Missing system file in c:\winnt\repair when trying to restore damaged system hive

[amarwick]

Hi all,

I'm working on fixing the following problem with my laptop:

Error Message: Windows Could Not Start Because the Following File Is
Missing or Corrupt: \Winnt\System32\Config\Systemced

KB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?KBID=269075

I have followed the instructions to a T, which are:

------------------------
1. Use the Windows 2000 CD-ROM or the Windows 2000 Startup disk to
start the computer.
2. When you see the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R for "repair."
3. Press C to run the Recovery Console tool.
4. Select the installation that you want to repair.
5. Type the administrator password.
6. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following commands,
pressing ENTER after you type each command:
cd system32\config
ren system system.old
ren system.alt systemalt.old
7. If you have run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard from Windows Backup
and Recovery tools, copy the backup of the System hive from the
%SystemRoot%\Repair\Regback folder.

If you have not run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard, copy the default
System hive from the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder.

IMPORTANT: You need to restore the most recent copy of the System hive.
You also need to reinstall any hardware device drivers or programs that
run as services that you installed since the last time that you updated
your Emergency Repair Disk.

To copy the default System hive, type the following command, and then
press ENTER:
copy c:\winnt\repair\system c:\winnt\system32\config
To copy the System hive that was backed up the last time that you ran
the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard, type the following command, and then
press ENTER:
copy c:\winnt\repair\regback\system c:\winnt\system32\config

-----

AT this point, everything fails because there is no copy of the system
file in c:\winnt\repair. And there is no c:\winnt\repair\regback
directory. So basically there is no backup copy of the system hive.
(No, I don't know how this happened either. I have a
firewall/virusscan/adware scan going 24/7).

This is a laptop so I can't just yank out the HDD and put it somewhere
else. I don't care about any of the software on it, but many of my
notes for my MA thesis are in the documents folder and I need a backup.


Question 1: Is there any way to copy the system hive from somewhere
else?
Question 2: If not, can I do a repair install and keep all my
documents? Or will that possibly erase my data?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

A. Marwick

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi all,

I'm working on fixing the following problem with my laptop:

Error Message: Windows Could Not Start Because the Following File Is
Missing or Corrupt: \Winnt\System32\Config\Systemced

KB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?KBID=269075

I have followed the instructions to a T, which are:

------------------------
1. Use the Windows 2000 CD-ROM or the Windows 2000 Startup disk to
start the computer.
2. When you see the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R for "repair."
3. Press C to run the Recovery Console tool.
4. Select the installation that you want to repair.
5. Type the administrator password.
6. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following commands,
pressing ENTER after you type each command:
cd system32\config
ren system system.old
ren system.alt systemalt.old
7. If you have run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard from Windows Backup
and Recovery tools, copy the backup of the System hive from the
%SystemRoot%\Repair\Regback folder.

If you have not run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard, copy the default
System hive from the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder.

IMPORTANT: You need to restore the most recent copy of the System hive.
You also need to reinstall any hardware device drivers or programs that
run as services that you installed since the last time that you updated
your Emergency Repair Disk.

To copy the default System hive, type the following command, and then
press ENTER:
copy c:\winnt\repair\system c:\winnt\system32\config
To copy the System hive that was backed up the last time that you ran
the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard, type the following command, and then
press ENTER:
copy c:\winnt\repair\regback\system c:\winnt\system32\config

-----

AT this point, everything fails because there is no copy of the system
file in c:\winnt\repair. And there is no c:\winnt\repair\regback
directory. So basically there is no backup copy of the system hive.
(No, I don't know how this happened either. I have a
firewall/virusscan/adware scan going 24/7).

This is a laptop so I can't just yank out the HDD and put it somewhere
else. I don't care about any of the software on it, but many of my
notes for my MA thesis are in the documents folder and I need a backup.


Question 1: Is there any way to copy the system hive from somewhere
else?
Question 2: If not, can I do a repair install and keep all my
documents? Or will that possibly erase my data?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

A. Marwick

There are two groups of people: Those who believe in backing
up their important documents daily to an independent medium,
and those who don't. The latter will sooner or later join the
former. Their transition is often motivated by a major disaster
and can be extremely painful.

You have several way to save your thesis. Here are a few:

a) Boot the machine with a boot disk from www.bootdisk.com.
then run ntfsdos.exe from www.sysinternals.com. You can
now access your hard disk and copy your files to a floppy
disk - unless they are too big to fit.

b) Buy a $20.00 USB case for your laptop disk. You can
then plug it into the USB port of any Windows PC and
copy your thesis files.

c) Make yourself a Bart PE boot CD, then boot the laptop
with it and copy your files to a flash disk. To make this CD
you need a kit from www.bootdisk.com, a CD burner,
a WinXP Professional CD (but no licence number!) and
about three hours of your time. Using this CD is an
alternative way to b) to fixing your laptop.

After you have saved your files and fixed your laptop,
consider keeping the USB case and buy another 2.5"
disk for backing up purposes. You can then create
a string of backup copies of your thesis, one for each
new version.

 

[Dave Patrick]

If the system hive is corrupt, and assuming you already tried LKG (F8 and
choose Last Known Good), 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. 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'm working on fixing the following problem with my laptop:
|
| Error Message: Windows Could Not Start Because the Following File Is
| Missing or Corrupt: \Winnt\System32\Config\Systemced
|
| KB article:
| http://support.microsoft.com/?KBID=269075
|
| I have followed the instructions to a T, which are:
|
| ------------------------
| 1. Use the Windows 2000 CD-ROM or the Windows 2000 Startup disk to
| start the computer.
| 2. When you see the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R for "repair."
| 3. Press C to run the Recovery Console tool.
| 4. Select the installation that you want to repair.
| 5. Type the administrator password.
| 6. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following commands,
| pressing ENTER after you type each command:
| cd system32\config
| ren system system.old
| ren system.alt systemalt.old
| 7. If you have run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard from Windows Backup
| and Recovery tools, copy the backup of the System hive from the
| %SystemRoot%\Repair\Regback folder.
|
| If you have not run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard, copy the default
| System hive from the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder.
|
| IMPORTANT: You need to restore the most recent copy of the System hive.
| You also need to reinstall any hardware device drivers or programs that
| run as services that you installed since the last time that you updated
| your Emergency Repair Disk.
|
| To copy the default System hive, type the following command, and then
| press ENTER:
| copy c:\winnt\repair\system c:\winnt\system32\config
| To copy the System hive that was backed up the last time that you ran
| the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard, type the following command, and then
| press ENTER:
| copy c:\winnt\repair\regback\system c:\winnt\system32\config
|
| -----
|
| AT this point, everything fails because there is no copy of the system
| file in c:\winnt\repair. And there is no c:\winnt\repair\regback
| directory. So basically there is no backup copy of the system hive.
| (No, I don't know how this happened either. I have a
| firewall/virusscan/adware scan going 24/7).
|
| This is a laptop so I can't just yank out the HDD and put it somewhere
| else. I don't care about any of the software on it, but many of my
| notes for my MA thesis are in the documents folder and I need a backup.
|
|
| Question 1: Is there any way to copy the system hive from somewhere
| else?
| Question 2: If not, can I do a repair install and keep all my
| documents? Or will that possibly erase my data?
|
| Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
|
| A. Marwick
|