Somebody has To Help Me! Please!

[Gatsby]

Okay I am a pretty savvy comp guy...I never use these optimization things..never.. I know the trouble you can get into... and so in some weird fit of self destruction I used this program...and well trouble happened...the nightmare..

 

A blinking cursor and a loading operating system on a black screen...I used only the settings tab I think...it was 75 changes..I don't what got into me..I scanned the list and it looked pretty innocuous and there was an undo feature..i even tried it once...

 

So I have loaded xp onto another drive and I can get into the old drive but I can't log onto windows..I have been at this for 16 hours straight so I have basically tried the standard stuff..First swapped everything out..not a hardware problem...then I replaced the hive with repair first then with a system restore hive...nothing...okay so then I got msdart from windows...its the IT package and I have been rooting around on the hd...I tried a number of roll backs to various restore points..and checked every file that was deleted...

 

so I am hoping there is a log file somewhere..and you guys can help me so I can see what it did...if it was only 75 changes I can do that manually...

 

there are a number of reg files int he backup folder but I am not sure if they are the original reg files or just the parts that have been replaced...one of the names is ufqbsd.reg...so look any and i mean any help would be appreciated..I know I know I should have backed up but I have been doing these things since 87 and I have never had a problem I can't solve...I have files that go back to then...but i realize I have just been lucky...I have had a power supply go and a hard drive and a mother board but I have not been flummoxed like this...I am going to do a virus scan just in case but I don't think so...I am very careful.., check processes with any hint of a slow down...

 

thanks if you can put me out of my misery...

 

J

[Mr Bean]

"I have just been lucky"

Well it happens..

 

"Okay I am a pretty savvy comp guy." ?????

"A blinking cursor and a loading operating system on a black screen"

Was this after you used ASC? Rendering it non booting? As I understand it you say it did.

 

YOU SAY "I know the trouble you can get into".

Then why did you not back up the drive if you say you know this may happen?

 

"So I have loaded xp onto another drive (installed or transferred) and I can get into the old drive but I can't log onto windows."

No you can't, as you get a blank screen, trying. Its corrupted.

 

I think, you are saying you see every thing on the drive, files? That's very good. Why you can fix the booting procedure.

 

YOU SAY "I have never had a problem I can't solve."

Excellent, so what is it you are asking? Personaly trying to understand what happened.

 

This is always of interest to me.

"Why does an OS collapse?"

 

Mr Bean

[Mr Bean]

Please before you try

 

This is sometimes a sad section of the forum..

 

I bleed for the many that loose the OS booting, and OD drives, files and can't restore using the OS trying.

 

Read this carefully. Very simply put .

 

Before you try, install any program BACK UP YOUR DRIVE first.

 

Nothing more I can add to this warning...

MR Bean

[Gatsby]

yeah well what can I say...I was foollng around with it...let it do its thing then uninstalled the changes ..rebooted just to make sure it didn't leabe anything ....everything seemed cool...so I did it again..and then got called out by the kids...

 

I'll live and I still have everything on the drive ...just a hassle..lots of programs..nuances of settings over time...

 

so the problem is that I can't get past the loading operating system and the blinking cursor...it must be a registry key of some kind..but that wouldn't explain why replacing the hive files didn't work...There is something that stops it cold early on in the loading XP boot sequence...I use very vanilla xp sp3...stripped..another hassle having to ***** around with all those services..

 

I'd love to know what it changed or deleted..sometimes I find these programs can just start taking stuff out because of certain dates or strings..or at least that is what it looked like on other people's computers...hey man tweak it yourself..LOL

 

...I am basically accepting today hours later...but I had everything just the way I liked it..and then bam...very zen...

 

so if you have any suggestions on how to boot back into windows..and can cut down on the teachable moment lectures...I'd really appreciate it...I have reinstalled windows over top...as I said I have copied hive files over a few times...the hardware all checks out...I can't find a log in the acm directories...just a reg file in the backups..

 

J

[Mr Bean]

Possible problems:"Symptoms"

 

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

 

CAUSE

This issue can occur if the System or Software hive for the Windows XP installation is missing or damaged.

 

 

 

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

 

Use the Recovery Console Tool:

 

To restore a damaged registry hive, use the Recovery Console to restore the backup copy of the hive from the Repair folder. The Repair folder contains a copy of the system's registry hives that were created after the first successful start up of Windows XP.

 

WARNING : Although data should not be affected by the following procedure, you may need to restore changes you previously made to programs or system settings since the first time you successfully started Windows XP.

 

To replace the damaged registry hive and restore the backup copy of the hive from the Repair folder: Start your computer to the Recovery Console.

 

Determine if the file that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section of this is present, and if it is, rename it:

 

In Recovery Console, change to the c:\Windows folder.

 

Type cd system32\config , and then press ENTER.

 

Type dir system , and then press ENTER.

 

If you cannot run the preceding command successfully (because the file is missing), skip to step 3. If you can run the preceding command successfully, type ren system system.bak , and then press ENTER.

 

NOTE : If the message that you received referred to the software file, replace "system" with "software" in the preceding command. For example, you would type ren software software.bak (instead of ren system system.bak ), and then press ENTER.

 

Type copy c:\windows\repair\system , and then press ENTER.

