I am having the EXACT same problem on XP that I just installed on a brand NEW machine. ABIT KR7A-RAID / AMD XP1800+ 2 - 40 G WD HDs GeForce3 Its done it twice now, first time I re-installed, I am gonna try the recover option now. This sucks

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I am having a c0000218 registry problem too. I had to reformat my computer 3 times because of that. Initially everything works fine for about a month and then the error starts reappearing untill my computer stops booting all together. I tried Norton Windoctor but that doesn't seem to help. Is this Windows XP or is there something wrong with my computer!

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I have the exact same problem. 1.4 ghz AMD. Tried both Home and Professional Editions. But I am getting the security file is corrupt. I think there is a problem with one of the security updates from Microsoft. ONLY STARTING HAPPENING AFTER THAT!

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Glad to know I'm not the only one suffering with this problem. XP Home on a Athlon XP1600+ Asus A7V266-E Mobo WD ATA100 hard drive ATI AIW Radeon SB 5.1 The first time this happened I reinstalled XP. Will try recover option suggested by Rick this time. Is this just a XP problem? If so, I'll go back to Win2000.

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SAME PROBLEM Corrupt system file in windows\system32\config New machine AMD 1700+, 521MB DDR, Geforce 2MX, Western Digital HD, Rioch CD-RW. The problem seemed to start after running windows update which was fine until the critical XP update dated 25 October 2001. Almost at the end the machine restarted as if the power had failed!!! This has happened twice now and the less than intuitive recovery option on the CD does nothing to fix the problem. At best it gets the machine running to crash again. I have found a full reformat of the hard disk to be the best and only option. The best advice I can give is to make sure all drivers, firmware and bios are fully patched and updated. I am now taking a methodical step by step approach to rebuilding the machine. Look at Microsoft Knowledge base article number Q240831 for useful advice about copying the event logs through the recovery console which might help to isolate the cause of the corrupt files if the problem returns. I have seen this problem under NT4 but only on really old Dell desktops that are easily fixed with the recovery console on a Win 2000 CD. Shame it does not seem to work as easily under XP.

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I have the same problem. As fare as I can see all of us having this problem is using the VIA® KT266 Chipset (KT8366 North Bridge with VT8233 South Bridge) this Chip set could be the problem. Has anyone that is not running this chip set had the problem?

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IBM Netvista 6647. Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} software hive. No reason jus died in the ass when rebooting.

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I have the same problem. So does anyone have an idea how to fix it? I can't afford to reformat the drive because I have some valuable information on it. If I install a fresh copy of XP from the CD, would it solve the problem without erasing my files?

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Im sorry, but Bill Gates is a muppet, long live the Mac (yes I know he owns 49% of Apple.......) Well as ya might guess, I have exactly the same problem, a registry error on bootup. Mine is with security, and I used the recovery console to replace the security registry file, but I found that I had no repair directory to use a backup from. So, I thought, what are my alternatives, and came up with the amazing idea of renaming the security file and not replacing it with anything to see if windows could recreate it itself. Well what a mistake that was and an underestimation of the abilities of windows I think. Well first time round I got to the logon screen and could put in name and password although and error message was thrown up. If I clicked ok, it restarted, if I didnt, I could leave it forever and it would never enter windows.......oh joy. So....back to the recovery console....and because there was no security registry file, when it aksed for a password, it was not what I originally had set it as. Who knows what that password is now....... Obviously now I cant get at the drive to rename the security file....... So it looks like an NTFS install on the other drive to get at the xp drive as 98 cant read NTFS partitions...... I think its safe to say that very soon bill gates is no longer going to be a part of my computing setup......

