Can I recover from my screwup?

[lnesseler]

After overclocking my memory, I managed to damage the system files. I have a full backup of everything else on a different drive, including user files and program files, using Retrospect. I was thinking, wipe the drive, reinstall Vista, reinstall the documents and programs folders, then restore the registry from the backup.

Which may be complete nonsense and impossible. But I'm trying to avoid reinstalling all of the programs :confused:

But it would help if I knew where the registry actually was. Is it a file, does it have a name? And if I restore it into a system, will it be stupid?

Thanks.

By the way, I can safe boot my damaged drive. It just won't come up normally.

Is there any other way to recover?

http://www.nesseler.org/picts/friends/baby.jpg

[YMAA]

Boot from the Vista disc and repair your installation. Should be able to fix corrupted files, registry included. If not, I'd say your only option is to back up what you have to and reinstall.

[Gautam]

:welcome: to XS, and get used to hosing your OS if you're gonna be pushing memory clocks from boot. :p:

Moved this to Operating Systems, as Xtreme Overclocking is a section to be used for just that. :cool: Keep that in mind for next time, thanks.

[Emerica]

Boot from the Vista disc and repair your installation. Should be able to fix corrupted files, registry included. If not, I'd say your only option is to back up what you have to and reinstall.

Agreed. Try to do a repair first and if that doesn't work, I would just reformat and reinstall the OS.

[lnesseler]

Agreed. Try to do a repair first and if that doesn't work, I would just reformat and reinstall the OS.

Tried repair. Says there's no problem.

[lnesseler]

But it would help if I knew where the registry actually was. Is it a file, does it have a name?


Were I to look in C:\WINDOWS, where would I find it?

[biohead]

run > regedit > file > export ;)

then import again when you've reinstalled the OS.

just found out about this, was curious if it was possible. my reg dump is about 65 MB, seems realistic.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

I have had this happen. Have you tried to lower your OC?

It'll tell me that I have corrupted ________.dll. I'll reboot with less aggressive timings and it works fine.

[lnesseler]

run > regedit > file > export ;)

then import again when you've reinstalled the OS.

just found out about this, was curious if it was possible. my reg dump is about 65 MB, seems realistic.

I got Vista to boot in safe mode again, but not safe mode with networking (clue!). I ran regedit, and backed up the registry to a different drive. I also did a diskcheck, and there were numerous errors corrected, but not in the file records themselves.

In the past, with XP, there were times I've gotten past a problem with booting the system by doing nothing more interesting than running in safe mode and restarting.

So I restarted, but no joy. So I restarted the Vista Installer, no joy, can't find anything wrong with startup. Tried a restore point. There weren't any. The problem still exists, apparently, where an XP install wipes out your Vista restores. (Or something approximating that.)

So then, at a restart, I get the multi-boot menu, and hit F8. Only this time, I did something I don't expect to work—last good configuration. I didn't expect it to work because there were no restore points. I didn't realize that there are OTHER things Vista keeps around that I know nothing about.

Because it came right up, and has run perfectly ever since. And I did a full backup once again, and intend to copy it, and the program to restore it, to an off-board drive THAT I WILL DISCONNECT BEFORE I MAKE THE NEXT SERIES OF MISTAKES.

All of which is to say, I confess to n00bhood (I designed major software systems, including the autopilot for the B2, have a Master's in Comp Sci from UC Berkeley, and I hate windows so much I've never really tried to understand anything but BCDEDIT and the registry.)

So I ordered two deep books from Microsoft Press on Vista, and am eagerly awaiting the rewritten OS manual due in January. I am inspired by my ignorance, and want the damned thing to overclock to the moon.

[lnesseler]

I have had this happen. Have you tried to lower your OC?

It'll tell me that I have corrupted ________.dll. I'll reboot with less aggressive timings and it works fine.

Took your advice. I reflashed CMOS, reloaded the stock settings for everything. No joy.

But I am running again without loss! See above.:clap: