BSOD Error Code

I installed a Logitech MX-1000 cordless mouse and it's software on my mom's Dell Dimension 4600 (XP Home) computer on Xmas and it seemed to be working fine so don't think it's the problem but shortly afterwards my Firefox browser locked up and I had to reboot. When it rebooted I got a BSOD with error code Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate. After rebooting several times I always get this BSOD. I have had some problems with Firefox 2.0 locking up on my own computer so I would rather think the problem is associated with it but I guess I can't know for sure.

For several months now her computer has been so sluggish and I always thought maybe she needed more than the 512 of Ram she had, but do you think it could be her harddrive going bad with this latest problem? I have updated anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall programs installed on her computer so it's not like a virus or spyware is slowing down her computer.

My brother posted this on another forum and got this answer on how to fix her computer:

Back up the corrupted registry and create a default registry.


To back up your existing registry files and copy registry files from the repair directory to the c:\Windows\System32\Config directory, perform the following steps:

( NOTE: For more information on how to boot to the Recovery Console, refer to Dell Knowledge Base Article: 289434 - What is the Microsoft® Windows® XP System Restore utility and how do I use it?.)



Boot to the Recovery Console
The Recovery Console command prompt (C:\WINDOWS) appears.
At the prompt, type the following lines and press the <Enter> key after each command:

md tmp
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak
delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
delete c:\windows\system32\config\default
copy c:\windows\repair\system.bak c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default

Remove the Windows XP Operating System CD if it is present.
Type exit, and then press the <Enter> key to exit the Recovery Console.
The computer restarts.

I guess I'm still not sure how to get to the Windows Recovery Console and can I do more harm than good if I follow the above instructions? Would I still need to use System Restore to go back a few days after or if the Recovery Console restarts my computer? Or would having Dell support try to talk me through repairing my mom's computer be the thing to do, although they will probably have me reinstall Windows, drivers, etc. all over again?

 

Here's an excellent resource for recovering from a corrupt registry (even has a video): http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

Ensure that you've done several anti-virus and anti-spyware scans to ensure that the system is clean. Otherwise the "nasties" can hose your registry again.

 

I ended up finding out the harddrive is bad so I'm getting a new one, thanks anyway.