I had some problems with my W2K server and attempted to do a "repair" from the install CD. At one point in the install, The application had problems reading the CD and I quite (F3) out of the install and tried a different CD drive. I ran into the same problem again. I decided that the problem was with the CD itself. So, I got another one and it had the same problem.

While all this was going on, over several days, and after the first attempt to "repair", I was able to backup the system drive with the backup utility and at another point copied the system drive to another drive. So, I have two copies of the system in different states of disrepair.

As it turned out, or at least I think, the install problem had to do with the fact that I have SCSI and IDE drives on the system. I've recently, within the last year or so, added two IDE drives to the system. I used the "repair" option before and haven't had any problems. This time the install program rearranged my disk configuration. I had a C: system drive and an E: applications drive. The install application changed this configuration by taking my two IDE drives and making the C: and D:, and the installed on the system drive as the E: drive and the applications as the F: drive. This left me with no applications on the system. After much fooling around, I've been able to get the disk configuration back in order and install a new copy of W2K on the system drive under the directory "NewNT". This has allowed me to boot up.

I've copied what I think is the least damaged of the two W2k directories onto the C: drive, but it lacks files, ntoskrnl is one. I've copied over the kernel from the more damaged copy, but I just get into a situation where the boot program keeps finding more and more things it doesn't like' mostly with registry files. I'd like to some how get out of this with as little damage as is possible.

THE PLAN
===========

Here's what I'm thinking about trying.

1) Do a fresh install of w2k into a c:\winnt

2) Install service pack 4 (this is the level I was at before this all began)

3) Restore the most complete copy I've got of the C: drive over the existing C: drive without any replacement of existing files.

I'm hoping this will get me close to the original configuration and that the only mismatch would be the registry files. A clean install will give me the boot files and the boot.ini will allow me to point to a \winnt directory.

Here's a listing of the original configuration the files in the %system%\repair directory

03/31/2008 09:50a <DIR> .
03/31/2008 09:50a <DIR> ..
12/07/1999 04:00a 438 autoexec.nt
04/12/2007 04:22p 2,620 config.nt
03/12/2008 06:06p 217,088 default
03/31/2008 09:50a 0 dir.txt
03/30/2008 09:41a <DIR> RegBack
03/12/2008 06:06p 32,768 sam
03/12/2008 06:06p 77,824 security
03/12/2008 06:04p 154,892 setup.log
03/12/2008 06:06p 35,991,552 software
03/12/2008 06:06p 3,272,704 system
9 File(s) 39,749,886 bytes

Directory of H:\NTRestore\WINNT\repair\RegBack

03/30/2008 09:41a <DIR> .
03/30/2008 09:41a <DIR> ..
03/12/2008 11:49a 217,088 default
03/12/2008 06:58p 5,939,200 NTUSER.DAT
03/12/2008 11:49a 32,768 SAM
03/12/2008 11:49a 77,824 SECURITY
03/12/2008 11:49a 35,479,552 software
03/12/2008 11:49a 7,520,256 system
03/12/2008 07:06p 167,936 UsrClass.dat

Here's a listing of the original configuration files in the system32\config directory

Directory of H:\NTRestore\WINNT\system32\config

03/31/2008 10:17a <DIR> .
03/31/2008 10:17a <DIR> ..
03/12/2008 06:34p 524,072 AppEvent.Evt
03/12/2008 09:50a 221,184 default.sav
03/31/2008 10:17a 0 dir.txt
12/04/2005 08:20a 88 DnsEvent.Evt
03/12/2008 05:08p 32,768 sam.sav
03/12/2008 06:34p 76,632 SecEvent.Evt
03/12/2008 05:17p 90,112 security.sav
03/12/2008 09:50a 35,971,072 software.sav
03/12/2008 06:34p 155,664 SysEvent.Evt
03/12/2008 09:50a 5,660,672 system.sav

My understanding from http://www.computing.net/windows200... is that I can use the recovery console to replace the "new" registry files with the "old" and when I boot again, I'll have the original system back, more or less, except for the NTUser.dat in "Documents and Settings".

PLEASE let me know what yall think of this idea to get things back in order.

mmm... Are you saying that originally you "had" W2K installed as c:\winnt; and now afer a long journey you are intending to re-install W2K (fresh) as c:\winnt?

Which having done, to overwrite it with a "sound" copy of the original version?

This has been a long and complicated journey. I believe the problem centered on the idea that the w2k install program didn't maintain my drive configuration. I think a complication is that the Adaptec SCSI RAID host adapter knows what the SCSI configuration is, but the install program wanted thing its own way with the two IDE drives coming first in the configuration. This may seem like a strange thing to say, but it's the only way I have to explain the install problems I encountered. One was that midway through the install process files couldn't be read from CD. I even went so far as to copy the files to my C: drive and run the install off that drive. But midway through, files couldn't be copied. The second problem was that when I isolated a single SCSI drive on the system, install would copy all files, but then blue screen with a hardware problem when it tried to configure the system. Once I removed the IDE drives from the system and included all SCSI drives in the configuration, the install went smoothly.

Now that the configuration problem is solved, I'm faced with an "original" w2k operating system which has gone through a "repair" effort which never completed successfully. The "repair" process deleted main system files and wasn't able to replace them.

The reason for doing a clean install of w2k into c:/winnt is so that I have a bootable copy which has the same directory as before. The reason for the restore of the old copy C: drive image is so that I can get the functionality of my original system back. The missing piece in the above is the registry files. Two options I can come up with to put the registry back in order is 1) the recovery console and 2) trying F8 and restore last known configuration.

If you have other ideas, I'd be glad to hear them.

Oddly... there was an article - a how to repair an crippled system - much along the lines you are proposing - an age ago. Cannot recall where it was - it was a while back and was in the daze of nt4...

Nonetheless the core of it was in effect to transfer a "working/valid" registry to a from a fresh installation to another installation that had a "slightly damaged" (as in it wouldn't work properly) registry. The two OS had exactly the same path (location, directory/folder name etc...); were otherwise identical...

I have never tried it; but I can't see any reason not to try it in your case. Even though you are in effect doing it the other way round?

The worst that can happen is the new installation is trashed... but that's all? You still will have the original - damaged though it be - to start experimenting with again?

Providing you are au-fait at possibly having to re-install a fresh version (again to c:z\winnt) - why not give it a go?

In some ways it almost comes over as modified version of the difference-file etc. that one creates via one PC and then use to install assorted apps/utils etc. via download from a server to a series of prepared PCs - that have an OS and that's all?

Thanks your the opinion. It does seem like I don't have much to loose. LOL This issue is ... do I gain anything. I'm getting real tired of all this. NT protects the registry files with a vengeance. I need to get around that. And I'd like the conformation that the reg files listed above can be used or which files to use may be a better way to put it. I'm on the West coast and my application disks are in storage in Missouri. I'd sure like to get those applications back up again.