Registry nightmare - HELP!

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Guest

It started with finding my CD-ROM drives were not working. I looked up info
on the Windows knowledgebase, and downloaded a referral to "error 31" that
told me to remove the references to "upperfilters" and "lowerfilters" in a
particular numbered key of
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class. I found at least a dozen
instances of the same numbered key, so removed that from all of them. BIG
MISTAKE! When I tried to reboot, I got a blue error screen. I finally used
the Repair Control Console to copy all the files in WINNT\Repair\Regback,
which allowed me to get into Windows, but it has so many problems I don't
know where to begin. I had exported the registry before making the changes,
but when I tried to import it back into the registry, I kept getting messages
"access denied". I also tried to restore the system state from a backup in
Novastor from a few days earlier, but that didn't help. As of now, I get
some very strange error messages on bootup, and when I try to bring up
Windows add/remove programs, all it has is a line on top that says "Change or
Remove ProgramsAdd ne ProgramsAdd/Remove Windows....etc". Nothing else. I
can get to websites, but many links won't work, including those with
javascript commands. (I'm writing this from my laptop, but it's my primary
computer that is having the problems). Windows update page just says "done",
but remains blank. I can't print from explorer, although I can copy into
Word using a control C, and then print from Word. And so on! Any ideas on
how I can fix this mess, without having to totally wipe and reinstall the
system and everything on it, will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you. Larry
 
A clean install would be best. Exporting the entire registry to a *.reg file
is not an acceptable means of backup. You can't import the entire registry
and that attempt may have done you in though you can try replacing the
system hive with the copy found in %systemroot%\repair\ directory. You'll
need to reinstall the device drivers for any hardware added since the
original OS install.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| It started with finding my CD-ROM drives were not working. I looked up
info
| on the Windows knowledgebase, and downloaded a referral to "error 31" that
| told me to remove the references to "upperfilters" and "lowerfilters" in a
| particular numbered key of
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class. I found at least a
dozen
| instances of the same numbered key, so removed that from all of them. BIG
| MISTAKE! When I tried to reboot, I got a blue error screen. I finally
used
| the Repair Control Console to copy all the files in WINNT\Repair\Regback,
| which allowed me to get into Windows, but it has so many problems I don't
| know where to begin. I had exported the registry before making the
changes,
| but when I tried to import it back into the registry, I kept getting
messages
| "access denied". I also tried to restore the system state from a backup
in
| Novastor from a few days earlier, but that didn't help. As of now, I get
| some very strange error messages on bootup, and when I try to bring up
| Windows add/remove programs, all it has is a line on top that says "Change
or
| Remove ProgramsAdd ne ProgramsAdd/Remove Windows....etc". Nothing else.
I
| can get to websites, but many links won't work, including those with
| javascript commands. (I'm writing this from my laptop, but it's my primary
| computer that is having the problems). Windows update page just says
"done",
| but remains blank. I can't print from explorer, although I can copy into
| Word using a control C, and then print from Word. And so on! Any ideas
on
| how I can fix this mess, without having to totally wipe and reinstall the
| system and everything on it, will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.
Larry
| --
| Larry S
 
Dave,

Thanks for answering. I know a clean install would be ideal, but because I
have so much on the computer, it would take me at least a week to reinstall
everything. There are only a few problems, although they seem to be serious
ones, so I was hoping I could make some fixes to the registry that would let
me hang on until Vista comes out. The biggest problems seem to be that the
Windows add/remove programs application is corrupted, that there are problems
with Internet explorer that won't let me go to Windows update or run
javascript links, and the CD-ROM drives don't work. If you have any
solutions that would let me fix those, I would prefer to try them before
giving in a doing a major reinstall. Thanks. I appreciate your assistance.
--
Larry S


Dave Patrick said:
A clean install would be best. Exporting the entire registry to a *.reg file
is not an acceptable means of backup. You can't import the entire registry
and that attempt may have done you in though you can try replacing the
system hive with the copy found in %systemroot%\repair\ directory. You'll
need to reinstall the device drivers for any hardware added since the
original OS install.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| It started with finding my CD-ROM drives were not working. I looked up
info
| on the Windows knowledgebase, and downloaded a referral to "error 31" that
| told me to remove the references to "upperfilters" and "lowerfilters" in a
| particular numbered key of
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class. I found at least a
dozen
| instances of the same numbered key, so removed that from all of them. BIG
| MISTAKE! When I tried to reboot, I got a blue error screen. I finally
used
| the Repair Control Console to copy all the files in WINNT\Repair\Regback,
| which allowed me to get into Windows, but it has so many problems I don't
| know where to begin. I had exported the registry before making the
changes,
| but when I tried to import it back into the registry, I kept getting
messages
| "access denied". I also tried to restore the system state from a backup
in
| Novastor from a few days earlier, but that didn't help. As of now, I get
| some very strange error messages on bootup, and when I try to bring up
| Windows add/remove programs, all it has is a line on top that says "Change
or
| Remove ProgramsAdd ne ProgramsAdd/Remove Windows....etc". Nothing else.
I
| can get to websites, but many links won't work, including those with
| javascript commands. (I'm writing this from my laptop, but it's my primary
| computer that is having the problems). Windows update page just says
"done",
| but remains blank. I can't print from explorer, although I can copy into
| Word using a control C, and then print from Word. And so on! Any ideas
on
| how I can fix this mess, without having to totally wipe and reinstall the
| system and everything on it, will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.
Larry
| --
| Larry S
Click to expand...
 
