W2k boot failure after new RAM

[Gary Fritz]

I'm running W2k Pro on an Asus A7V266-E mobo. I had 512MB of RAM on it.
For a new project I needed a serious amount of RAM so I bought 2 sticks of
good Crucial 1GB RAM.

I was cautious: I added the new 2GB, then ran a memory test (Memtest86+)
before booting into Windows. It ran for 6 hours, two full passes, with no
problems whatsoever. Everything looks good.

So I boot up into Windows, run for about 5 minutes, and kablammo -- sudden
hang with vertical stripes down the screen. UH-oh.

Since then if I try to reboot, the progress bar on the boot-up splash
screen gets all the way to the end, then there is a very brief bluescreen
that appears to say something about not being able to read the registry.

I backed up my critical data a few days ago, but I did NOT take a full
image, nor did I make an ERD. Ooops.

I tried removing the new RAM; no improvement. I tried just one stick of
the new RAM; no go. I tried slowing the mobo clock from 1533 MHz to 1050.
Still crashed. Tried booting into safe mode; the progress bar gets all the
way to the end, then after a few seconds it just reboots.

I found a "boot from floppy and repair the registry" utility at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=56D3C201-2C68-
4DE8-9229-CA494362419C&displaylang=en
You download an XP SP1 setup boot image that you copy onto 6 floppies,
and then it modifies the 6th floppy to do the Win2000 registry repair.

I can't even boot off the first floppy!!! It says "Setup is inspecting
your computer's hardware configuration," then it flashes "NTDETECT
failed" and reboots. I tried pulling the 512MB stick and replacing it
with one of the 1GB sticks and it still does the same thing. Apparently
NTDETECT can't find the BOOT.INI file on my C:\ root?

I tried running the Win2000 SETUP disk to see if it could repair the
system. It was useless -- couldn't do anything more than a CHKDSK unless
I had an Emergency Repair Disk. And it seems the ERD must be created from
within Windows, BEFORE it blows up.

I downloaded an NTFS reader utility that had no problems reading the
disk. I downloaded Knoppix and copied some critical files off the disk.
So the HD seems to be OK. Furthermore the RAM (currently 1 1GB stick)
and mobo seem fine, as the NTFS utility and Knoppix run with no problems.
(Just like Memtest86+ did, grumble...)

So:

* I can't boot into Windows or Safe mode.

* The RAM, mobo, and disk seem to be fine, since Knoppix runs fine and
accesses the disk without any problems.

* The boot.ini &etc files on the disk seem to be as they should be.

* I can run Knoppix or W2k Setup, but I CANNOT run the XP setup that would
let me patch the registry. That seems to be the only registry-repair
utility Microsoft has.

Help!?!? Where do I go next? If it is a registry problem, does anybody
know of another registry-repair tool that doesn't require an ERD?

And what caused the initial crash in the first place!? The memory torture
test found no problems with the RAM...

Thanks for any help,
Gary

 

[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%

You didn't mention the drive controller (possibly SCSI, or ultra DMA, or
ATA100, or raid, or serial ATA), but in order to start the RC you may need
to boot the Windows 2000 setup disks or CD-Rom and *F6* very early and very
important (at setup is inspecting your system) in the setup to prevent drive
controller detection, and select S to specify additional drivers. Then later
you'll be prompted to insert the manufacturer supplied Windows 2000 driver
for your drive's controller in drive "A"

If you wait and then S to specify additional drivers, then it may be too
late as Windows 2000 Setup at this point may have already assigned the
resources your drive's controller is wanting to use.

