Corrupted registry, no floppy drive for regchk

[Guest]

Hi all,

I've blown my Win2K registry, probably with an inopportune power loss. No
backups, natch. And a complicated developer setup, probably on the order of
days to rebuild ...

I found regchk.exe on the MS site and was all set to try it when I realized
.... my laptop doesn't have a floppy drive. The only format it is available
in (that I can find) at MS is floppy.

Anyone know of a boot CD or USB with the regchk expanded files?

Anyone know of a another/better solution to a blown registry?

We're at the last ditch here, after this there's ...

Many thanks --- John

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi all,

I've blown my Win2K registry, probably with an inopportune power loss. No
backups, natch. And a complicated developer setup, probably on the order of
days to rebuild ...

I found regchk.exe on the MS site and was all set to try it when I realized
... my laptop doesn't have a floppy drive. The only format it is available
in (that I can find) at MS is floppy.

Anyone know of a boot CD or USB with the regchk expanded files?

Anyone know of a another/better solution to a blown registry?

We're at the last ditch here, after this there's ...

Many thanks --- John

The site www.bootdisk.com has serveral files to make a Win98
boot diskette. Maybe they also have an ISO image to make a
Win98 boot CD. If not then you need to do this:
- Create a boot diskette on a PC with a floppy disk drive.
- Copy regchk.exe to it (if regchck is a DOS program!).
- Burn your own boot CD from this diskette.

As an alternative you could create your own Bart PE boot
CD. Allow for about three hours to make one.

If your driver setup is as complex as you say it is then you
must use an imaging tool to save the system partition once
every few months. It makes a system restoration very,
very easy.

 

[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, %systemroot% or %windir%


--

Regards,

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

 

[Guest]

Dave -- I should have been more detailed. It was the Software hive -- "...
cannot load the hive file Software or its log or..." I was able to restart
the machine with the Software copy in repair but, as you mention, this leaves
me with a lot of programs and drivers to reinstall. There was not regback
subdirectory under repair -- perhaps this is why the 'L' repair option on the
2K install disk reported that it could not find Windows. Last Known Good also
failed. Any reason for the lack of a regback?

I don't know what chkreg does -- does anyone? If it just copies regback
/Software, or uses it as a comparison standard, I'm lost and time making a
CD would be lost as well ... but why should it require 6 diskettes to simply
copy? If it operates on rhe registry itself, comparing keys to actual files
perhaps, then there could be hope. Any thoughts?

Any other miracles out there for an unbacked-up and crippled registry
Software hive?

.... and thanks.

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, %systemroot% or %windir%


--

Regards,

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

Hi all,

I've blown my Win2K registry, probably with an inopportune power loss. No
backups, natch. And a complicated developer setup, probably on the order
of
days to rebuild ...

I found regchk.exe on the MS site and was all set to try it when I
realized
... my laptop doesn't have a floppy drive. The only format it is
available
in (that I can find) at MS is floppy.

Anyone know of a boot CD or USB with the regchk expanded files?

Anyone know of a another/better solution to a blown registry?

We're at the last ditch here, after this there's ...

Many thanks --- John

 

[Dave Patrick]

Dave -- I should have been more detailed. It was the Software hive --
"...
cannot load the hive file Software or its log or..." I was able to
restart
the machine with the Software copy in repair but, as you mention, this
leaves
me with a lot of programs and drivers to reinstall. There was not regback
subdirectory under repair -- perhaps this is why the 'L' repair option on
the
2K install disk reported that it could not find Windows. Last Known Good
also
failed.

***Choosing last known good boots the system with the control set that last
successfully booted your system. Control sets contain system configuration
information such as device drivers and services. (system hive)


Any reason for the lack of a regback?
*** The registry backup process is a manual one. If you run
Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Backup, then choose ERD, then if you check
the box for "Also backup....", then the reg will also be backed up to
%systemroot%\repair\RegBack
leaving the
%systemroot%\repair\
directory files intact as original installation.

I don't know what chkreg does -- does anyone? If it just copies regback
/Software, or uses it as a comparison standard, I'm lost and time making
a
CD would be lost as well ... but why should it require 6 diskettes to
simply
copy? If it operates on rhe registry itself, comparing keys to actual
files
perhaps, then there could be hope. Any thoughts?

