Re: how to run an executable file when Windows won't start
courtney nhc wrote:
> Hello there. I have a corrupt registry and am trying to follow the
> instructions in this knowledgebase article:
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545
>
> I would prefer to run the Guided Help (now partly because one of the files
> I'm supposed to repair in the manual instructions cannot be copied and I
> don't know what to do), but I don't know how to run a program when Windows
> won't start, and there are no instructions in the KB article. Which is
> strange, because it's right there in the title: "...prevents Windows from
> starting" so they should probably have instructions for how to run an exe
> file when you can't start Windows.
>
> Anyway, if someone could help me, that would be great!
>
> Thanks!
I've never run any of the "Guided Help" options in MS KB articles, but I
agree that it seems unlikely that Guided Help would be of any use in a
situation where Windows doesn't start. Or maybe this Guided Help just
helps you make the 2 batch files on a different (working) computer. I
don't know.
In any case, the manual procedure isn't hard, just a bit tedious unless
you follow the suggestion to make batch files. If you do this by
cut-n-paste, which is the recommended procedure, you also avoid the
chance of mistyping a command. The step that the directions omit is
that you'll either have to copy regcopy1.txt from whatever external
drive you saved it on to the C:\ drive of the problem computer or change
the command to reference the drive on which the file exists (e.g., batch
E:\regcopy1.txt).
Finally, note that this procedure depends (in Part 2) on System Restore
having been active before the problem occurred. If you had turned off
System Restore (it's on by default), you will only have the registry as
it existed when Windows was first installed (before all of the
application programs were installed). In this case, your best option
would be to save all of your data, then reinstall Windows, and then
reinstall your applications.
PRINT OUT THE INSTRUCTIONS AND READ THEM CAREFULLY ALL THE WAY THROUGH
BEFORE YOU START. Note the "Warnings" and "Notes."
Which file is giving you problems when you try to copy it? Note that
the first step, where you copy the files in c:\windows\system32\config\,
is merely creating a backup set of the *current* registry files so
that you can undo the whole thing if, for some reason, that's what you
want to do (see the second paragraph in the Guided Help section). Of
course, you're probably only going through this exercise because one or
more of the current registry files has become corrupt -- and in my
experience, such corruption often prevents you from copying the file.
Thus, if you have a problem copying one of the current registry files,
don't worry. If, on the other hand, you can't copy one or more of the
files in c:\windows\repair\, you'll probably have to reinstall Windows.
--
Lem -- MS-MVP
To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm