How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from
starting
Article ID:307545
Last Review:June 17, 2004
Revision:7.0
This article was previously published under Q307545
On this Page
SUMMARY
MORE INFORMATION
REFERENCES
SUMMARY
This article describes how to recover a Windows XP system that does not
start because of corruption in the registry. This procedure does not
guarantee full recovery of the system to a previous state; however, you
should be able to recover data when you use this procedure.
Warning Do not use the procedure that is described in this article if your
computer has an OEM-installed operating system. The system hive on OEM
installations creates passwords and user accounts that did not exist
previously. If you use the procedure that is described in this article,
you may not be able to log back into the recovery console to restore the
original registry hives.
You can repair a corrupted registry in Windows XP. Corrupted registry
files can cause a variety of different error messages. See the Microsoft
Knowledge Base for articles about error messages that are related to
registry issues.
This article assumes that typical recovery methods have failed and access
to the system is not available except by using Recovery Console. If an
Automatic System Recovery (ASR) backup exists, it is the preferred method
for recovery. Microsoft recommends that you use the ASR backup before you
try the procedure described in this article.
Note Make sure to replace all five of the registry hives. If you only
replace a single hive or two, this can cause potential issues because
software and hardware may have settings in multiple locations in the
registry.
If you experience a repetitive occurrence of registry corruption related
issues, Microsoft recommends that you obtain and install the hotfix in the
following article:
318159 Damaged Registry repair and recovery in Windows XP
This update is also included in Windows XP Service Pack 1.
MORE INFORMATION
When you try to start or restart your Windows XP-based computer, you may
receive one of the following error messages:
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or
corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or
corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive
(file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate
The procedure that this article describes uses Recovery Console and System
Restore. This article also lists all the required steps in specific order
to make sure that the process is fully completed. When you finish this
procedure, the system returns to a state very close to the state before
the problem occurred. If you have ever run NTBackup and completed a system
state backup, you do not have to follow the procedures in parts two and
three. You can go to part four.
Part one
In part one, you start the Recovery Console, create a temporary folder,
back up the existing registry files to a new location, delete the registry
files at their existing location, and then copy the registry files from
the repair folder to the System32\Config folder. When you have finished
this procedure, a registry is created that you can use to start Windows
XP. This registry was created and saved during the initial setup of
Windows XP. Therefore any changes and settings that occurred after the
Setup program was finished are lost.
To complete part one, follow these steps: 1.Insert the Windows XP
startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP
CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.
Click to select any options that are required to start the computer
from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
2.When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the
Recovery Console.
3.If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the
installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console.
4.When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password.
If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
5.At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following lines,
pressing ENTER after you type each line:
md tmp
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak
delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
delete c:\windows\system32\config\default
copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default
6.Type exit to quit Recovery Console. Your computer will restart.
Note This procedure assumes that Windows XP is installed to the C:\Windows
folder. Make sure to change C:\Windows to the appropriate windows_folder
if it is a different location.
If you have access to another computer, to save time, you can copy the
text in step two, and then create a text file called "Regcopy1.txt" (for
example). To create this file, run the following command when you start in
Recovery Console:
batch regcopy1.txt
With the batch command in Recovery Console, you can process all the
commands in a text file sequentially. When you use the batch command, you
do not have to manually type as many commands.
Part two
To complete the procedure described in this section, you must be logged on
as an administrator, or an administrative user (a user who has an account
in the Administrators group). If you are using Windows XP Home Edition,
you can log on as an administrative user. If you log on as an
administrator, you must first start Windows XP Home Edition in Safe mode.
To start the Windows XP Home Edition computer in Safe mode, follow these
steps.
Note Print these instructions before you continue. You cannot view these
instructions after you restart the computer in Safe Mode. If you use the
NTFS file system, also print the instructions from Knowledge Base article
KB309531. Step 7 contains a reference to the article.1.Click Start,
click Shut Down (or click Turn Off Computer), click Restart, and
then click OK (or click Restart).
2.Press the F8 key.
On a computer that is configured to start to multiple operating
systems, you can press F8 when you see the Startup menu.
3.Use the arrow keys to select the appropriate Safe mode option, and
then press ENTER.
4.If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, use the arrow
keys to select the installation that you want to access, and then
press ENTER.
