Registry cannot load the Hive (SAM) file error... and Windows fails to boot.
Bubsy
other day. When I started it the next morning, it failed to go into Windows
and rebooted. Chkdisk ran and said that the recycled folder has a non zero
file size. The system then rebooted again. Once again it tried to check the
disk and said it had an invalid time stamp in ms dos sts, the system
rebooted, then same series of events and I got an error saying that
hyberfil.sys had an error... system rebooted.
I got a "STOP 0000218 registry file failure. The registry cannot load the
hive (file)\ systemroot\ system32\config\SAM or its log or alternate. It is
corrupt, absent or not writable"
I have another bootable hard disk clone of the drive from 2008 that I
installed replacing the existing C drive. When I started Windows, it said
that Windows failed to start on the last attempt. I guess something was
written to the bios because that clone drive did start when I tested it
after making it a clone. It ran chkdisk, said all was fine, the rebooted.
Same thing happened again and again. I can understand that the Windows
registry files may be corrupt on the existing C boot drive, but why the
cloned drive from last year wont work is beyond my comprehension.
I can boot the computer with a Windows 98 emergency boot disk, go to a C:
prompt and copy to and from the C drive and a floppy disk. In addition, from
the DOS prompt, I'm able to view all files and directories on the existing C
drive, and they appear to be correct.
The computer booted from the Windows XP CD and I went to the restore console
but cannot run a restore since is cannot access the SAM file.
I have an Award V6.00PG bios.
I do have a recent backup of the C drive on an external disk.
Any ideas as to what might be preventing windows XP from starting? I cannot
go into safe mode either, the computer reboots. But the computer accepts
the Win 98 emergency boot disk and allows me to access my C drive. But... I
cannot delete hiberfil.sys because of its attributes.
thanks,
bubsy
Shenan Stanley
Use the hard disk drive diagnostic utility from the hard disk drive
maufacturer to see if the hard disk drive has failed and/or if there is some
other error (memory, cables, etc.)
Nothing was written to your BIOS. ;-)
--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Rich Barry
they SATA or IDE drives? I would try leaving the old drive
connected and go into the Bios and set your clone drive as first boot
device.
"Bubsy" <colgat...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4b2479e1$0$59779$bb4e...@newscene.com...
Bubsy
I tried that except I disconnected the current boot drive and connected the
cloned one in its place. Windows wouldn't start, I just got reboot after
reboot. I also tried the clone drive as the boot drive on the secondary
controller with the current boot drive disconnected. Same results. The
drives are IDE drives. I'll have to get the latest WD diagnostics and run
them off a floppy or CD-R to see if there is a disk problem, but it seems
strange that I can access the boot drive via my old Windows 98 emergency
boot disk, but Windows XP wont start.
bubsy
"Rich Barry" <rba...@socal.rr.com> wrote in message
news:%23cs$W37eKH...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
Gerry
Is the computer dual booting?
--
Hope this helps.
Gerry
~~~~
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Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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with the winxp.
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>
>
"Bubsy" <colgat...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4b2479e1$0$59779$bb4e...@newscene.com...
Bruce Chambers
How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry that Prevents Windows XP from
Starting
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545
Once you've recovered, you might want to look here, as well:
How to Troubleshoot Registry Corruption Issues
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822705
You should also run diagnostics on your RAM, in case it is defective
and failed to properly write the registry file back to the hard drive
during the seemingly normal shutdown, and the manufacturer's
diagnostics on the hard drive, as it reported errors.
Use MemTest86 (http://www.memtest86.com/) to check the RAM, and obtain
the hard disk diagnostic utility from the manufacturer of your hard drive.
--
Bruce Chambers
Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin
Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell
The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
Bubsy
point where it says
1: C:\Windows
which windows installation would you like to log onto?
I select 1
The Recovery program then hangs. I think the problem is that the SAM file is
corrupt and I don't think the Recovery Console can run with that file
missing.
bubsy
"Bruce Chambers" <bcha...@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message
news:e63m3rBf...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
Bubsy
select #1 C:/Windows.
