"The registry cannot load the hive (file):
\System\system32\config\software or its log or alternate.
It is corrupt, absent or not writable."
You can get false errors reported if your ram is having a connection problem.
A common thing that can happen with ram, even ram that worked fine previously, is the ram has, or has developed, a poor connection in it's slot(s).
This usually happens a long time after the ram was installed, but it can happen with new ram, or after moving the computer case from one place to another, and I've had even new modules that needed to have their contacts cleaned.
See response 2 in this - try cleaning the contacts on the ram modules, and making sure the modules are properly seated:
http://www.computing.net/hardware/w...
If this is a laptop, you must remove both its main battery and AC adapter before you do that.
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You can get real errors reported if the hard drive is starting to fail and files are on bad sectors.
Check your hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostics.
See the latter part of response 1 in this:
http://www.computing.net/windows95/...
If you don't have a floppy drive, you can get a CD image diagnostic utility from most hard drive manufacturer's web sites, but obviously you would need to make a burned CD, preferably a CD-R for best compatibilty, on another computer if you need to.
If there is nothing wrong with the hard drive itself, you can usually fix problems found with the data on the drive one way or another.
If you don't want to lose the data already on the partition Windows XP is on, one way is to run a Repair Setup procedure.
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" If necessary I will purchase an install a floppy drive and see if I can find a XP Startup disk."
There's no such thing as a single XP startup floppy disk that will allow you to use the Recovery Console to try to repair Windows.
If you can boot from the XP CD you don't need to boot from a floppy disk.
Microsoft has files you can download to make a set of 6 XP Setup floppies for either XP Home or XP Pro (XP MCE uses the same ones as Pro does). You boot with the first one and load the contents of all six - they load the same files the XP CD does when you boot with it that gets you to the first screen where you can choose to press R to try to Repair Windows (goes to the Recovery Console) or go on to regular Setup or a Repair Setup (which many call a Repair Install). As far I have gathered there has been no change as to what files are loaded up until that point on more recent XP CDs with SP1 or SP2 updates included.
From that point you can continue on with Setup running it from the XP CD, even if you can't boot from the CD otherwise.
If you can boot with the XP CD you don't need that set of floppies.