In part two, you copy the registry files from their backed up location by
using System Restore. This folder is not available in Recovery Console and
is generally not visible during typical usage. Before you start this
procedure, you must change several settings to make the folder visible:
1.Start Windows Explorer.
2.On the Tools menu, click Folder options.
3.Click the View tab.
4.Under Hidden files and folders, click to select Show hidden files
and folders, and then click to clear the Hide protected operating
system files (Recommended) check box.
5.Click Yes when the dialog box that confirms that you want to
display these files appears.
6.Double-click the drive where you installed Windows XP to display a
list of the folders. If is important to click the correct drive.
7.Open the System Volume Information folder. This folder is
unavailable and appears dimmed because it is set as a super-hidden
folder.
Note This folder contains one or more _restore {GUID} folders such
as "_restore{87BD3667-3246-476B-923F-F86E30B3E7F8}".
Note You may receive the following error message:
C:\System Volume Information is not accessible. Access is denied.
If you receive this message, see the following Microsoft Knowledge
Base article to gain access to this folder and continue with the
procedure:
309531 How to gain access to the System Volume Information folder
8.Open a folder that was not created at the current time. You may
have to click Details on the View menu to see when these folders
were created. There may be one or more folders starting with "RPx
under this folder. These are restore points.
9.Open one of these folders to locate a Snapshot subfolder. The
following path is an example of a folder path to the Snapshot
folder:
C:\System Volume
Information\_restore{D86480E3-73EF-47BC-A0EB-A81BE6EE3ED8}\RP1\Snapshot
10.From the Snapshot folder, copy the following files to the
C:\Windows\Tmp folder: ?_REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT
?_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY
?_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
?_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM
?_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM
11.Rename the files in the C:\Windows\Tmp folder as follows:
?Rename _REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT to DEFAULT
?Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY to SECURITY
?Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE to SOFTWARE
?Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM to SYSTEM
?Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM to SAM
These files are the backed up registry files from System Restore. Because
you used the registry file that the Setup program created, this registry
does not know that these restore points exist and are available. A new
folder is created with a new GUID under System Volume Information and a
restore point is created that includes a copy of the registry files that
were copied during part one. Therefore, it is important not to use the
most current folder, especially if the time stamp on the folder is the
same as the current time.
The current system configuration is not aware of the previous restore
points. You must have a previous copy of the registry from a previous
restore point to make the previous restore points available again.
The registry files that were copied to the Tmp folder in the C:\Windows
folder are moved to make sure that the files are available under Recovery
Console. You must use these files to replace the registry files currently
in the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder. By default, Recovery Console has
limited folder access and cannot copy files from the System Volume folder.
Note The procedure described in this section assumes that you are running
your computer with the FAT32 file system.
For additional information about how to access the System Volume
Information Folder with the NTFS file system, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
309531 How to gain access to the System Volume Information folder
Part Three
In part three, you delete the existing registry files, and then copy the
System Restore Registry files to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder:
1.Start Recovery Console (or by using a Windows 98 Boot Disk).
2.At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER
after you type each line:
del c:\windows\system32\config\sam
del c:\windows\system32\config\security
del c:\windows\system32\config\software
del c:\windows\system32\config\default
del c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\tmp\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\tmp\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\tmp\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\tmp\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy c:\windows\tmp\default c:\windows\system32\config\default
Note Some of these command lines may be wrapped for readability.
3.Type exit to quit Recovery Console. Your computer restarts.
Note This procedure assumes that Windows XP is installed to the C:\Windows
folder. Make sure to change C:\Windows to the appropriate windows_folder
if it is a different location.
If you have access to another computer, to save time, you can copy the
text in step two, and then create a text file called "Regcopy1.txt" (for
example).
Part Four
1.Click Start, and then click All Programs.
2.Click Accessories, and then click System Tools.
3.Click System Restore, and then click Restore to a previous
RestorePoint.
REFERENCES
For additional information about using Recovery Console, click the
following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
307654 How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
216417 How to install the Windows XP Recovery Console
240831 How to copy files from Recovery Console to removable media
314058 Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
For additional information about System Restore, click the following
article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
306084 How to restore the operating system to a previous state in Windows
XP
261716 System Restore removes files during a Restore procedure
APPLIES TO
?Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
?Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition
?Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
?Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition