A. Although this error message suggests that the System registry hive is missing or corrupt, this message typically results from the System registry hive being too large for the OS to load. For Intel-based systems, the initial stage of the boot process is limited to 16MB of available memory. During this phase of the boot process, the system must load the following items:

• Loader
• Kernel
• The hardware abstraction layer (HAL)
• Boot drivers
• System registry hive

If the System registry hive exceeds 13MB, an error can occur, resulting in the error message above. The System registry hive is meant to store only information that the OS needs to start the machine.

To resolve this error, you must replace the existing System registry hive with a smaller backup version:

1. Boot your system to the recovery console using the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM, selecting R for Repair and C for the Console.
2. Select the installation to repair and enter its associated recovery/administrator password.
3. Navigate to the System32\Config folder by typing the command

  cd system32\config

4. Rename the current system files by typing the commands

  ren system system.old 
  ren system.alt systemalt.old

5. Run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard from Win2K Backup and Recovery tools, and copy the backup System registry hive from the %systemroot%\repair folder or the %systemroot%\repair\regback folder to the current folder by typing the command

  copy %systemroot%\repair\system %systemroot%\system32\config

6. Exit the recovery console by typing the command

  exit

After you replace the System registry hive, any extra services or drivers that you installed since you created the backup hive might not work correctly, so you might need to reinstall them.









Reader Comments

this is all very nice but what do we do if we don't have a recent copy? it would be really useful to provide a way in which we can compress for example the large file, or even try to remove some unwanted information in there. In any case I think it is so silly that a large files halts the machine completely, and yet there is not even a warning that this file is getting too large! You only find out when you can't boot your machine any more !

Daniel -May 20, 2003

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Just for the sake of being acurate, I don't believe the error message refers to "System.ced", which doesn't exist, but rather just "System". The error appears to read that way because it is displayed on top of the "advanced startup options" message that is displayed at every boot up. The error ends with the word "system." and overlaps the word "advanced" covering up the first five letters "advan". the result is "system.ced" or as I have seen it "system ced" with no period.

Mark -June 11, 2003

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Any help about what Daniel said, what we should do if we do not have a backup?...Thanks

Maria Wing -July 16, 2003

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Is there a way to manually repait corrupted registry hive. since i don't have a recent registry backup i will have to reinstall all applications that i have installed before corruption occured. For example a MSSQL server, installation disk for which i dont have. can i manually open corrupted hive file and export all path and settings from it to external files and then create a new hive file and import all those exported files to it ? I tried a program called "resplendence Registrar" http://www.resplendence.com/ but when i try to open hive it says that Registry Script is Corrupted and cannot be open. But when i open file for view in Notepad i can see settings, paths, etc. Is there some sort of utility that ignores this corruption and forcibly opens hive ?

Radiol -July 20, 2003

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Windows is useless. That's the answer.

Dan -July 05, 2004

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Ho wdo I know what isthe password for the recovery adminsitrator

geroge -July 08, 2004

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Error Message: Windows Could Not Start Because the Following File Is Missing or Corrupt: \Winnt\System32\Config\Systemced To copy the default System hive, type the following command, and then press ENTER: copy c:\winnt\repair\system c:\winnt\system32\config

Anonymous User -December 16, 2004

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http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;269075

Anonymous User -December 16, 2004

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This is very good . This article has resolved my problem very well in no time. - Thank you very much

Anonymous User -January 21, 2005

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Nice TEMPORARY fix. ;)

Anonymous User -January 30, 2005

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i am having the same problem but the system folder is missing completely from my hard drive and the repair folder, what are my options to get my pc going without a total system re-install

kram1201 -February 04, 2005

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I have tried the solution from Microsoft web site (Q269075). BUT in the solution, it has an IMPORTANT note stating that this will not work on an active directory domain controller. The server i'm getting this error on, is my PDC. And there seems to be no solution to a server with Active Directory, what an incomplete solution this is. I even tried going ahead with the solution, but I am not being prompted to enter the Admin password, and i am not able to rename the file. I don't know if the rename operation failed cause of no admin rights, but i'm not prompted to enter the admin password. Anyone has any ideas?

Anonymous User -July 07, 2005

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Sweet I got an awesome fix for this but it takes some effort to prepare. I have created a bootable cd that you just pop in and it almostlooks like you are installing windows. just select r, then the corrupted version of windows and you are set. This is good if you may run into this problem more than once. here is the link to the site that tells you how to create the cd: http://jayroos.com/tech/tips.php?id=32 Unsure if it works on domain controllers.

Anonymous User -July 18, 2005

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I had Win NT4 and the system32\config folder was corrupted. I couldn't access it even after I slaved it with another PC. So just backed up the data and re-install the whole system!

Anonymous User -July 25, 2005

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Excellent Idea, its work for me without any problem.... Thanks Once Again

Anonymous User -September 03, 2005

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I have something else going on and I was hoping someone could help me! I insert the Recovery cd, hit r, it starts to go to the recovery screen, but then, out of the blue, the computer shuts down completely!!!!! Can any one help? Thanks

diggitypoo -March 08, 2007

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