Blue Screen of Death BSOD Recovery Help

I'm running XP on a P4 Gateway Desktop and yesterday morning, I got the BSOD. I now get "Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate" when trying to boot normally. In safe mode, wouldn't restore to 'Last known config that worked'. I am ready to try MS 307545 procedure but before I destroy the ability to return to functionality I thought I would ask experts. I've been searching forums and I can't find answers to any of these questions.

My opsys was installed by OEM (Gateway) and the MS above warns not to use the procedure for this situation. What am I going to screw up? I have no functionality as it is.

I have all the original disks (drivers, bundled software) from my Gateway but there is no XP disk among them. I do have an XP disk from my lap top (HP) that I used to start Restore Console to "have a look around." Is there anything that OEM opsys packages have hidden that will create a problem when I use the HP version of XP to attempt to repair my Gateway computer?

On my computer, the "magic 5 files" -- SYSTEM, SAM, SOFTWARE, SECURITY, DEFAULT are all stored under C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG instead of C:\WINDOWS which appears to be non-existant. Aside from changing the folder names for "get from and store to" for the files in a temp folder to return in the event of a meltdown, is there anything significant about this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Your files being in the WINNT folder usually means the copy of XP was installed over a windows 2000 instalation.

If the copy of XP for you laptop is the same version as the one for your desktop (Home, Professional, etc.) you can use that. If it is not the same version, find one that is. Once you find the right disk go into the recovery console and then type the following commands exactly as they are shown.

md tmp
copy C:\winnt\system32\config\system C:\winnt\tmp\system.bak
delete C:\winnnt\system32\config\system
copy C:\winnt\repair\system C:\winnt\system32\config\system

 

ok.... i did exactly that. the first two steps worked fine. on the third step, i got "The system cannot find the file or directory specified." I checked to make sure that there was no typo and tried again. Same thing. Then I removed the "[/QUOTE]" and tried again. it copied the file. i'm not sure what difference that makes.

then i exited the restore console and tried to boot normally. got the c:0000218 error message on the BSOD again. then i rebooted and tried safe 'restore to last known config that worked' -- same thing. then i tried rebooting to just 'safe mode' -- same thing.

what am i not getting right?

 

Ok then. Go back into the recovery console and type in these commands.

md tmp
copy C:\winnt\system32\config\software C:\winnt\tmp\software.bak
delete C:\winnt\system32\config\software
copy C:\winnt\repair\software C:\winnt\system32\config\software

 

I tried to to the next step but the file wouldn't go. The computer acted as though it was going and then it gave the error "The file could not be copied." I checked the tmp folder and there was an additional parital file in it named $$TEMP$$.~~~ . I erased that file and tried again. Same thing. I attempted to attached a screen snapshot but I dont' have a way of compressing it on this computer to your standards. The file size of the "temp$$" file was about 22 megs (v. the original software file that was ab out 30 megs) What now?

 

You need to attack the problem from another operating system.

Option 1
Do you have any way of removing the hard drive and connecting it as a slave to a working computer?

Option 2
Install a second copy of XP onto your hard drive, without wiping the original and effect the repair from there. To do this just run XP setup, but say no to format and choose to create another folder eg 'twindows' to install to.

Option 3
Obtain a copy of a linux or other OS based repair disk. These can cost only the materials and download to $25/30 to $hundreds.

 

Option 1 - I actually have an old IBM Aptiva desktop running Windows 98 that I could pull out of the closet to use to make this main drive a slave. I assume that you placed these three options in order of preference.

I also think that I have a smaller drive that was the master drive on this computer that I migrated my data to when I decided I needed a larger drive. I'd have to find it and make sure that it is the one that I think it is and use it to fire up the computer and then move this drive to slave position.

