Corrupt system.sav

[Carlos]

I am very upset and dissapointed with Windows 2K. I can
not believe that Microsoft has developed a so vulnerable
system. The registry is the heart of windows and it seems
so vulnerable. No protection at all from the OS. having
said that... here is my story.

I have been using my win 2k for a while and on Aug 25 I
got one of the infamous black screens:
TRAP 0000000D ==== GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT =======
.....

I researched in MS KnowledgeBase. It pointed to BIOS. I
upgraded to latest Dell BIOS for my laptop. Same problem.
Called DELL... Hardware Diagnostics.. Ok...Troubleshot...
We were able to pass the TRAP error. Then I got the

" system.sav missing or corrupted" error. Which seems to
be very common these days, even with teh so adverstised
secure XP.

We tried the varios forms of windows 2k recovery with
Chkdsk /r under recovery console, and the original win 2k
cd boot disk. Did not fix it.
We tried a Win 2k upgrade in place.. Did not fix it.
Dell Tech recommended reinstall win 2k.
I do not want to do it. I loose almost a year of
application installations, etc. Besides I had had to do it
before. I checked the HD for viruses with latest (Aug
25/04) virus definitions. No virus found. ( I placed the
HD as slave to another PC). I do not have registry backup
or ERD disk.
In my WINNT\system32\config directory I have
system
system.alt
system.sav
system.log
system.tmp.log
I made copy of the whole directory to another directory as
backup again placing the HD as slave of another PC.
For each of teh follwing tries I restored the original
files...
1. Tried the ChkReg utility for win 2k. 6 diskettes to
boot XP...etc. It said it repaired something. But I
got the same error (system.sav missing or corrupt).
2. I replaced system with system.alt... same issue..could
not boot because system.sav is missing or corrupt.
3. Replaced system with system.sav.
Same issue
4. Replaced system.sav and system.alt with system. Same
error.
5. Finally got article 168646, which explains how to
view/update an external registry file. Loaded system
and system.sav using regedt32. I was able to browse
pretty much all the entries, which means to me that
the structure of the file seems to be sound. I made a
small change (nothing that would cause a problem..
just a parameter to a service I know).
Unloaded the hives, rebooted and still got the same
error.

I noticed that
system and system.alt have keys
controlset002
creative tech
mounteddevice1
mounteddevices
select
setup
but system.sav has keys
controlset001
controlset002
controlset003
creative tech
mounteddevice1
mounteddevices
select
setup

I am asking someone who really knows the details of how
the system hives work as far as maintaining these key sets
and tell me what may be wrong with these files. It seems
to me it is possible to determine why they are corrupt and
fix them?
So that windows does not complain at boot time that
system.sav is missing or corrupt.

Also why is Win 2K looking for system.sav. Isn't system
enough for it to load windows? What is the sequence. What
is the relationship between system .sav .alt and .log
(please do not tell me .sav .alt .log are transactions, I
am asking the real relationship) Are they like system =
system.sav + .log and system = system.sav ?
Is system.alt just a copy of system before or after a
successfull boot?
Is system.sav a copy before shutdown? and system is the
hive copy after shutdown?

What are the minimum set of files to be in winnt\system32
\config for win 2k to be able to successfully boot.

It may help make a decision on where to put the effort to
fix the appropriate one and delete the others.

As you can see. I have done some homework. I think I
passed the simple tries. I need someone with real deep
kmowlegde please.

Please read this post carefully.

Thank you very much for your understanding. If you have a
solutions, please do not assume I know a lot and give me a
simplified set of instructions. I'd appreciate if you do
not assume much, except that I can work with regedt32 and
regedit, I know how to find files and use utilities if
they are MS delivered.

Carlos

 

[Dave Patrick]

If you survived any the damage to other hives from ChkReg then this will
work. 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

************************
* This is where you're at. (note you'll probably want to delete or otherwise
rename system.sav)
************************
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%


