STOP.....

[Guest]

What's with this "Registry file failure" blue screen when starting up win2K. The full message says....
STOP: C0000Z18 (registry file failure)
the registry cannot load the hive (file)
\system root\system32\config\software
or it's log or alternate, it is corrupt, absent or not writable.

This is the second time this happened to me within a month. The first time I had no choice but to format and install from scratch, the second time luckely I had made a ghost copy of my main drive and had to use that to boot into win2k again.

Does anyone know why this happens..? I haven't installed any new hardware or software before this happend and I have all the latest updates, patches, drivers for everything.

thanks
Dom

 

[CompSci]

Maybe! I've had that same problem. And it always happened just when all looked ok and I started putting more critical software on the machine.

*** Bet the hard disk Write cache is enabled!!!!

Hives are really stored segments of registry values and settings saved on disk... The basic problem is that the machine powers down before the disk cache has written all your settings at shutdown. Oops - on next startup you have corrupted settings to load... You can see the problem develope as you add more software to the box and the registry and security setting get larger. Wow, mine powers down almost immediately as the Saving your settings msgbox closes - A write cache disk just doesn't have enought time as the settings get larger...

I've tried two soultions, and they both work.
1. Turn off(uncheck) "write cache enabled" in system, hardware, device manager, hard disk, properties tab.
That fixed it... the side effect is it slowes the disk preformance down some...
2. Set APM ( automated power management) not to power off off machine. Don't remember exactly what I changed but I kept messing with CMOS and APM setting till the machine didnt power down - just stopped at the old "It is now safe to shut you machine off". Then I turned "write cache enabled" and got my speed back... Have never had the problem again...

Its a noted problem in MSDN online.. and only happens on some machines and some hard drives...

I have the problem on an ABIT BE6-II with the HighPoint UDMA/66 controller and a 20Gig 5200RPM Western Digital. The HPT66 disguises the IDE as a SCSI and shuts down the cashed WD too fast! Oops...

I also have another Win200O box with a WD with Write cache enabled and it's never had the problem...

Have heard Big EIDE Maxtor's with write cached enabled and non-inboard UDMA controllers will do it also...

Go figure, but it a real problem...
diskIt turned out to be that

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the help
I figured that might have been the problem. The only
thing is that I already have 'write cache enabled' unckecked and infact it's grayed out so I can't even change that setting.
I might try to turn off the power down setting in CMOS but I will realy miss the feature of my machine turning off by itself.... It's a comfort thing I guess.

thanks Dom

 

[CompSci]

NO Prob... and yea on one system I have the thing. Have an add on controller and the cache enabled box is grayed out..
A proglem child.. Had to mess with the APM setting as as I remember I never could get the box to not power down automaticly... Finally had to set the CMOS setup APM Disabled and reinstalled the OS with reformat! That got it.. Was a real pain - but better than loosing the OS!!!