--

Regards,

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

:
| I'm running W2k Pro on an Asus A7V266-E mobo. I had 512MB of RAM on it.
| For a new project I needed a serious amount of RAM so I bought 2 sticks of
| good Crucial 1GB RAM.
|
| I was cautious: I added the new 2GB, then ran a memory test (Memtest86+)
| before booting into Windows. It ran for 6 hours, two full passes, with no
| problems whatsoever. Everything looks good.
|
| So I boot up into Windows, run for about 5 minutes, and kablammo -- sudden
| hang with vertical stripes down the screen. UH-oh.
|
| Since then if I try to reboot, the progress bar on the boot-up splash
| screen gets all the way to the end, then there is a very brief bluescreen
| that appears to say something about not being able to read the registry.
|
| I backed up my critical data a few days ago, but I did NOT take a full
| image, nor did I make an ERD. Ooops.
|
| I tried removing the new RAM; no improvement. I tried just one stick of
| the new RAM; no go. I tried slowing the mobo clock from 1533 MHz to 1050.
| Still crashed. Tried booting into safe mode; the progress bar gets all
the
| way to the end, then after a few seconds it just reboots.
|
| I found a "boot from floppy and repair the registry" utility at
| http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=56D3C201-2C68-
| 4DE8-9229-CA494362419C&displaylang=en
| You download an XP SP1 setup boot image that you copy onto 6 floppies,
| and then it modifies the 6th floppy to do the Win2000 registry repair.
|
| I can't even boot off the first floppy!!! It says "Setup is inspecting
| your computer's hardware configuration," then it flashes "NTDETECT
| failed" and reboots. I tried pulling the 512MB stick and replacing it
| with one of the 1GB sticks and it still does the same thing. Apparently
| NTDETECT can't find the BOOT.INI file on my C:\ root?
|
| I tried running the Win2000 SETUP disk to see if it could repair the
| system. It was useless -- couldn't do anything more than a CHKDSK unless
| I had an Emergency Repair Disk. And it seems the ERD must be created from
| within Windows, BEFORE it blows up.
|
| I downloaded an NTFS reader utility that had no problems reading the
| disk. I downloaded Knoppix and copied some critical files off the disk.
| So the HD seems to be OK. Furthermore the RAM (currently 1 1GB stick)
| and mobo seem fine, as the NTFS utility and Knoppix run with no problems.
| (Just like Memtest86+ did, grumble...)
|
| So:
|
| * I can't boot into Windows or Safe mode.
|
| * The RAM, mobo, and disk seem to be fine, since Knoppix runs fine and
| accesses the disk without any problems.
|
| * The boot.ini &etc files on the disk seem to be as they should be.
|
| * I can run Knoppix or W2k Setup, but I CANNOT run the XP setup that would
| let me patch the registry. That seems to be the only registry-repair
| utility Microsoft has.
|
| Help!?!? Where do I go next? If it is a registry problem, does anybody
| know of another registry-repair tool that doesn't require an ERD?
|
| And what caused the initial crash in the first place!? The memory torture
| test found no problems with the RAM...
|
| Thanks for any help,
| Gary

 

[Gary Fritz]

I finally figured out the problem. Somehow the SYSTEM and SECURITY hives
of the registry got corrupted. And, natch, I had no ERD to recover to. So
I had to revert to an 8-month-old backup from right after I installed W2k.
But at least I'm alive again.

And now I have a current ERD....

 

[Gary Fritz]

Hi Dave,

I just posted a reply to my own thread seconds before your reply arrived.

then rename
%systemroot%\system32\config\system.alt
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system

Hm. Wish I'd known about that. But since it was the SECURITY and
SOFTWARE hives that were toast, it probably wouldn't have helped me much
anyway.

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

There weren't none. *sigh* I'd gotten out of the habit of backing up
the registry. That'll teach me...

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.

I thought about that. But I have a fair amount of other data &etc on the
disk, and quite a few misc utilities that run just fine without registry
entries. I'm 80% back with only 2-3 hours of reinstalling drivers &etc,
much faster than if I'd reinstalled from scratch.

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows
2000 Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks.

Yup, I finally found that. I'd been downloading a bunch of utilities to
try to access the NTFS partition, but everything I found was read-only.
I'd have saved myself a lot of time if I would have discovered the W2k
Recovery Console sooner. Ohwell. Now I know.

Thanks!
Gary

 

[Dave Patrick]

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

:
| Hi Dave,
|
| I just posted a reply to my own thread seconds before your reply arrived.

 

[mikedeatworld]

Did you try the old RAM?

 

[Gary Fritz]

Did you try the old RAM?

Not yet. For the past week I've been running with just one stick of the
1GB. I'm going to do a backup (including the registry!!) and add the
second 1GB stick. If that works I might leave it alone for a while.

Gary