Stop: C0000218. Registry File Failure:

[Steelo]

the registry cannot load the hive
%systemroot%\system32\config\software
or its log or alternate is absent corrupt or is not writeable.

Well, thats the BSOD i get - question - without a backup of the software, software.log and software.alt files, can i perform some sort of repair, without having to perform a reinstall?... I have had this problem twice now, on windows 2000 proffesional and advanced server. Any idea's whats it all about?

Cheers for any help!

Thanks

Steelo

I have :

Abit KT7 Raid Mobo
AMD T'bird Athlon 1Ghz
256mb pc133 SDRAM
1 x ata100 40GB Maxtor hdd
2 x Seagate 9gb Cheetah 10k rpm SCSI HDD
1 x 3dfx Voodoo 3500 VGA Adaptor
1 x Yamaha 8x8x24 CDRW (SCSI)
erm... and thats about it!

 

[Steelo]

to the top....

...cuz its happened again!.. fresh install win2k sp1, this time registry hive 'system' is not readable, corrupt etc...

any idea why this is happening?

 

[superbaby]

Hmm and it's a fresh install everytime? You might want to low-level format the drive and see what happens. Also an IRQ conflict with your HDD controllers can cause data to be corrupted. I had that problem once as well but that was after I installed Live! 5.1 Platinum Win2k drivers (worst drivers even written).

 

[Steelo]

as you mentioned installing drivers, this time round, the bsod happened after i had been installing 3dfx voodoo 3500 drivers for my video - these are still in beta... may be related, but last time, i dont recall if the bsod happened after the 3dfx driver install.... maybe its not related but you never know..... im about to perform a fresh re-install...!!!

 

[superbaby]

I think you have IRQ conflicts.

Try shuffling your cards around, make sure the PCI slot next to the AGP slot is empty.

What kind of PCI cards do you have in your system?

 

[Steelo]

hi superbaby, i did have an irq conflict originally, however, i disabled the conflicting NIC in device manager, but still its happening... i here elsewhere in another forum that this is an issue relating to ACPI, and large cache hard drives. Apparently, when the os attempts to power down the machine, the write cache on the hard drive does not get a chance to commit its changes. MS know about it and have a fix for 9x and ME, but reckon that it doesnt happen on Win2k. Spoke to maxtor today and they confirmed the issue, but they're blaming MS. Personally i think it should be a function of the hard drive drivers to prevent the os from shutting down until all changes have been commited... if you want to read more check here...
http://www.apushardware.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=263

I will keep posted how this goes...

Cheers

Steelo

 

[outlamd]

I have had that happen twice also running Win2K Pro. Happened twice in the first three weeks I had my machine. After the last time I installed all the latest drivers (no betas) and I've been fine now for about a month (knock on wood) I'd be interested in finding out what caused this also.

 

[superbaby]

Although your device manager might not say you have an IRQ conflict, it could still be there. The definition "conflict" has many faces. Some Windows can detect, others it doesn't. My SCSI card and my GF2MX did NOT like each other but they showed up fine. But after moving the SCSI card a slot away, the hard drive stopped crashing and my data stopped corrupting.

A general rule of thumb is to keep the slot next to AGP free, and a slot free around a SCSI and a SB Live! card. Usually NIC's aren't picky.

I have a 60GB and 80GB Maxtor hard drive and they all work fine without any problems. However I run the OS on my SCSI drives, the 60/80GB drives are just for storage.

I'd suggest trying another drive as primary or applying those BIOS tweaks in that link you posted. Good luck.

 

[outlamd]

I posted this on another board also and got this response.

"You can use the Recovery Console to fix the registry files. Backups are kept in %systemRoot%Repair\RegBack. It's a good idea to keep those files up to date with Backup Wizard - ERD."

Using the recovery console to repair the registry sounds more logical to me than hidden IRQ problems. Especially since it is a software key. I hope this never happens to either of us again but if it does try this solution.

Also, I might consider investing in Norton Ghost or something to enable a quicker restore of your system if this solution doesn't do the trick.

 

[Steelo]

hey all,

ok i removed all devices except my agp graphics and an adaptec scsi controller - spaced out as you mentioned superbaby. I also read elsewhere that ACPI was responsible so i tested with one install of win2k without acpi - perfectly stable and one install of win2k with ACPI - completely unstable. So i have reinstalled with ACPI disabled and all my cards back in ( spaced as you mentioned superbaby ) and everythin seems super stable - but i havent installed any apps yet - gonna run it for a bit to ensure its fixed. My only problem now, is that with acpi disabled, i have to manually switch the pc off. I cant seem to enable apm in the power applet in control panel - doesnt give me the option.

I'll keep trying - thanks for the help

Steelo

 

[Steelo]

got it!!!!... Stupid really, but i finally realised what i was doing wrong. I am installing windows 2000 advanced server in a domain model at home. Problem . I have disabled ACPI at bios, which had no doubt fixed my registry corruption issue. However, i couldnt enable APM at the OS level. - I just realised that win2k server versions DO NOT install / support apm . DUH!!!

OK, so no i have installed win2k pro with acpi enabled in the bios, and selected f5 at the first blue install screen and selected the install to configure as a standard pc. Once installed i then enabled apm in the control panel | power applet and it all works wickedly!!!!!!


Thanks all for your help.... Boy is that a relief..... Ok, i'll keep an eye on the install and let you all know if this is all fixed... seems like it is tho!

Thanks once again..

Steelo

 

[superbaby]

There's a way to enable APM support even though you are not configured for ACPI. Let me know if you are interested in doing this. From what I understand though, you did get APM working properly, that your PC will shutdown itself?

 

[Steelo]

superbaby,

your right, i have managed to get acpi disabled at the os and apm enabled at the os, but running win2k pro - i would prefer to have win2k advanced server as i am currently working with it a lot at work and would like to be able to play with it at home. Do i understand what you are saying is that you can enable apm even on server versions of win2k?.. if this is possible, i would be most interested. Thanks for all your help

Steelo

 

[WindBoy2000]

After you disable the acpi, and you set the apm on at the OS. It cuts off the power
without any problems with missing file in registry and stuff?
If this works then itll be great!!!!!
i can finally setup my moms computer without having to go back to fix it!!

 

[Steelo]

windboy... it sure does.

disable acpi and in the control panel enable apm. Everything shuts down and no problems at all.
Good luck

Steelo