As I said you can try replacing the system hive.

Try reinstalling IE

From the "Run" box try;
regsvr32 %windir%\system32\appwiz.cpl

regsvr32 %windir%\system32\webvw.dll
to rebuild several *.htt files

If unsuccessful try
sfc /purgecache
sfc /scannow

Or try the regedits described in;
Add/Remove Programs Tool Displays Installed Programs Incorrectly
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=266668

----------------------------------------------------
If the problem persists, you'll likely need to perform an in-place upgrade.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=292175

What an In-Place Windows 2000 Upgrade Changes and What It Does Not Change
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=306952

Be sure to apply these to your repair install before connecting to any
network.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/6/A/E6A04295-D2A8-40D0-A0C5-241BFECD095E/W2KSP4_EN.EXE
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-043.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-049.mspx


--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Dave,
|
| Thanks for answering. I know a clean install would be ideal, but because
I
| have so much on the computer, it would take me at least a week to
reinstall
| everything. There are only a few problems, although they seem to be
serious
| ones, so I was hoping I could make some fixes to the registry that would
let
| me hang on until Vista comes out. The biggest problems seem to be that
the
| Windows add/remove programs application is corrupted, that there are
problems
| with Internet explorer that won't let me go to Windows update or run
| javascript links, and the CD-ROM drives don't work. If you have any
| solutions that would let me fix those, I would prefer to try them before
| giving in a doing a major reinstall. Thanks. I appreciate your
assistance.
| --
| Larry S
 
Dave,

I'm not quite sure what you mean by the "system hive". I went to the folder
you suggested, C:\winnt\system32\repair, and it seemed to contain mostly the
same files as in C:\winnt\system32\repair\regback, the directory which I
copied into C:\winnt\system32\config using the repair control console. Is
there an information file you can refer me to that will explain more about
what the system hive refers to, and how to restore it? Is it the file named
"system" in the directory you referred me to? If so, to just where should I
copy it? Thanks for your assistance, I really appreciate it.
--
Larry S


Dave Patrick said:
As I said you can try replacing the system hive.

Try reinstalling IE

From the "Run" box try;
regsvr32 %windir%\system32\appwiz.cpl

regsvr32 %windir%\system32\webvw.dll
to rebuild several *.htt files

If unsuccessful try
sfc /purgecache
sfc /scannow

Or try the regedits described in;
Add/Remove Programs Tool Displays Installed Programs Incorrectly
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=266668

----------------------------------------------------
If the problem persists, you'll likely need to perform an in-place upgrade.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=292175

What an In-Place Windows 2000 Upgrade Changes and What It Does Not Change
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=306952

Be sure to apply these to your repair install before connecting to any
network.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/6/A/E6A04295-D2A8-40D0-A0C5-241BFECD095E/W2KSP4_EN.EXE
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-043.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-049.mspx


--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Dave,
|
| Thanks for answering. I know a clean install would be ideal, but because
I
| have so much on the computer, it would take me at least a week to
reinstall
| everything. There are only a few problems, although they seem to be
serious
| ones, so I was hoping I could make some fixes to the registry that would
let
| me hang on until Vista comes out. The biggest problems seem to be that
the
| Windows add/remove programs application is corrupted, that there are
problems
| with Internet explorer that won't let me go to Windows update or run
| javascript links, and the CD-ROM drives don't work. If you have any
| solutions that would let me fix those, I would prefer to try them before
| giving in a doing a major reinstall. Thanks. I appreciate your
assistance.
| --
| Larry S
Click to expand...
 
My standard boiler plate is below. You're at the point where you need to
restore the 'original-as-installed hive'


If the system hive is corrupt, and assuming you already tried LKG (F8 and
choose Last Known Good), It may be possible to rename the system hive found
in
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
to system.old
then rename
%systemroot%\system32\config\system.alt
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system

You can also try using the most recent backup found in
%systemroot%\repair\regback

If that fails you haven't much choice but to copy/ use the
original-as-installed system hive from
%systemroot%\repair\system
to
%systemroot%\system32\config\system
You'll need to reinstall the device drivers for any hardware added since the
original OS install.

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks. At
the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Press F10 or R to repair a Windows 2000
installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The Recovery
Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do not have
the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the registry is corrupted
or missing or no valid installations are found, the Recovery Console starts
in the root of the startup volume without requiring a password. You cannot
access any folders, but you can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot,
and fixmbr for limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated,
you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer: drive
root, %windir% or %systemroot%


--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Dave,
|
| I'm not quite sure what you mean by the "system hive". I went to the
folder
| you suggested, C:\winnt\system32\repair, and it seemed to contain mostly
the
| same files as in C:\winnt\system32\repair\regback, the directory which I
| copied into C:\winnt\system32\config using the repair control console. Is
| there an information file you can refer me to that will explain more about
| what the system hive refers to, and how to restore it? Is it the file
named
| "system" in the directory you referred me to? If so, to just where should
I
| copy it? Thanks for your assistance, I really appreciate it.
| --
| Larry S
 
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