Any other miracles out there for an unbacked-up and crippled registry
Software hive?

***
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...01-2C68-4DE8-9229-CA494362419C&displaylang=en
chkreg is exactly that. It will be a miracle if it works.


--

Regards,

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

 

[Frank Booth Snr]

Hi all,

I've blown my Win2K registry, probably with an inopportune power loss. No
backups, natch. And a complicated developer setup, probably on the order of
days to rebuild ...

I found regchk.exe on the MS site and was all set to try it when I realized
... my laptop doesn't have a floppy drive. The only format it is available
in (that I can find) at MS is floppy.

Anyone know of a boot CD or USB with the regchk expanded files?

Anyone know of a another/better solution to a blown registry?

We're at the last ditch here, after this there's ...

In future back up your system state to a flash drive ,CD or other media
using NTbackup (under Systen32). If you ever get system problems, but
can still 'safe or normal boot', then it is a simple case of restoring
the backup.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

In future back up your system state to a flash drive ,CD or other media
using NTbackup (under Systen32). If you ever get system problems, but
can still 'safe or normal boot', then it is a simple case of restoring
the backup.

The method you suggest relies on the OP being able to boot into
Windows in at least one boot mode. Here are a couple of methods
that do not have this requirement:
- Use the Task Scheduler to run regback.exe once a week. When
you get a corrupted registry, boot the machine with a Bart PE
boot CD, then replace the corrupted file with its most recent
backup. This method will not work when system files are corrupted.
- Use an imaging product (e.g. Acronis TrueImage) to create an
image of the system partition. To restore the image, boot the
machine with an Acronis Recovery CD. This method will always
work.

 

[Frank Booth Snr]

The method you suggest relies on the OP being able to boot into
Windows in at least one boot mode.

That's true, but then Win2k provides everything you need to recover from
a system fault crash. In the case of a corrupt registry, you can use
the Repair Console manually to replace the hives in
WINNT\System32\Config, as long as you already backed up a good copy in
WinNT\Repair\Regback, which you should do periodically.

Here are a couple of methods that do not have this requirement:
- Use the Task Scheduler to run regback.exe once a week. When
you get a corrupted registry, boot the machine with a Bart PE
boot CD, then replace the corrupted file with its most recent
backup. This method will not work when system files are corrupted.

I don't know how you you use regback.exe, nor is it on my system CD.
Sounds rather complicated to use.

- Use an imaging product (e.g. Acronis TrueImage) to create an
image of the system partition. To restore the image, boot the
machine with an Acronis Recovery CD. This method will always
work.

Nothing wrong with Acronis imaging (not used it), but it would mean
splashing out on further software, which isn't essential, although it
may be time saving to restore one's system. Don't you need 2 optical
drives to use it?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

That's true, but then Win2k provides everything you need to recover from
a system fault crash. In the case of a corrupt registry, you can use
the Repair Console manually to replace the hives in
WINNT\System32\Config, as long as you already backed up a good copy in
WinNT\Repair\Regback, which you should do periodically.


I don't know how you you use regback.exe, nor is it on my system CD.
Sounds rather complicated to use.

Nothing wrong with Acronis imaging (not used it), but it would mean
splashing out on further software, which isn't essential, although it
may be time saving to restore one's system. Don't you need 2 optical
drives to use it?

A single optical drive will suffice. The Acronis Recovery CD loads
into memory and it can be removed when the application is up and
running.

 

[Dave Patrick]

1.) The registry backup process is a manual one so you won't have one unless
you run the backup process initially, then periodically thereafter to keep
it current. There is no system restore in Windows 2000. You can run
Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Backup, then choose ERD, then if you check
the box for "Also backup....", then the reg will also be backed up to
%systemroot%\repair\RegBack
leaving the
%systemroot%\repair\
directory files intact as original installation.

Then archive the files in
%systemroot%\repair\RegBack
These would, in effect, be registry restore points.

