Startup hell, registry missing or corrupt

Hangman85

New Member
Hi, I have been having serious difficulty getting my laptop to start in the last few months but have usually been able to solve the problems for a while until they come back but now I am faced with a new boot issue that I cannot fix.

When I turn on the laptop, after about 5 minutes I get the message "windows failed to start because the system registry file is missing or corrupt" and gives this location windows\system32\config\system and also status: oxc000000f.

I am instructed to boot from the vista dvd and repair windows, startup problems or whatever but when I try this I get the exact same message described above.

I have had a lot of startup problems recently but they have always been solved either by booting from the dvd and reparing startup problems, or more commonly, by running the chkdisk which would generally have my laptop running well for a week or so before new problems occurred.

I've searched the web but people keep suggesting booting from the vista dvd which as I said isnt working. No matter what I try I get the same message, safe mode etc will also not work.

Please help, I'm getting a new laptop in late october so I just need to get this thing working for another few weeks.

thanks in advance
 

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Hello Hangman85,
When you try a repair from the Vista disk are you getting the option to boot from disk at boot up ?.
If not, you need to go in to your Bios (at startup keep pressing "Del"), go to boot options and set first boot device to CD/DVD, restart and boot from CD/DVD when prompted.
You can then follow the on screen prompts and carry out a repair.
Don't forget to change back the boot options when finished.
Hope this helps, good luck and post your results.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
Hi and thanks for the help. I do get the option to boot from the disk by pressing f12 and then I select boot from cd/dvd after which there is a few minutes of black screen followed by the same message described in my fist post.
 

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I have tried your suggestion now, making the cd/dvd the first boot device in BIOS. This had at first seemed to work as afterwards it attempted to boot from the cd but after the "windows is loading files" screen I've been left with a black screen since, I'll leave this for a while longer to see if anything happens.
 

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So when you have the Vista installation disk in the CD/DVD drive it still wont boot from CD/DVD, because when you boot from the CD/DVD it should not enter the OS.
Can you do as i suggested in the Bios and try that, it will boot from the CD/DVD before it tries to load Vista.
Give it a go and post your results, thanks.
Good luck.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
Yeah when I select boot from cd it just gives me that message again. As I said in my thrid post I tried your suggestion which initially seemed to be working as now it was at least attempting to boot from the cd (as I got the "press any key to boot from cd" or whatever it is message) and then the windows is loading files screen with the little grey loading bars. When it got to the end of loading files it has been stuck on a black screen ever since.

thanks again
 

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Ok after 40 minutes or so of black screen it actually booted from the CD. I selected language and repair computer. Startup repair problems didn't work, it just said windows cannot repair this problem or something to that effect, send off for more information etc. System restore didnt find any restore points and the memory checking tool (cant rememeber is it called memory diagnostics maybe) went through to 100% then restarted and back to the same message about the registry file being missing or corrupt.

The only thing on the repair options I didn't try was command prompt as I am unsure what to do there. Any suggestions?
 

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This tutorial will show you how to use the command prompt, it's the same principle.
I don't hold out much hope for this, it's looking like a re-install if startup repair wont fix it and you cant get in to safe mode.
Give it a try, it may be worth trying the repair option again, i have had it where i had to do it two or three times.
Good luck and post your results.


http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
Hi thanks for getting back to me. I tried the sfc /scannow option in command prompt and very quickly (one second) it completed the scan, after which nothing had changed the problems were still intact. I also tried chkdsk /r but get a message saying it cant be checked because it is write protected.

You may be right that the only solution is to re-install but I have done this several times in the past few months and each time the problems are back within a few weeks (from what I've read on the internet this is likely a harddrive problem).

If I could do a proper chkdsk I think it may work again for a while at least. A full chkdsk has always sorted out these problems for me before but I was always able to schedule one using safe mode before.
 

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