 

Ok, try one more thing before we take your harddrive out and what not. Run both steps I showed you one after the other. I'm thinking when you tried a restore it screwed somethings up. Here are the steps again.

md tmp
copy C:\winnt\system32\config\system C:\winnt\tmp\system.bak
delete C:\winnnt\system32\config\system
copy C:\winnt\repair\system C:\winnt\system32\config\system
copy C:\winnt\system32\config\software C:\winnt\tmp\software.bak
delete C:\winnt\system32\config\software
copy C:\winnt\repair\software C:\winnt\system32\config\software

 

Unfortunately your Windows 98 will be FAT formatted and your XP is probably NTFS.
So unless you know that the XP drive is FAT, Windows 98 is no good to you.

 

ok. here's where i am.

i went back and started over with 'system'. it said 'file exist' and i copied (which i didn't know at the time) but it's done. then i went to software. the file went but it appears that the backup file is the "repair" file. anyway, of the five files, i only have 'security' and 'default' as actual backups of the original files. 'system', 'software' and 'sam' all appear to be copies of the 'repair' files.

am i completely screwed?

 

I apologize for the other things that did not work. Your not hopeless, just need to try a different method. This is long, but detailed. Taken from http://pcworld.about.com/magazine/2109p156id111652.htm

Find a Windows XP CD with the same version as your desktop. Boot your computer with your Windows CD-ROM inserted. When you get the 'Press any key to boot from CD' message, do so. (If you don't see that message before Windows starts, restart Windows, press the key you're prompted to enter for your PC Setup program, and change the boot order so your CD drive is first.)

At the 'Welcome to Setup' screen, press Enter. The R (repair) option takes you to the Recovery Module, which is useful if Windows won't boot, but it's no help with a reinstallation. Soon you'll be told that there's already a Windows installation on the computer. Press r for a repair reinstall or Esc to begin a complete, destructive one. For a complete restore, select your C: partition and press Enter. When you get the warning that says an operating system is on that partition, press c. When you are asked your partition preference, select Leave the current file system intact (no changes). When you're told that a Windows folder (or Winnt folder for Windows 2000) already exists, press l ('ell') to delete it and create a new one. Follow the series of prompts. When the installation program asks for your name, enter temp.

Once the installation is complete, your system will reboot into Windows, and you'll be logged on as user Temp. If the screen is difficult to read, reinstall your graphics card driver.

Reopen Windows Explorer. Select your C: drive (you may have to click Show the contents of this folder). Right-click in the right pane and select New, Folder. Name the new folder oldstuff. In the left pane, choose the Documents and Settings folder. It should have subfolders for each user from the previous install, plus one for Temp and a few others. Move the folders for your previous user names to oldstuff.

Select Start, Control Panel, User Accounts. Create an account for each user who was registered before the reinstall. Be sure to use the exact names. They are the same names as the folders you just moved to oldstuff. In Windows XP, at least one user must have administrator privileges.

Log off and back on as each user, before logging back on as Temp. Make sure that you select Log Off and not Switch User at Windows XP's Log Off dialog box.

Log on as Temp, select Start, Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt (in XP, Start, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt), type xcopy c:\oldstuff\*.* "c:\documents and settings" /s /h /r /c, and press Enter. Press a when asked if you want to overwrite a file. Log off Temp and log on to each restored account to make sure everyone's documents and data are where they belong. Log on as an administrator and run Control Panel's User Accounts applet again to remove the user Temp.

 

before i start on this new path, i rebooted the computer and xp came up -- well, sort of -- i now have a blue desktop (robins egg, not BSOD) and about 1/3 or so of the icons that used to populate it. during start up there is an error about "direct cd not being able to find a device' but i expect that will eventually just be a driver reinstall. when i click on 'start' and then 'my computer', windows installer comes up saying 'preparing to install' followed by an eventual display of the 'my computer' screen one would expect. (that happens whenever i try to select anything, even going back to 'my computer'.) the first time that i selected "C:" it gave me the "this contain hidden files" warning associated with the windows folder. i now at least can move around a bit in windows.

what do i do from here?

