Corrupt Registry

Question

Hello. I used regedit.exe and accidentally screwed up my registry. I checked the event viewer and it says it fixed the corrupted files, but I've noticed my computer running more slowly and being glitchy. Also, all my restore points are gone because of the my registry editing. When I try to run windows update, it occasionally gives me error messages. When I run the program to fix windows update, it says there are corrupt files it cannot fix. I run sfc/scannow and it says there are no integrity violations. But I KNOW I messed up my registry. Is there any way to restore it without losing my programs and data, if I didn't export it or make a restore point?

here is the error: {Registry Hive Recovered} Registry hive (file): '\SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE' was corrupted and it has been recovered. Some data might have been lost.

Here is what I did:  http://www.itexperience.net/2010/10/29/event-10016-the-application-specific-permission-settings-do-not-grant-local-launch-permission-for-the-com-server-application-with-clsid-c97fcc79-e628-407d-ae68-a06ad6d8b4d1/

I followed these instruction, which messed up my registry. pretty sure they're bogus. 

Also, : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/8b15bccd-aeba-4c32-a436-a2e430dbe89f.aspx

I followed the community instructions at the bottom of the page, which froze my computer with DHCP error message.

(the one about making user interface not read only)

One or both of these screwed up my registry. Please tell me how to fix it.

Note: I DON'T have windows backup, any restore points before the problem, a back up of the registry, or made any system images.

I THINK it could be fixed with: a system image (are they taken automatically when windows updates?); using shadow copy (know it's installed with windows, no clue how to use it); clean installing windows 7, or restoring to factory default. I would prefer to avoid the last two options. 

please help.

Answer 1

If MS Office was pre-installed then it will be pre-installed after the Factory Restoration too. You will, of course, need the product key that you received when you purchased the licence. If you installed it from a DVD then you need to repeat the process.

It's probably much the same with McAfee but you really need to check the McAfee FAQs.

Answer 2

if that's the case and it only affected the IP address, then why did I get these messages in the event viewer:

(note: the 1st 2 were immediately after I edited the registry. 3 and 4 were in the next few weeks, but I think they are related, as I had never got these errors before. And My computer had run noticibly more slowly in the next few weeks, especially when updating or performing scans.)

1. {Registry Hive Recovered} Registry hive (file): '\SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE' was corrupted and it has been recovered. Some data might have been lost.
2. Crash dump initialization failed!
3. Windows detected your registry file is still in use by other applications or services. The file will be unloaded now. The applications or services that hold your registry file may not function properly afterwards.
4. {Registry Hive Recovered} Registry hive (file): '\SystemRoot\System32\Config\RegBack\SOFTWARE' was corrupted and it has been recovered. Some data might have been lost.

Fixing such an involved problem via a forum is unfortunately not feasible, in particular because

• There are no suitable restore points
• There is no usable copy of the registry backup files
• Six weeks have elapsed since the damage was one.

If this was one of my clients' machines then I would set it back to the most recent image I had. If you did not take the time to create an image while the machine was healthy then you're looking at a destructive Factory Restore. Rebuilding the machine after the restore will take less time than attempting to fix it and will give you a solid, robust and dependable solution.

Answer 3

You can restore your registry files manually to an earlier point by going through the steps outlined below. The process is involved and requires some careful typing. Ask a computer-savvy friend to assist you if you lack experience in this area. Note that it might reset your password to an earlier value.

1. Keep tapping F8 during the early boot phase.
2. Select Repair from the menu that looks like this one:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode

3. Log on as Administrator if prompted.
4. Select Repair when prompted.
5. Select the Command Prompt from the menu that looks like this one:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/What-are-the-system-recovery-options-in-Windows-7

6. Identify the correct drive letter for your Windows installation. It could be a drive other than C: but it won't be X:. You do it by typing the commands

dir C:\Win*

dir D:\Win*

dir E:\Win*

until you find the Windows folder.

I will call that drive "Q:".

7. Type these commands:

cd /d Q:\windows\System32\config

xcopy *.* Q:\MyRegBack\

cd  RegBack

dir

8. Examine the dates of the Software, System and SAM files. Were the files created before or after you did the damage.
9. If they were made before the problem became apparent then you can type these commands:

copy /y software  ..

copy /y System  ..

copy /y Sam ..

(the two dots are part of each command)

10. Reboot normally. If things do not work out then you can backtrack by copying the original registry files from Q:\MyRegBack to Q:\Windows\System32\config.

Answer 4

preferrably, I would like help with my specific problem (see first link, which is the instructions I followed which immediately caused computer to freeze with DHCP not validated warnings all over. and said immediately after that windows software was corrupted. The 2nd link instructions in the solved box at the bottom with the interface instruc. may have also had something to do with it. If possible, can you please explain how to fix this. Can I just follow the instructions in reverse to FIX the registry, or will that just make it worse?

Answer 5

also, is there any software or program I can use to check the registry for errors? like, would chkdsk work? what do I put after to make it scan the registry only? chkdsk /r ? or chkdsk /f ?