.
|
| Is there any way I might be able to fix this problem *without* ending
| up in a situation where I'll need to reinstall all my software on the
| main boot drive?
|
| FYI, I installed my operating system myself, since this was a
| home-assembled computer. And though the second drive is bootable, it
| doesn't have all my software on it, so I can't just blow away the first
| drive and start over.
|
| Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
|
| Post, or email me at rsilverst-at-gmail-dot-com.
|

 

[Dave Patrick]

You have absolutely nothing to lose by trying.

--

Regards,

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

| FYI - the error message indicates the SOFTWARE hive, not the system
| hive.
|
| Is there any chance that the recovery method of grabbing a "snapshot"
| that is described in Q307545 will work for me? It says that it will
| not work with OEM installations - I am pretty sure that my installation
| is NOT an OEM because I installed it myself on a home-built PC.
|
| Thoughts? Comments?
|
| Thanks again!
| Bob

 

[rsilverst]

Dave-

Maybe I speak too soon - but it appears that the problem is completely
solved, and it took almost ZERO effort.

Since I have two bootable drives, I deleted the 5 registry files from
system32\config and replaced them with the five registry files from a
snapshot folder in System Volume Information that was one day before
the crash (interestingly the file sizes were all the same size as the
ones that i was replacing).

Bingo.

One other interesting note - for good measure, I wanted to backup the 5
files that I was replacing, and while 4 of them backed up no problem, I
was unable to make a copy of the SOFTWARE file because it said there
was a cyclic redundancy error. So I am guessing it was corrupted and I
blew it away.

But I'm talking to you on the "repaired" drive right now, so maybe I'm
in the clear.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Bob

 

[Dave Patrick]

Sounds good.

--

Regards,

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

| Dave-
|
| Maybe I speak too soon - but it appears that the problem is completely
| solved, and it took almost ZERO effort.
|
| Since I have two bootable drives, I deleted the 5 registry files from
| system32\config and replaced them with the five registry files from a
| snapshot folder in System Volume Information that was one day before
| the crash (interestingly the file sizes were all the same size as the
| ones that i was replacing).
|
| Bingo.
|
| One other interesting note - for good measure, I wanted to backup the 5
| files that I was replacing, and while 4 of them backed up no problem, I
| was unable to make a copy of the SOFTWARE file because it said there
| was a cyclic redundancy error. So I am guessing it was corrupted and I
| blew it away.
|
| But I'm talking to you on the "repaired" drive right now, so maybe I'm
| in the clear.
|
| Thanks again for the suggestions.
|
| Bob

 

[NewScience]

I've had this happen on another system before. I suggest that you perform a
chkdsk /f /r on that drive.
My problem was that I had a bad spot on the disk and everything worked UNTIL
I accessed/stored data dealing with that bad 'spot'.