 

.....did i mention that i can't find a single document or photo that used to exist on the computer? ...and there are programs missing.

like i said..... what do i do from here?

 

Reinstall windows like I said above. It will restore the core of the system. You will have to reinstall the programs you used but most of the settings should still be the same. All of your files should still exist after the reinstallation.

 

i am very frustrated.

apparently i screwed up in trying to install windows 'over' the old installation in the \winnt directory and now i have two installations of windows: \winnt (the original) and \windows. the computer now asked me which configuration i want to boot under. the original \winnt gets me back to what i had: 1/3 of the icons i originally had on the desktop and no access to any files that i have created and the new installation gets me less. i thought that i could start the procedure over but when i get to the screen: (1) to set up (2) to create a partition in the unpartioned... (3) delete the selected, it won't let me create a partition following the original procedure.

how can i get the 'new' installation of windows gone and get back on track?

 

Did you follow that step?

 

I went back and performed the entire procedure again working off a check list, step by step, writing down my response each time so as not to miss a thing. I am certain that I performed it correctly. (I have the added step of having to select the operating system to work with \winnt or \windows, since both of these now exist). I performed all workon the \winnt (the original). Where the procedure and the results differ is where I am now. One of the last steps is to "Personalize Your Software" to which I entered "Name: Temp" and "Organization: ". Next step, I entered the disk key. Computer responds: "Computer Name Is: TEMP-2S2U blah blah ............" I selected Eastern time and then the computer eventually finishes the installation and reboots to which again, I have to select the operating system under which to boot. The computer reboots to the original two users where were set up on the original system. This is where I have stopped. The procedure say the computer will boot with "TEMP" as the user.

What now? You'd think that MS with all its billions could come up with an operating system that would create fewer problems than a bucket full of viruses.

 

you really cant undo the second installation of xp..i would have took out the cd upon rebooting so you could do a non-destructive way of repairing or without actually making a second copy of xp over the original one..

 

Incidently, I found the original drive from the computer. It was a 40 gig drive which was replaced with current 120 gig drive that I am working on to fix this problem. Can this be used to work on the other drive?

 

... what if I install the 'damaged 120 gig' drive as a slave to the 'old 40 gig' drive and copy the five hive files into the 120 drive? will this get me to some level of functionality with the 120 drive as the master again? assuming that this is the case, what can i do to remove the 'extra' xp opsys?

 

That would work. But first let me know if there is a /windows folder and a /winnt folder.

As for your frustrations I understand, I've been going through things trying to figure out what could have gone wrong and so far I've come up with nothing. As many times as I have done a reinstall, it has never installed a second configuration of windows. We will get this all worked out asap.

 

....i thought you'd given up on me..... yes, i have two directories: \winnt and \windows. see the attached photo

 

This is where I am today. I jumpered the 120 ('damaged drive') as a slave and booted using the 40 (old undamaged drive) as the master. Attempted to copy the hive files from the 40 to the 120. Windows doesn't allow that as the 'file is being used by another program'. I rebooted using the Windows CD into the Repair Console. Made a temporary directory in \winnt\system32\config and then copied by DOS commands into the temporary directory, the five hive files: Default, System, SAM, Software and Security. Then I exited the Repair Console.

I rebooted using the 40 and then used windows (because it's less prone to typing errors and confusion) to copy from the temporary directory the five hive files to the 120 drives \winnt\system32\config directory. Then I shut down the computer, re-jumpered the 120 drive to be the master, attached the ribbon cable for the master position and rebooted.

The computer booted up from the \windows directory, never giving me an opportunity to use the \winnt directory that i had done 'the work' to and of course, it is now logged in as 'temp'. It seems that each of the other times when I would boot before it would start to load windows, it would let me select which opsys directory I wanted to boot from.

In this \windows configuration, there are no icons on the rolling hills of XP desktop except the recycle bin and I have no access to any of the files that I have created in the past. Under the documents and setting there are only shared documents and temp's documents and under that, there are only sample pictures and sample music.