 

NOTE : If the message that you received referred to the software file, replace "system" with "software" in the preceding command. For example, you would type copy c:\windows\repair\software (instead of copy c:\windows\repair\system ), and then press ENTER.

 

You should receive a "One file copied" informational message. For additional information about how to use Recovery Console during start up,

search:

Microsoft Knowledge Base:

HOW TO: Install and Use the Recovery Console for Windows XP

 

 

IMPORTANT : If you encounter problems when you run the preceding commands, you may need to use the Change Directory command ( cd ) one folder at a time before you run the preceding commands. For example, type cd system32 , press ENTER, type cd config , and then press ENTER.

 

Type exit , and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console and restart the computer.

 

 

You Cannot Start from the Windows XP CD-ROM or Use Recovery Console

If you cannot start from the Windows XP CD-ROM or use Recovery Console and you are using the FAT file system (not the NTFS file system):

Use a start up disk from one of the following operating systems to start your computer to a command prompt:

 

At the command prompt, type c:\windows .

 

Follow the steps in the "Use the Recovery Console Tool" beginning with step 2b (type cd sytem32\config , and then press ENTER).

 

IMPORTANT : After you complete the steps in the "Use the Recovery Console Tool" section , remove the startup disk, and then restart the computer.

 

Use System Restore to Revert to the Most-Recent Restore Point

You may want to use System Restore to revert to the most-recent restore point if you have replaced the specific registry hive, but the issue has not been resolved.

 

 

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry

Run a Repair Installation of Windows XP

 

You may need to run a repair installation. For additional information about how to do so, view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

be aware.

You May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP

 

 

 

OK, I hope this is of assistance. Cut down on the teachable moment lectures.

 

WARNING

THE ABOVE YOU DO AT YOUR OWN RISK. BUT AS I UNDERSTAND IT, YOU ARE COMPUTER SAVVY THEREFORE, KNOW WHAT YOU MAY RISK AND OR FIX OR LOOSE.

 

 

SEARCH MS SITE for:

HOW TO: Access the Recovery Console During Start up

How to Copy Files from Recovery Console to Removable Media

Description of the Windows Recovery Console

 

ALL THE ABOVE from my store drive where I keep my knowledge base files.

You may want to investigate this yourself by logging to MS site KNOWLEDGE base and not play around with the above.

 

Mr Bean

[Gatsby]

I appreciate your time but I have done the hive thing in many different ways..I have done it through the recovery console.. I have done it using msdart and I have done it from my other hard drive...

 

I get no error messages...It just hangs on the loading operating system screen...just a blinking cursor...loading operating system message above it...and yes I have waited it out...

 

I have tried everything I can think of..I was hoping for some magic advanced system log that I can just go through and then switch the changes...

 

but thanks..anything else you can think of I'll try...I did rollbacks on the sys restore to various points...those rollbacks of course change the hive too...but as I can't log in on the hard drive..the rollbacks are only partial..so it might not be switching one or two files..

 

again my thanks...

 

John

[Mr Bean]

Gatsby :

Hi again and welcome to the forum that I rudely forgot. Hang around you may get to like us here?

 

Your are very welcome.

You stated:

"I was hoping for some magic advanced system log that I can just go through and then switch the changes"

Unless you can find this, (log) not much hope. It seems you have tried every thing.

All I can suggest, move the files you want to keep forget the above and start new. The dreaded format, reinstall.

 

To try to resolve this issue, use one of the following methods posted is failing and including what you have tried. I cant think of anything else, unless someone can.

 

Sorry, its happen to me also many times as I fool around with software.

 

And now being lazy about it, I back up my drives almost 2~3 times a week on an external drive, plus I think you will embrace that idea from this point forwards?

 

Restore points not that much faith with that method and preferring the image back up, using backup software.

 

Mr Bean

[Gatsby]

Yeah I am starting to enjoy my new installation...This always happens...and as long as I don't actually lose anything..which has actually only happened once and that was a hardware issue..a flood...but even hd crashes I managed to salvage most of the stuff..I have a lot of redundancy and hd's are so cheap...its like I guess I am doing an iso with out the image...

 

The other thing... at the risk of being a little too zen...I learn a lot when this happens and one of the things I like about computers are they are logical and problems can usually be figured out...little puzzles...so i find the fixing part of it once I get over the initial freak out...kind of fun... its always different and it forces me to pay attention to what's going on...if this doesn't happen or I don't buy some parts for a while.. i get behind the curve...windows though of course...hasn't changed all that much...LOL...I haven't got 7 yet I'll wait another year.. I have at least learned that lesson...

 

again thanks a lot...

 

John

 

I will keep working on it..out of curiosity more than anything else... I am pretty sure it was a key...because its early on in the boot..all it has to do is have a key not be there..and that's it...Its too bad there is no log..I do have this registry file I will look at..

[Mr Bean]

"Yeah I am starting to enjoy my new installation...This always happens...and as long as I don't actually lose anything"

 

Excellent! And glad you are not angry, If you like and want to further discuss this perhaps, we could go into the lounge? As we are getting away from the treads purpose and that is ASC.

I like to invite you there, and be most welcome.

I have a feeling we here can benefit from your know how.

What I would like and if you are willing is to post on installing brand new.

How you go about this. We all differ and could learn from each other.

Mr Bean.