I'll try to make this as brief and informative as possible.
My laptop (XP Pro OS) flashed a blue screen last week, crashed, and kept giving me BSOD message "0x00000024" when I tried to reboot. When I booted the system with my ERD 2005 disc, the OS wasn't found and the file system on the drive was "Raw". carp**.
I googled the BSOD error and saw that many users were able to fix the drive using the Recovery Console. I don't have XP Pro installation discs, but I DO have the operating system discs for my XP Media Center desktop. I was able to run the Recovery Console using the XP Media Center disc, run chkdsk /r, and the drive errors were fixed. Yay!
err, not so fast my friend. Turns out that since the system disc I used was for my XP Media Center pc and not the XP Pro laptop, the registry files aren't the same. Now I am stuck with a different BSOD (c00002 - can't locate SOFTWARE registry hive).
I don't have any restore points, so that option is out.
However, I DO have the backup registry files created by Spybot. Is there any way to restore the registry from the backup registry files created by Spybot?
If not, I also have access to another XP Pro machine that is nearly identical to my crashed laptop. Can I restore or repair the registry on the crashed drive using the registry from the working XP Pro machine?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Go into Spybot / Recovery / check the items that you want to restore / then click the "Restore selected" items button.
I also have access to another XP Pro machine that is nearly identical to my crashed laptop. Can I restore or repair the registry on the crashed drive using the registry from the working XP Pro machine?
Hi Lee,
First off - thanks for your help.
I am able to see the files on the drive via ERD, but am unable to get the machine to boot. I tried to import the backup registry files from the spybot / recovery directory, but ERD froze. I've read from a couple of sources something to the effect that the registry editor doesn't allow importing .reg files into the C:\windows directory, so any kind of repair needs to be done with files already in that directory. Does that sound correct?
If so, I may be able to do copy the files into the the c:\windows directory. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope that when I do hook up the drive to another cpmputer via my SATA/USB adapter, I'll be able to see the drive and manipulate the files. If so, I'll give it a try.
Any other ideas?
If I can get my hands on an XP Pro system disc and re-run chkdsk would that add the missing "SOFTWARE" hive?
The first thing to be done before doing anything else is to safeguard / rescue you personal data onto disks or USB drive!
If you cannot access your desktop, you can use Puppy Linux which installs into you PC memory and then using Puppy you can access your personal files and copy or remove them to safety.
sorry to interrupt the help being given but was curious and wanted to ask lee what if any advantages ImagBurn has over CDburnerXP that made him specify using ImagBurn instead of CDburnerXP? or was it nothing technical, just personal preference.
Somehow Lee knew that was my preferred iso burning software. He's just a beard like that.
Lee - thanks for the links and advice. I'll be sure to backup everything before I try any fixes. I'll post any progress or bumps as I can.
Running chkdsk from a MCE disc instead of a XP Pro disc does not make any changes to any files. All it does is correct errors found in the NTFS file system.
As for a windows recovery console:
If you don't have an XP CD, download and run ARCDC by Artellos. It will download the required files from the Microsoft Web site and create a .iso file. It will also offer to burn the iso image to a CD for you. If you don't do it then, there is a good freeware burner called ImgBurn which will do it at a later time. If you're unsure how to do this, you can follow the tutorial here: How to Burn an ISO File. This can be done from any computer.
Boot the CD and at the first opportunity, enter R to start the Recovery Console.
Next, choose which XP installation you want to login to. Normally this will be 1.
Lastly you will be asked for the Administrator password. Just press the Enter key as the Administrator does not have a password (unless you gave it one, then you would enter it).
How to recover from a corrupted registry:
Insert and boot from your Windows XP CD or Recovery Console CD (see above).
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1
Enter in the administrator password when requested (usually just press Enter unless you added a password for Administrator).
Enter cd \windows\system32\config
Depending on which section was corrupted, enter: ren software software.bak copy \windows\repair\software
or ren system system.bak copy \windows\repair\system
Take out the CD ROM and type exit
Press F8 to get to the Windows Advanced Options Menu.
Select Safe Mode
If the system boots to Safe mode then run System Restore to go back to a date and time before the error occurred. You get to System Restore as follows:
Click on Start then Programs (or All Programs). Click on Accessories then System Tools and finally System Restore.
You can try copying all of them. The key to all this is to be able to boot to Safe Mode so you can do a System Restore. If you havew System Restore disabled then this wiull not help you at all.
sorry to interrupt the help being given but was curious and wanted to ask lee what if any advantages ImagBurn has over CDburnerXP that made him specify using ImagBurn instead of CDburnerXP? or was it nothing technical, just personal preference.
I have nothing against CDburnerXP, but ImageBurn seems to be the one most recommended here by techs and apart from that …
Somehow Lee knew that was my preferred iso burning software.
Lee - how do I determine whether or not I have a factory restore ISO on the Lenovo T500 laptop? I have too much to get done at work today so I can't work on the laptop until tomorrow. My plan of action is:
1. Backup all data that I want to keep.
2. Rerun Recovery Console from a UBCD4WIN.iso that I got from a friend on a "like kind" machine.
3. If I can get into Safe Mode, I'll try to open Spybot and restore the registry files backed up there.
4. Last resort is to attempt to recover the corrupted registry from the c:\windows\repair as directed by the microsoft support article.
The T500 was released with a hidden partition containing the factory restore ISO.
To rescue files, a USB drive must be plugged in before booting your laptop.
On boot, press the blue keyboard button when the logo shows or alternatively start tapping the F11 key straight after boot.
At the bottom of the page you should see Advanced options. First click rescue files, choose which files to rescue from a list of My HDD. Choose the appropriate folder. Once that is complete, click on restore my system / restore to factory state and follow the prompts.
Once your system is back up in about 45-60 min, run Thinkvantage System update. When that is complete, you can restore your data saved earlier by just opening two browser windows and drag the folder you saved earlier and dropping it on top of the same folder on your C drive.