As a slave drive, I can see my stuff is there on the 120 -- thanks gawd.

 

Actually, I am mistaken...I thought I would offload or backup my documents from the 120 but under \Documents and Settings\Owner, there is no \My Documents. "Properties" for the drive show it is nearly full, however......

 

Do you have two documents and settings folders on the 120gig drive or just one?

 

just one.

 

any suggestions?

 

Out of suggestions? The silence is deafening.

 

I apologize, I have been on vacation. Set up your computer settings to show hidden files and folders. Then go through the old users with the documents and settings folders and see if you can find the files.

 

I turned on all hidden and system files under 'folder options'. By using "My Computer" I wasn't able to find any of my data files. There are four users (two left over from the original configuration and two following trying to reinstall windows) and none of them contain anything but what is typically part of the "new Windows" set up, i.e., My Pictures (with several sample pictures), My Music, etc; none of the original data.

The BSOD event was around 7 am on 7/9/08 so I used the "Search" to find any documents that I might have created on any day prior to that date. On 7/7/08, 'Search' returned several hundred files, many of which were cookies and such but there were 'shortcuts' in 'E:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Recent'.

By <clicking> on one of the shortcuts, it opened the program associated with the shortcut and brought the document that I had worked on that day up on the screen. So, where was it? I went to 'Save as' to find out: 'E:\found.000\dir0000.chk\(Original Directory Name)'. I tried this for several documents and that's where they are hidden.

I am relieved that at least I found them but I still can't "get to them". Going up a level, there are four folders: \dir0000.chk thru \dir0003.chk. \dir0000.chk appears to contain all the "document" files from the original 'Owner' config. I can't see everything as I am in a "save as" mode and of course, only file types for that application appear but at least various folders are there; there is no 'All Files' selection in the bottom of the selection window.

So, the $64,000 questions is how do I at least get to these files so I can off load them or restore the original configuration? I'm going to search some other forums for clues.

When I try going in "the front door" using 'My Computer', the file0000 or any others is not there.
:confused

 

So I found in another forum the lament of others trying to GET RID of a non-existent found.XXX file. They couldn't find it either. Apparently, the result of a chkdsk run produces these files (among other things). In the case of chkdsk, these file frequently contain lost chains of binary data that are usually useless and are simply deleted, but Micro-swift, in its ultimate stupidity make these files not only hidden but what is termed superhidden -- something akin to the secret location of the 5th dimension.

The only way I was able to find them was by using DOS either through the Repair Console or from the command line and then, only by telling it to change to C:\found.000. Running a dir showed no folder with that name. Then only way of copying data from a file that doesn't exist in Windoze and hardly exists in DOS is through the whole series of cryptic DOS commands. I went back to Windoze and with the "Hidden and System Files Unhidden" from Folder Option, there was nothing.

Micro-swift's knowledge base is base-ically useless when you want a simple answer to a simple question but on the PCTipsbox.com there was an entry that told how to make these superhidden files visible - actually EVERYTHING so be very careful. Change the registry key from 'zero' to 'one' ---> [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
“SuperHidden” = 1 Then reboot. VOILA, SAINTS BE PRAISED, THAR' SHE BLOWS! Using Windows, I was able to spend a large portion of my weekend copying files from subfolders of c:\found.000 to another, larger drive as a slave.

Alas, not everything was there. While file directories, and file names may exist, they may be hollow requiring a laborious 'check and move' as Windoze would error out "Access Denied" when it came to a 'hollow' entry to copy.

Since I don't believe that the drive is salvageable, I will ultimately need to reformat it and reload it once I have assured myself that there is nothing else to be salvaged (kind of like Robinson Crusoe who kept swimming out to the wreck). Is there a chance that there is another way to recover data that might exist or are the 'access denied' messages I am getting telling me that the computer can't find the stuff either?:cry