You can replace registry hives from within the recovery console by copying
the files from your archive to;
%systemroot%\system32\config

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, %systemroot% or %windir%


2. No scanreg in Windows 2000


--

Regards,

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

:
I'm new to W2K. I don't seem to have the %systemroot%\repair\regback
directory, should I? Also, is there a program similar to the SCANREG
utility in W98SE?

Thanks,
Dan Hacker

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

While you're backing up your registry, fix your PC clock and/or
time zone. You're posting in the future.
I'm new to W2K. I don't seem to have the %systemroot%\repair\regback directory, should I? Also, is there a program similar to the SCANREG utility in W98SE?

Thanks,
Dan Hacker

 

[rubyjack]

1.) The registry backup process is a manual one so you won't have one unless
you run the backup process initially, then periodically thereafter to keep
it current.

Whaaaa! Is there a way to automate this task, like W98SE does (run at startup)?

There is no system restore in Windows 2000. You can run
Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Backup, then choose ERD, then if you check
the box for "Also backup....", then the reg will also be backed up to
%systemroot%\repair\RegBack
leaving the
%systemroot%\repair\
directory files intact as original installation.

Then archive the files in
%systemroot%\repair\RegBack
These would, in effect, be registry restore points.

Are the new backups renamed to different files so that you can have many restore points?

You can replace registry hives from within the recovery console by copying
the files from your archive to;
%systemroot%\system32\config

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, %systemroot% or %windir%

I think I got lost here, but I'll figure it out.

2. No scanreg in Windows 2000

Well what good is W2K then? Actually, I'm liking it. But the similarities/differences to W98SE are frustrating at times.

Thanks for the help,
Dan Hacker

--

Regards,

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

:
I'm new to W2K. I don't seem to have the %systemroot%\repair\regback
directory, should I? Also, is there a program similar to the SCANREG
utility in W98SE?

Thanks,
Dan Hacker

 

[rubyjack]

I'm new to W2K. I don't seem to have the %systemroot%\repair\regback directory, should I? Also, is there a program similar to the SCANREG utility in W98SE?

Thanks,
Dan Hacker
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, %systemroot% or %windir%


--

Regards,

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

 

[Dave Patrick]

:
Whaaaa! Is there a way to automate this task, like W98SE does (run at
startup)?
*** Have you tried this? It's quite simple to do.

Are the new backups renamed to different files so that you can have many
restore points?
*** No. This would be an optional manual process.

I think I got lost here, but I'll figure it out.
*** OK

Well what good is W2K then?
*** Surely this isn't the only basis of your comparison. The registry
structure is quite different in Windows 2000



--

Regards,

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

 

[Frank Booth Snr]

A single optical drive will suffice. The Acronis Recovery CD loads
into memory and it can be removed when the application is up and
running.

OK, that's fine, but how would you use regback.exe if you can't boot
into Windows to restore your registry (I presume that what it does), and
from what op system? Just copying over the hives from 'Regback' folder
to the one in 'Config' folder using Repair Console has always done the
trick for me (for registry corruption).

 

[Frank Booth Snr]

I think I got lost here, but I'll figure it out.

2. No scanreg in Windows 2000

Well what good is W2K then? Actually, I'm liking it. But the
similarities/differences to W98SE are frustrating at times.

Windows 98 is a DOS based system and therefore commands like ScanReg.ese
can be run from DOS (outside of Windows). Win2k is based on Windows NT
system (it really is Windows NT5) and has no links to DOS, therefore you
cannot run DOS based commands. Except Win2k has the Recovery Console
facility, which looks like a DOS interface and uses certain DOS like
commands, but not ScanReg. It's from there that you can replace Registry
files if such corruption has occured. But you must have backed up the
Registry first via NTBackup.exe using its ERD option. It resides in
folder System32. Put it on your Start button for ease of use.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

OK, that's fine, but how would you use regback.exe if you can't boot
into Windows to restore your registry (I presume that what it does), and
from what op system? Just copying over the hives from 'Regback' folder
to the one in 'Config' folder using Repair Console has always done the
trick for me (for registry corruption).

Regback backs up the registry hives. It does not restore them.
To restore them, I copy them back manually, as you do.