Previously I got an error message that flashed on the screen saying the SAM
hive was missing or corrupt. I don't think the Repair Console can run if
that file is missing. I have a copy of it on an external drive. It's ashamed
that XP wont just let me copy it (From a floppy?) from that external drive
to the Registry on the problem computer. Incidentally, even though I'm
using XP Home, the files are FAT 32, not NTFS because I upgraded from Win98
SE.
bubsy
"Bruce Chambers" <bcha...@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message
news:e63m3rBf...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
Daave
even enter the equation.
If RC hangs, there may be something wrong with your CD, CD drive, or
RAM.
John John - MVP
> Recovery Console runs completely independently; the SAM file doesn't
> even enter the equation.
Yes it does, Daave. You need authentication to logon to the Recovery
Console, if the SAM hive is corrupt you will not be able to authenticate.
John
Daave
I retract my erroneous statement. And thanks for the correction.
In that case, OP should consider a Repair Install, no? I would normally
recommend the good 'ol manual System Restore, but since that needs the
RC, that ain't gonna work...
John John - MVP
SAM, user names and passwords are unaffected by a repair install.
The SAM needs to be replaced by a backed up copy, there is a copy of the
SAM in the restore points, you could try one of those. You just have to
use a method other than the Recovery Console to do the replacement, you
can use a Bart PE disk or mount the drive in a USB enclosure and do it
with another Windows installation.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316751
John
Daave
Bubsy
possibilites that might work. Which would you suggest trying?
I have a cloned hard disk of that drive from about a year ago. For some
reason, when I tried to get it to boot last week, it got to the "starting
windows" screen then the computer rebooted which led me to believe that I
had a bios or hardware problem because that cloned disk should boot. But
let's set that issue aside for now. Let's assume that that disk is fine and
bootable.
To make it easier, I'm going to refer to the drive that I'm having problems
with as the "SAM" drive since the missing or corrupt SAM seems to be an
issue.
I ran the WD diagnostics on the SAM drive and it passed all the
diagnostics. I'm also able to write to and copy from the SAM drive using the
Win98 emergency boot disk to load DOS and the files I copy are intact and
not corrupt. and..
I have a RECENT backup of the SAM drive to an external USB Drive. That
backup was made using Windows backup and I have separate backups for the C
drive files and the system state. so..
If I put the cloned disk on the primary controller as the master (boot)
disk, and put the SAM drive on the primary controller as the slave and.. if
the computer then boots into Windows using that cloned drive, would I be
able to use Windows backup to restore the system state from the USB drive to
the SAM drive. (In other words, is Windows Backup able to restore to a
location other than the original since in this case I'd want to restore the
system state to the D drive rather than the C drive)?
The risk here is that if something else is wrong (like a boot sector virus
or similar?) the cloned disk might now get corrupt.
As an alternative, I planned to do a reinstall of XP to the SAM drive then
restore my files from the external USB drive, but the installation disk
(which is an upgrade from 98 to XP Home) hung at "searching for a previous
version of Windows". I deleted the saved Win98 files long ago. I think I
still have the Win 98 OEM disk however so if there was someway to point to
XP home disk to the Win 98 disk (I have two CD ROM drives) I guess that
should allow Windows XP to install, and then I should be able to restore the
recent backup of the SAM drive from the external USB drive with Windows
backup.
One more thing... Each time I try to boot, checkdisk runs and finds more and
more cross linked files. It sounds like something is messing with the
existing file structure and messing them up. Is it OK to run a previous
version of Scandisk (the one that is on the Win98 emergency boot disk) to
check the SAM drive and repair it?
Two things I regret
1. Not spending the extra $100 to upgrade to XP Professional instead of XP
Home which an IT tech friend of mine tells me is much better than Home. and
2. Not converting from FAT32 to NTFS when I did the Win98 to XP Home
upgrade.
as a side note, I removed and reinserted the memory DIMS or whatever they
were called years ago. Memory and BIOS seem to be behaving normally.
thanks,
bubsy
"John John - MVP" <aude...@nbnot.nb.ca> wrote in message
news:ORR0wLIf...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
Jose
What is the exact message you get?
