Corrupted Hive , how to fix???

[boyd4444]

I have a machine that re-boots continuously with the error message:

Registry File Failure
The registry cannot load the hive file: \Systemroot\system32\config\software or its log or alternate.
It is corrupt, absent, or not writable

We do not have Windows 2000 install CDs. We only have image cds which include the Windows 2000 operating system. These are a pain as they are outdated and it takes a long time to bring the machine back on line, not to mention the loss of user data.

I have software (Winternals) that allows me to access the NTFS file system as if it was DOS. As such, I have access to the file in question (Software). Is there any way to repair this file? Thanks

 

[hayes47]

It is possible that the software hive is fragmented. Do you have a utility with winternals that will defrag the software hive in the registry? I used to use an nt defrag utility that I believe was made by winternals that would take care of this but I am not sure for W2K. On occasions where this has happened to me I had no other recourse but to re-image.

 

[mapleleaf]

boyd4444,

If an ERD was recently created on this machine, you may be able to copy Software from \WinNT\Repair.

You may also want to consider buying one real WIN2K CD.

Then install a second copy to another directory. You should be able to copy off the "users" data. You may also be able to Open the bad Software Hive using Regedt32 and recover some of the keys.

Ian

 

[boyd4444]

Thanks, hayes47 and mapleleaf. It looks like a re-image is what I'll have to do as I don't have any ERD and my company does not allow purchase of windows CDs. Its all controlled at corporate.

 

[mapleleaf]

boyd4444,

Yes, I used to work in the Corporate Tech support department of a company like that.

I was always willing to lend a CD, especially since the "user" will loose "ALL" of their data and will be "unproductive" while re-entering their custom settings

Ian

 

[CFSguy]

I have an ongoing problem with the system hive increasing in size on my Windows 2000 Pro system. I am running with Service Pack 4, plus all the recent critical updates. I have been researching the problem for a couple of weeks, and find it to be a common problem with no permanent fix. Whenever my SYSTEM file exceeds 5MB, I can count on having to rebuild the system hive the next time I boot the system. I have a dual-boot system, so I boot to the other partition and run a batch file that I created to do the appropriate renames and copies identified in Microsoft article 269075. Has anyone come across a permanent fix for this? I have yet to figure out why the system hive continues to grow, as I have not added any additional hardware.

 

[SQLWilts]

I know that you can set the system hive to a limit, but I'm blowed if I can remember where - try scouting for "limit registry size" and set the limit to less that 5MB

hth