[camandkarmasmom]

Tried to boot up my laptop this morning and got this error meessage - Stop c000218 registry file failure. registry cannot load hive file /systemroot/system32/config/software. Log or alternate is corrupt, absent or unwriteable. Beginning dump of physical memory. Physical memory dump completed.

Please help. Is there anyway to fix this? Everything I need is on my laptop.

I've been reading through the posts and I have a Dell laptop with no Windows CD included. Please help!!!

Thanks,
Amanda

[The Skeptic]

Try to repair the problem by using Recovery Console. For this you must have an xp installation CD. Since you don' have the CD try to borrow one of the same version.

To get to Recovery Console insert the disk into the CD drive and reboot the computer. Windows Setup screen will show up. If it doesn't, enter BIOS and set the CD drive to be first priority boot device.

Let Setup run until three setup options are shown. Choose Recovery Console by pressing R. When asked for XP installation, type 1 (assuming you have only one operating system installed). When asked for password type your password or press Enter if you don't have a password. A black DOS-like screen will show up.

At the prompt type chkdsk /r (please note the space in the command) and press Enter. This process takes time and hopefully it will fix your problem. When it ends type "exit" and press Enter.

By the way even if the process is not successful your data can be saved.

[camandkarmasmom]

Turns out I had the disk afterall and because the laptop was bought through my employer, it was still under warranty . The tech guy had my run through the same steps you outlined and it turns out my hard drive is toast. It now boots through to the blue windows welcome screen but that's it. Hopefully all my data is salvageable.

So new question...is retrieveing that data best left to a professional or is it something that someone with pretty much no experience with the inner workings of a computer like myself might be able to handle with propert instruction?

[The Skeptic]

Sorry to say but I am almost convinced that the technician is wrong. I took you through chkdsk /r because it's the simplest, least risky command. It helps in lots of cases but certainly not always. There are other commands that we could lead you through but these also are not always successful and can end with serious problems and even loss of data. Among them are bootini /rebuild, fixmbr, fixboot and Windows Repair installation.

Backing up the data from a laptop can be somewhat more complicated then from a desktop. Judging the situation in which you are, a computer that is still under guarantee, I think that your best option is to take the computer for data backup and repair to an authorized lab. However, if you wish to backup the data yourself please let us know and we will guide you how to do that.

[camandkarmasmom]

Thanks for all your help. Looks like I'll leave the data retrieval for the experts then.

Thanks again,
Amanda