The reistry cannot load the hive (file): \systemroot\system32\config\SOFTWARE

[jpaulr]

I'm currently working with someone from MB but hoped for some advice.

After sending some logs and running hijack this, I was told to install and run combo fix.

After running combo fix I got the following error on reboot.

<snip>

Stop:c0000218 {registry File Failure}

The registry cannot load the hive (file): \systemroot\system32\config\SOFTWARE

or its log or alternate

It is corrupt, absent, or not writable

Beginning dump of physical memory

Physical memory dump complete

Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance.

<endsnip>

it would not fully load XP in safe mode OR in the last known configuration (it always went back to the above error).

With some help I was able to go into the MSFT Recovery Console, copy "software" from the repair directory and write it overtop of the "software" file in the config file (after making a software.bak). The PC boots up fully now but I get dll errors. Access to all my software is gone.

Is it game over and I need to begin reinstalling all my software?

If I do that, will it overwrite my data files (office docs and, more critically, my outlook email contents).

Any advice help is appreciated.

[jpaulr]

Ok. I figured it out on my own. Me, a PC idiot.

I bot MBAM and was following Tom's instructions. First the logs. Then the HJT logs. Then he had me run and install combofix. That's when I got to the point that I posted about here.

How did I do it?

I went into the recovery console that combo fix has you install before it starts its processes.

renamed software.bak to software (after renaming software to software.hld) basically replacing the corrupt software file with the .bak version (turns out combo fix creates a backup of software incase something like this happens).

once I did this I was able to reboot back to where I was.

Downloaded, installed and ran superantispyware. It found a TON of trojans and othersuch crud.

booted into safe mod, running Superantispyware now in safe mode. Found 4 more files that way.

I bought MBAM and the guy was helping me through the process, but when my system went down so did the response time.

I'm normally the lucky one that gets the stuff no one knows how to deal with. Hopefully this blurb will help someone else in the future since it stumped this community.