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YES! I had the problem repetitively (seven times with the System hive and twice with the Software hive). I reformatted completely the first time until I figured out how to fix it, although I don't yet know (but suspect) what causes it. It seems that some Northbridge/Southbridge chipset setups (I also run Plus-Gig Athlons w/266s)have inherent limits to the size of updated registry/hive files. On a substantial install or program load, this limitation can cause XP (Home OR Pro) to report the missing/corrupt hive(s) as you (we) all have experienced. Guess what? The hive is neither missing nor corrupt - it just isn't recognized by XP anymore after restart. Good old Gates. There are five such hives: sam, system, software, default and security, any of which can suffer the effect. They exist in \(...whatever the root directory is - usually but not necessarily \windows... )\system32\config . Backups are stored in the same subdir with an extension added, such as .sav or .old or something similar, as well as in the \( root...)\repair subdirectory. Unfortunately, they are only accessible through the Recovery (boot to the XP CD and choose option "r" ) Command Shell, which Bill Gateskeeper has restricted to keep us from messing up our computer so that it might not work (DUH!!!). After going to the Recovery Shell, chdir to \ ...root...\system 32\config, then rename (ren) the problematic hive by adding some extension, like .fkd or something equally unpleasant, then renaming a saved file there, if there is one, by dropping its .extension (e.g. ren \system.old system) OR, if there isn't one or if it ,too, is bad, by copying a saved hive (without extension) to the same \config subdirectory. Going back to an earlier hive can obviate the changes made since it was last backed up, but since the "corrupt" one is still there, it may be possible to rename it later and recover your latest changes. Better yet, after you get a satisfactory setup, go to the "r" mode and copy the five hives into their own folder - I use \...root...\BUP - so that you can directly copy these latest ones into the infamous ...... \config subdirectory if it crashes again. All five should be updated/saved/replaced together to be safest and most compatible. As far as the "why?" is concerned, I've noticed that I only crash like that when I have Norton System Works 2002 fully loaded. That might be a common denominator in combination with the Athlon/xBridge hardware setup. I ran 3 weeks with only NAV installed with no problems. I installed the rest of the NSW except WinFax and it crashed the very next boot! Anybody with the hive problem use Norton? Mike Solo

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I just had the exact same error. I booted into recovery console, and ran checkdisk, and boom, it started up no problem. I don't know if this was just a fluke or if it would work for others. KJ

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Abit KR7A-Raid !!! VIA® KT266 !!! AMD XP 1600+ 2 40gig Maxtor ATA133 RAID 0 LOL @ Dus... that's comedy!!! I feel your pain bro... glad to know that I'm not the only idiot that just jumps in w/ both feet & screws it all up ;ož. I'm at the sytem32/config/system error (again) & I've think I've probably had all these freakin errorz. And like a dummy, after the first system hive mis-hap I didn't save my hives so I'll probably get the same "no hive to restore from" (not exact wording) error. For those of you that think it's your hardware... it kinda is if you want to run XP, but that does not mean that you have defective hardware. Your h/w is probably FINE. XP IS THE CULPRIT TO ALL THESE ERRORZ. Veeeeeeeeery poor R&D, & of course a pre-mature release (surprised??? remember, we are talking about zillionair Bill Gate$ here). If anyone is running RAID: I've had to delet my RAID array & recreate it before I could do diddly squat after any of these XP malfunctions, ALTHOUGH you should first try using the XP recovery console. The reason for this is that XP's default RAID controller driver doesn't work w/ my Abit board (or maybe a combination of the board/HDs). So I had to load the HPT 372 driver that came w/ my board... when my system dumps (no matter the reason) XP doesn't recognize any disk. I reload the HTP dvr on the way to the Recovery Console but the chkdisk says all is ok when in reality it's NOT. That's just kinda jacked. *sitting by patiently-inconvenieced for either a VIA update or a XP update. There should be a freaking relief program for us, like Bush's Tax Relief program. Come on Gate$, you got more money than the freakin US government... kick back to us poor sukerz that are !! ALPHA !! testing your new OS.

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I hav same symptoms but the problems has not yet to found what is causing it. If u hav a look in the event-viewer, see if u hav a warning named Userenv. It's possible that 1 of the programs are still running and using the registry while the computer shuts down

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Guess what? I am in the EXACT same boat as all of you too! my system is giving the same exact message! I think much less of MS after this. I love the way XP makes my system run. (when it is working) I have: dell 8100 1.8ghz 2 120 gb hard drvs 1 gb system ram prophet 4000xt geforce 2 card Xp home and pro build 2600 same problem, I thought it was a software problem. so after EVERY installation I rebooted just to find out what program caused this.(that took 6 hours by the way.) Nothing. then 2 days later, it will not restart. I'm p'ed off. I will try the recover console on the xp cd. I wondered when i was going to need that. XP the best ever? I don't think so.

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p4 1.8 ghz Intel chip (I forgot to include that.)

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I'm so sick of Windows altogether. I want Linux or something but then I can't use half the programs I have. I was fine with Windows 2000 then I had to be stupid and upgrade to XP. Upgrading to XP with previous Windows is a bad idea, especially with all programs I had installed. XP nearly permanently corrupted my hard drive. I was gettin all kinds of errors. Missing file clusters, unmovable MP3's, all sorts of crap. Then I decided on clean install. Thank for I have 2 HD's. One just for MP'3. I've reformatted 3 times since then. Now my current problem with the registry. I don't wanna switch back to Win2K cuz of how convenient and friendly XP is. User friendly yes, convenient no! Same problem with everyone on this page. I actually thought XP was stable for a couple of months. I don't have Easy CD Creator installed. Nero is installed. I find Easy CD Creator to be a problem at times. I don't have Norton anything installed. Right now I am 64% Chkdsk. I will tell you guys if it fixes the missing registry hive problem by the end of this or if I have to rename directories instead. If you decide to chkdsk you need to use the /r or chkdsk will not repair anything. It will only say there is a problem. So type chkdsk /r. I was so close to reformatting then I thought there must be another way to salvage my OS. I don't want kill all my precious files and settings. Don't really want to reinstall drivers and drivers and programs and updates of Nero again. My specs: AMD K7 750MHz ASUS Motherboard 768MB SDRAM Visiontek GeForce3 Ti200 SBLive! Platinum 30 & 40GB Quantum AS Maxtor ATA100 Controller Plextor 16X XP Pro Great I was at 64% and it went back to 50%!!! WTF? Another problem I have is GeForce3 and OpenGL. Whenever I play anything with OpenGL, the game crashes! It stops out of nowhere and leaves the sound sounding like a broken record (repeating). I played Counter-Strike with Voodoo3 for months, not one problem except lag due to card weakness. Now Nvidia screwed me too. I had Geforce2 GTS and same problem. That's why I got GF3. I think it's AMD and NVidia's chipset that don't get along. Anyone have this problem with Intel??? Okay, it's finished checking disk. Just restarted. Let's see (heart thumping). CRAP!!! DIDN'T FIX IT. This stinks. I HATE WINDOWS. BILL GATES FREAKIN USES US TO TEST HIS BETA OS!!! THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE ERROR REPORTING EVERYTIME XP CRASHES!!!! Good luck people! I will now have to rename these directories.

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Okay guys. The instructions on response 3 works but it needs a little tweaking. Thanks to the person that wrote it! ...\system is the default but type what your blue screen says. (refer to response 3) First thing is make a copy of the original file: copy c:\windows\system32\config\system (hit spacebar)c:\windows\system32\config\system.bak Second, we delete the original: del c:\windows\system32\config\system Third, we copy a repair file replacing the problem file that was deleted in step 2. copy c:\windows\repair\system (hit spacebar) c:\windows\system32\config\system This should do it. It should start XP. I figured out some things along the way that got me this far but I don't remember them all. I hope I got all the details. Now when XP starts the desktop will look like a fresh install except there may be a couple icons. I don't know if it's just my computer but I think it will happen to everybody. This is because Windows creates another user account. Your old settings are in your old accounts documents and settings folder. Okay, go to c:\documents and settings locate your old folder (it should be biggest in file size. locate your new and current user account. you will need to copy most of your old stuff into the new user account. Some files will not be movable like history and the index file in the cookies folder. Basically copy whatever you can to the new folder. Next is very important. NTUSER.dat is located in each user accounts folder. You need to move that file from your old account to your new one. This file is your settings. This file is your personalization of your XP. You will need to create a new bogus user account by clicking on the picture icon in the start menu. Create a name then choose administrator priviledges. NTUSER.dat can't be moved because your current user account is using that file and you will need to overwrite it. You will need to log off that account then Log on to the new bogus account. Locate your old NTUSER.dat file from your old user account folder and move it the new one overwriting it. (If you check the old ntuser.dat will be signigicantly bigger in file size than your new one. My old one was almost 5megabytes and the new one was only 800kilobytes I think.) Don't move it to the bogus account. When that's done, log off that account and log on to your new account. Delete that bogus account because you don't need it anymore. You can also delete your old account since you have moved everything movable. Your settings should be there the way they were before the crash. Now some programs might not work so you will need to reinstall but most will. Hey this beats reformatting! I know I could've made this more clear but it's late and I gotta get up for work. I figured I'd document what I did so someone else might benefit. I benefited from response 3 the least I could do is pass it on. After all, my XP is back. If you have any questions, e-mail me at asderik@hotmail.com and I'll clarify the instructions. Put "XP QUESTION" as the subject or I will delete it thinking it's spam. Good luck!

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IF YOU HAVE EASY CD CREATOR INSTALLED ON YOUR MACHINE... WITH ALL UPDATES. DO NOT... I REPEAT DO NOT INSTALL THE SECURITY UPDATE, FEBRUARY 11, 2002. IT WILL SCREW YOUR MACHINE AND GIVE YOU THE FOLLOWING ERROR. STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The system cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate. It is corrupt, absent, or not writeable.

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Well since everybody else is give their horror stories I figured I'd join in on the fun. I just bought a brand new parts to upgrade my comp and i'm getting the missing or corrupt registry hive error like everybody else in WinXP Pro. If I try normal or any of the safe modes I get the error. So naturally I decided to try winXP disk and did the whole registry thing explained in the other responces. No luck it still keeps happening. I've re-installed XP three times and every time this error comes up with in a day or two. All I ever get a chance to do is install the drivers and updates. Could it be my hardware? Its all new. HELP!!! Biostar M7MIA Athlon XP 1700+ (1446Mhz) Hercules Prophet 4500TX Soundblaster Audigy Gamer Linksys LNE 10/100 NIC 512 DDR PC2100 32x10x40x BURNER 250 ZIP 10x DVD HELP!!!!! PLEASE!!!

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LMFAO well if you would of baught an Intel you wouldnt have this problem. no pun intended. I am a tech and have seen about 800 machines with this problem and well to a big surprise every single one was running an AMD "not a coencedence" The problem is this as I am also a programmer. The reason AMD is able to get such speed and cache into there processors is by removing certain registers they dont think is needed. Well Microsoft codes there os on Intel machines only so dont expect it to run on anything but Intel. Also the AMD xp was made by AMD to be compatable with Microsoft but as your all aware Bill Gates dont just give out hes OS specs. The resove is simple go buy a P4 2 gig.

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Unfortunate this is not restricted to AMD machines. I am a Dell techie and I've gotten this call on our systems and we only run Intel processors. I havent found a sure fire fix yet, sometimes a chkdsk /r will work, sometimes not...Restoring the corrupt hive from a backup is another alternative, most of the time we end up formatting. If anyone finds a definate fix plz post.

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I have gained a lot of knowledge from this message board but I have one more wrinkle to this. What can be done if you are unable to boot from the CD to run the repair function? I have gotten all the same errors as everyone here but when I try to run from disk I am still sent to the error screen.....PLEASE HELP!!

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Cosmic Cat... Got to the I386 folder of your XP CD and run winnt.exe. Install like normal. Eventually you will come to a screen that let's you go to the recovery console. I don't know if there is a better way but this worked for me.

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