Missing or corrupt messages at start up do not necessarily mean the
file is really missing or corrupt.
Usually, missing or corrupt messages at boot time really just means
that Windows cannot locate the file because something else is wrong.
The something else is usually quite simple to resolve.
Just like a message that hal.dll is missing or corrupt does not mean
hal.dll is really missing, but unfortunately when folks see that
message they start wasting a lot of time trying to replace the hal.dll
when that is not the problem at all.
Why don't you just boot the XP Recovery Console (make a bootable CD if
you don't have one), run chkdsk /r (works with FAT32 or NTFS),
determine if the SAM file is really missing or not, if it is missing
or even suspicious then just replace it and all of your registry files
(replace the 5 files as a group) with the probably tens of others
already on your HDD, reboot, fix remaining problems.
Jose
> Well, I'll be dipped in shiitake mushrooms!
>
> I retract my erroneous statement. And thanks for the correction.
>
> In that case, OP should consider a Repair Install, no? I would normally
> recommend the good 'ol manual System Restore, but since that needs the
> RC, that ain't gonna work...
>
> John John - MVP wrote:
Just what is a manual system restore?
Are you of the belief that the end result of executing KB307545 and
System Restore from the GUI will be the same?
John John - MVP
copy the file over with the regular DOS commands. If you can copy the
file from the external drive to a floppy from another Windows
installation then you will be able to copy it from the floppy to the
System32\Config folder while booted to DOS, just rename or delete the
existing one before you replace it with the backup copy.
John
Rich Barry
saved my butt more than a few times.
First, go to Windows Explorer>Tools>Folder Options>View. Check " Show hidden
files and folders". Uncheck " Hide protected
Operating System files". Then go to X:\System Volume
Information\restore\RPfolder\Snapshot Folder. X=Your drive RPFolder will be
numbered ie: RP1. Copy the first five files after
the Repository Folder. Then go to X:\Windows\System32\Config Folder. When
Config folder is open create a new folder. Then
move SYSTEM, SOFTWARE, SAM, DEFAULT and SECURITY files that already exist
there to new folder. Now paste the five files you copied from
Snapshot Folder. Rename each file by removing REGISTRY_MACHINE_ from each
file. You should now have a recent working
Registry. Recent being keyword. If you used the five files in the Repair
Folder it will put you back to the registrys original state when first
installed.
Note: Usually you will see a few if not many RP folders. Choose the Fifth
most recent. So if your most recent RP Folder is
numbered RP20 then choose RP15 to select the registry files.
Ok, to sum up all you are doing is first making the System Volume
Information folder visible. ( Unhidden ). Next navigate to the Snapshot
folder and copy the five files ( REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM, SAM, SOFTWARE,
DEFAULT and SECURITY. Then navigate to the Config Folder and while there
create a new folder and move the SYSTEM, SAM, SOFTWARE, DEFAULT and
SECURITY files that
already exist there
to new folder. Then paste the copied files into the Config Folder. Remove
the REGISTRY_MACHINE_ from each file. You now have a recent working
registry.
"Bubsy" <colgat...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4b2479e1$0$59779$bb4e...@newscene.com...
Bubsy
Over the holidays, I'll have access to another computer and I'll try this. I
might be able to do it sooner by using the Win98 emergency boot disk and DOS
commands but it'll be really complicated.
bubsy
"Rich Barry" <rba...@socal.rr.com> wrote in message
news:uym3tzTf...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
Bubsy
computer, it ran checkdisk, found tons of crosslinked files, and got stuck.
I shut it down and rebooted. This time it went into scandisk, got to one
crosslinked file, and rebooted. Maybe the files on that disk are so messed
up that it cant complete checkdisk . If I try to boot to Safe Mode, the
computer reboots. But when I try to boot from the cloned disk, it reboots
when it tries to go into windows too. For some reason, my motherboard/bios
isn't allowing me to launch Windows XP. Might a boot sector virus cause
this? or maybe the motherboard itself has been damaged?
bubsy
"Rich Barry" <rba...@socal.rr.com> wrote in message
news:uym3tzTf...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
Bubsy
running Windows 98. I was able to copy several important files over using a
jump USB drive. Under Win 98, my C drive that has Windows XP home that won't
boot into Windows seemed fine.