--
Regards,

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

:
|I am very upset and dissapointed with Windows 2K. I can
| not believe that Microsoft has developed a so vulnerable
| system. The registry is the heart of windows and it seems
| so vulnerable. No protection at all from the OS. having
| said that... here is my story.
|
| I have been using my win 2k for a while and on Aug 25 I
| got one of the infamous black screens:
| TRAP 0000000D ==== GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT =======
| ....
|
| I researched in MS KnowledgeBase. It pointed to BIOS. I
| upgraded to latest Dell BIOS for my laptop. Same problem.
| Called DELL... Hardware Diagnostics.. Ok...Troubleshot...
| We were able to pass the TRAP error. Then I got the
|
| " system.sav missing or corrupted" error. Which seems to
| be very common these days, even with teh so adverstised
| secure XP.
|
| We tried the varios forms of windows 2k recovery with
| Chkdsk /r under recovery console, and the original win 2k
| cd boot disk. Did not fix it.
| We tried a Win 2k upgrade in place.. Did not fix it.
| Dell Tech recommended reinstall win 2k.
| I do not want to do it. I loose almost a year of
| application installations, etc. Besides I had had to do it
| before. I checked the HD for viruses with latest (Aug
| 25/04) virus definitions. No virus found. ( I placed the
| HD as slave to another PC). I do not have registry backup
| or ERD disk.
| In my WINNT\system32\config directory I have
| system
| system.alt
| system.sav
| system.log
| system.tmp.log
| I made copy of the whole directory to another directory as
| backup again placing the HD as slave of another PC.
| For each of teh follwing tries I restored the original
| files...
| 1. Tried the ChkReg utility for win 2k. 6 diskettes to
| boot XP...etc. It said it repaired something. But I
| got the same error (system.sav missing or corrupt).
| 2. I replaced system with system.alt... same issue..could
| not boot because system.sav is missing or corrupt.
| 3. Replaced system with system.sav.
| Same issue
| 4. Replaced system.sav and system.alt with system. Same
| error.
| 5. Finally got article 168646, which explains how to
| view/update an external registry file. Loaded system
| and system.sav using regedt32. I was able to browse
| pretty much all the entries, which means to me that
| the structure of the file seems to be sound. I made a
| small change (nothing that would cause a problem..
| just a parameter to a service I know).
| Unloaded the hives, rebooted and still got the same
| error.
|
| I noticed that
| system and system.alt have keys
| controlset002
| creative tech
| mounteddevice1
| mounteddevices
| select
| setup
| but system.sav has keys
| controlset001
| controlset002
| controlset003
| creative tech
| mounteddevice1
| mounteddevices
| select
| setup
|
| I am asking someone who really knows the details of how
| the system hives work as far as maintaining these key sets
| and tell me what may be wrong with these files. It seems
| to me it is possible to determine why they are corrupt and
| fix them?
| So that windows does not complain at boot time that
| system.sav is missing or corrupt.
|
| Also why is Win 2K looking for system.sav. Isn't system
| enough for it to load windows? What is the sequence. What
| is the relationship between system .sav .alt and .log
| (please do not tell me .sav .alt .log are transactions, I
| am asking the real relationship) Are they like system =
| system.sav + .log and system = system.sav ?
| Is system.alt just a copy of system before or after a
| successfull boot?
| Is system.sav a copy before shutdown? and system is the
| hive copy after shutdown?
|
| What are the minimum set of files to be in winnt\system32
| \config for win 2k to be able to successfully boot.
|
| It may help make a decision on where to put the effort to
| fix the appropriate one and delete the others.
|
| As you can see. I have done some homework. I think I
| passed the simple tries. I need someone with real deep
| kmowlegde please.
|
| Please read this post carefully.
|
| Thank you very much for your understanding. If you have a
| solutions, please do not assume I know a lot and give me a
| simplified set of instructions. I'd appreciate if you do
| not assume much, except that I can work with regedt32 and
| regedit, I know how to find files and use utilities if
| they are MS delivered.
|
| Carlos

 

[Carlos]

Dave,
I was hoping not to find a copy of what was already posted
to other users. I already search and reviewed other
postings, such as the ones between 08/13 and 08/17 with
similar title. An I tried the proposed solutions.
At thsi point I have a c:\WINNT2 system. So I do not think
I need to use the recovery console anymore.
When I bring the %windir%\repair\system file to config
and reboot. Windows seem to pass the system.sav error.
Windows continue all the way to the sign on dialog, but
there is not keyboard or mouse sensitivity. I can not
logon.
I tried to F8 to enter in save mode, but I get the same. I
can not enter my administrator password.

Any ideas? (that have not been posted between 08/13 and
08/17). Any comments on the last part of my original
posting?
Thanks
Carlos

-----Original Message-----
If you survived any the damage to other hives from ChkReg then this will
work. 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

************************
* This is where you're at. (note you'll probably want to delete or otherwise
rename system.sav)
************************
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%


--
Regards,

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

:
|I am very upset and dissapointed with Windows 2K. I can
| not believe that Microsoft has developed a so vulnerable
| system. The registry is the heart of windows and it seems
| so vulnerable. No protection at all from the OS. having
| said that... here is my story.
|
| I have been using my win 2k for a while and on Aug 25 I
| got one of the infamous black screens:
| TRAP 0000000D ==== GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT =======
| ....
|
| I researched in MS KnowledgeBase. It pointed to BIOS. I
| upgraded to latest Dell BIOS for my laptop. Same problem.
| Called DELL... Hardware Diagnostics.. Ok...Troubleshot...
| We were able to pass the TRAP error. Then I got the
|
| " system.sav missing or corrupted" error. Which seems to
| be very common these days, even with teh so adverstised
| secure XP.
|
| We tried the varios forms of windows 2k recovery with
| Chkdsk /r under recovery console, and the original win 2k
| cd boot disk. Did not fix it.
| We tried a Win 2k upgrade in place.. Did not fix it.
| Dell Tech recommended reinstall win 2k.
| I do not want to do it. I loose almost a year of
| application installations, etc. Besides I had had to do it
| before. I checked the HD for viruses with latest (Aug
| 25/04) virus definitions. No virus found. ( I placed the
| HD as slave to another PC). I do not have registry backup
| or ERD disk.
| In my WINNT\system32\config directory I have
| system
| system.alt
| system.sav
| system.log
| system.tmp.log
| I made copy of the whole directory to another directory as
| backup again placing the HD as slave of another PC.
| For each of teh follwing tries I restored the original
| files...
| 1. Tried the ChkReg utility for win 2k. 6 diskettes to
| boot XP...etc. It said it repaired something. But I
| got the same error (system.sav missing or corrupt).
| 2. I replaced system with system.alt... same issue..could
| not boot because system.sav is missing or corrupt.
| 3. Replaced system with system.sav.
| Same issue
| 4. Replaced system.sav and system.alt with system. Same
| error.
| 5. Finally got article 168646, which explains how to
| view/update an external registry file. Loaded system
| and system.sav using regedt32. I was able to browse
| pretty much all the entries, which means to me that
| the structure of the file seems to be sound. I made a
| small change (nothing that would cause a problem..
| just a parameter to a service I know).
| Unloaded the hives, rebooted and still got the same
| error.
|
| I noticed that
| system and system.alt have keys
| controlset002
| creative tech
| mounteddevice1
| mounteddevices
| select
| setup
| but system.sav has keys
| controlset001
| controlset002
| controlset003
| creative tech
| mounteddevice1
| mounteddevices
| select
| setup
|
| I am asking someone who really knows the details of how
| the system hives work as far as maintaining these key sets
| and tell me what may be wrong with these files. It seems
| to me it is possible to determine why they are corrupt and
| fix them?
| So that windows does not complain at boot time that
| system.sav is missing or corrupt.
|
| Also why is Win 2K looking for system.sav. Isn't system
| enough for it to load windows? What is the sequence. What
| is the relationship between system .sav .alt and .log
| (please do not tell me .sav .alt .log are transactions, I
| am asking the real relationship) Are they like system =
| system.sav + .log and system = system.sav ?
| Is system.alt just a copy of system before or after a
| successfull boot?
| Is system.sav a copy before shutdown? and system is the
| hive copy after shutdown?
|
| What are the minimum set of files to be in winnt\system32
| \config for win 2k to be able to successfully boot.
|
| It may help make a decision on where to put the effort to
| fix the appropriate one and delete the others.
|
| As you can see. I have done some homework. I think I
| passed the simple tries. I need someone with real deep
| kmowlegde please.
|
| Please read this post carefully.
|
| Thank you very much for your understanding. If you have a
| solutions, please do not assume I know a lot and give me a
| simplified set of instructions. I'd appreciate if you do
| not assume much, except that I can work with regedt32 and
| regedit, I know how to find files and use utilities if
| they are MS delivered.
|
| Carlos


.

 

[Dave Patrick]

Sounds like more damage was done and or some hardware failure. As a test you
might try replacing all the files in
%windir%\system32\config
with those found in;
%windir%\repair

(note this would put the machine back to the state at which the OS was
installed)

--
Regards,

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

:
| Dave,
| I was hoping not to find a copy of what was already posted
| to other users. I already search and reviewed other
| postings, such as the ones between 08/13 and 08/17 with
| similar title. An I tried the proposed solutions.
| At thsi point I have a c:\WINNT2 system. So I do not think
| I need to use the recovery console anymore.
| When I bring the %windir%\repair\system file to config
| and reboot. Windows seem to pass the system.sav error.
| Windows continue all the way to the sign on dialog, but
| there is not keyboard or mouse sensitivity. I can not
| logon.
| I tried to F8 to enter in save mode, but I get the same. I
| can not enter my administrator password.
|
| Any ideas? (that have not been posted between 08/13 and
| 08/17). Any comments on the last part of my original
| posting?
| Thanks
| Carlos

 

[Carlos]

Dave,
Thanks... In fact I had tried this approach prior to my
original posting, since it was already published.
I found a winnt\repair\system file. It is about 2500 KB
in size as of 01/13/2004. My winnt\system32\config\system
was, as of 08/25/2004, about 5500 KB, about 3000 KB of
difference (all the work lost?)...
When I copied the repair\.. file back to config and
rebooted.. The first thing that happened was that windows
2000 resumed an installation process and asked me for the
win 2000 Key. I stopped it expecting to find another
solution and I asked some questions that have not been
answered yet...
So, yesterday, I went back and re-tried. Copied
repair\system to config and resumed win2000 install.
Entred Key, etc... and was able to reboot. I found my
desktop to be as I had it before the crash... but
everytiome I click on an application Windows Install
starts working and I get an error saying that it needs
CDs for certain Dell applications, such as Aveo Attune.
If I try to remove the application via control
panel "Add/Remove Programs" It says that "there is an
install in progress.. Finish that first...".
The same occurs with Outlook. It attempts to reinstall
and asks for the CD.
Is this going to be like that for all the applications
that may have something in the 3000KB that I do not have
in my config.system anymore?
Also I noticed that MY computer Properties show Win 2000
SP1, but had previously installed up to SP4 and some SP5
hot-fixes from Windows Update. And Internet explorer
shows as if it was IE 5.5, but I had installed IE 6.0.
Any ideas as to how to handle things from here?
Thanks
Carlos

-----Original Message-----
Sounds like more damage was done and or some hardware failure. As a test you
might try replacing all the files in
%windir%\system32\config
with those found in;
%windir%\repair

(note this would put the machine back to the state at which the OS was
installed)

--
Regards,

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

:
| Dave,
| I was hoping not to find a copy of what was already posted
| to other users. I already search and reviewed other
| postings, such as the ones between 08/13 and 08/17 with
| similar title. An I tried the proposed solutions.
| At thsi point I have a c:\WINNT2 system. So I do not think
| I need to use the recovery console anymore.
| When I bring the %windir%\repair\system file to config
| and reboot. Windows seem to pass the system.sav error.
| Windows continue all the way to the sign on dialog, but
| there is not keyboard or mouse sensitivity. I can not
| logon.
| I tried to F8 to enter in save mode, but I get the same. I
| can not enter my administrator password.
|
| Any ideas? (that have not been posted between 08/13 and
| 08/17). Any comments on the last part of my original
| posting?
| Thanks
| Carlos


.

 

[Dave Patrick]

The system hive contains mostly system configuration information such as
device drivers and services. So I wouldn't write too much into the file size
difference. The other symptoms you describe lead me to believe the software
hive is also corrupt. The install is beyond hope of repair. Backup your data
and start a new install.


--
Regards,

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

:
| Dave,
| Thanks... In fact I had tried this approach prior to my
| original posting, since it was already published.
| I found a winnt\repair\system file. It is about 2500 KB
| in size as of 01/13/2004. My winnt\system32\config\system
| was, as of 08/25/2004, about 5500 KB, about 3000 KB of
| difference (all the work lost?)...
| When I copied the repair\.. file back to config and
| rebooted.. The first thing that happened was that windows
| 2000 resumed an installation process and asked me for the
| win 2000 Key. I stopped it expecting to find another
| solution and I asked some questions that have not been
| answered yet...
| So, yesterday, I went back and re-tried. Copied
| repair\system to config and resumed win2000 install.
| Entred Key, etc... and was able to reboot. I found my
| desktop to be as I had it before the crash... but
| everytiome I click on an application Windows Install
| starts working and I get an error saying that it needs
| CDs for certain Dell applications, such as Aveo Attune.
| If I try to remove the application via control
| panel "Add/Remove Programs" It says that "there is an
| install in progress.. Finish that first...".
| The same occurs with Outlook. It attempts to reinstall
| and asks for the CD.
| Is this going to be like that for all the applications
| that may have something in the 3000KB that I do not have
| in my config.system anymore?
| Also I noticed that MY computer Properties show Win 2000
| SP1, but had previously installed up to SP4 and some SP5
| hot-fixes from Windows Update. And Internet explorer
| shows as if it was IE 5.5, but I had installed IE 6.0.
| Any ideas as to how to handle things from here?
| Thanks
| Carlos

 

[Carlos]

Thanks