Thinking it might be a problematic cable, I removed the primary controller
cable from the drive, removed the secondary controller cable from the DVD
and CD Rom drives, and used that cable to connect the primary controller to
my C drive. I still wasn't able to boot to windows. It got to the Windows XP
screen but then rebooted.
I booted the computer from the XP CD and started the recovery console which,
for some reason, ran. From the recovery console, I ran chkdsk /p and
chkdsk/r which resulted in no errors. I also ran fixboot and fixmbr. The
computer STILL wont boot to windows XP. I get to the starting windows screen
then the system reboots.
When I had the secondary controller cable disconnected (the one to the CDRW
and DVDRW drives) the computer tried to boot to Windows 98 and couldn't find
the files it needed. Windows XP home was installed as an Upgrade to 98 SE.
When I went to the install windows command on the XP CD it gave me a license
to accept, so it looks like it will allow me to install XP-Home upgrade
(assuming it finds some Win98 file somewhere that it can verify as an
upgrade from 98 to XP).
But, before I attempt that drastic step, is there some other command that I
can try with the recovery console?
thanks,
bubsy
"Rich Barry" <rba...@socal.rr.com> wrote in message
news:uym3tzTf...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
Rich Barry
site for more info.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
"Bubsy" <colgat...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4b2479e1$0$59779$bb4e...@newscene.com...
Jose
Reboot means different things to different people, so please describe
what reboot means to you and what you see on the screen.
When the system was working properly was it set to login
automatically?
Have you seen this article that highlights your exact issue?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822705
Let's say your registry is somehow FUBAR. It is not hard to replace
the 5 "important" registry files involved in the startup process with
some older ones long enough to allow you to at least boot and then
decide what to do next.
I am not paying attention to all this try, try, try stuff. You can
try all day, you need to fix.
There is not moving hardware around to other systems. If your system
gets far enough to get that error, then XP is at least trying to load,
but can't read the file.
If the registry files are screwed up, replace them.
I would put all your original hardware back like it was to see the
error, boot the Windows Recovery Console from your genuine XP
installation CD or if you don't have one, make a bootable Recovery
Console CD (easy), then proceed to fix it.
Run chkdsk, etc. all from the RC.
There is really no such thing as a manual system restore. You can
implement a portion of what an actual System Restore does with
KB307545 to get you going again and then do a real System Restore.
You can implement KB307545 from the Recovery Console:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/
For those that think KB307545 is equal to some kind of "manual system
restore" perform this convincing test:
Create a Restore Point, uninstall something simple like Games. Reboot
and Games are gone. Perform a System Restore, reboot and the all the
games are back and work fine.
Uninstall Games again, reboot and implement KB307545, reboot and see
how your games work now (they don't).
KB307545 is not the same as a System Restore and it is not a manual
system restore. It is to allow you to get your system running long
enough to do a proper System Restore (if it is still needed). See the
often overlooked Step 4.
Bubsy
After running Bitdefenders recovery CD's memory test, I learned that one of
my two memory DIMMs was NG. (each is 256). When I removed it, I was able to
boot the clone disk. But that disk is from 2008 and some very important
changes were made to my system between then and now, the most important of
which was a different antivirus program.
Here is where I'm at now with the Original Disk. The Windows Repair console
did allow me to begin a Repair Install of windows. It checked the files,
copied the new ones, then rebooted checked the installation, then said the
Repair Installa was completed and needed to reboot a final time. At that
point, when it triedto go into the Windows GUI, I got
Stop C000021a Fatal System Error. The Windows Logon Process System Process
Terminated Unexpectedly with a status of 0X0000135 (0X00000000 0X00000000)
The system has been shut down.
Any ideas as to a next step?
bubsy
"Rich Barry" <rba...@socal.rr.com> wrote in message
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