Help needed - Can't shut down new computer :(

[MTDesigns]

Hi everyone!

DH just built a new computer, and he installed windows 2000.[nbsp][nbsp]Problem is, whenever he shuts the computer off and turns it back on, he gets an error that says,

"cannot load hive file -- systemroot\system32\config\software"

Whenever it gets to this point, it reboots and repeats the process.[nbsp][nbsp]He's installed windows 2000 three times already.[nbsp][nbsp]As long as he keeps the computer on, it works fine.[nbsp][nbsp]

Does anyone have any idea on where to begin searching for a problem? He can't shut off his computer until he can begin to solve the problem.

TIA!!

Joi~

[Justin]

I don't know specifically what this error is, but I would recommend the following steps:

- First, make sure your drive does not have any low-level software on it (EZ-BIOS, MaxBlast, OnTrack, etc). These things aren't necessary on any motherboard made in the last few years (unless you have an ungodly large hard drive), and they cause nothing but problems.

- Second, make sure any "boot sector virus protection" in your BIOS is turned off. Of course this involves rebooting...

I'm wanting to guess the first option might be the problem; lots of times, large (20+ gig) drives either come with this stuff preinstalled, or they instruct you to install them (even tho it's not necessary, they assume that it's easier to just tell you to do it rather than having to figure out if it's needed in any particular situation). Being a home-build system this is possible.

Finally, make sure all hardware (including disk drives, CD drives, etc) is on the "HCL", or "Hardware Compatibility List", for Windows 2000. One little drive is all it takes sometimes...

If none of this seems to be the issue, upon another installation attempt, do NOT choose NTFS as your file system. Windows 2000 doesn't give you many options to recover if Windows 2000 can't boot, and since it's the only OS that can properly read/write an NTFS partition, you can't boot 98 or Linux and fix it. Use FAT32 instead. I would almost be willing to say that FAT32 is faster than NTFS, and in any case 98 and Linux can both read/write to it if you need to fix something later. For the non-Linux person, a 98 boot disk can go a long way...

---

A quick search at Microsoft's site turns up a few items. It seems this error is typically given when you disable certain hardware in the Device Manager (this could have been done on installation w/o your knowledge, if Windows didn't recognize something).

Before shutting down, I'd check that first. If anything shows an ! or ? on it (anything yellow or red), try to find updated drivers for Win2k for that device...

Other than that... I'd recommend searching MS's knowledge base for the exact error message string, quite a few results come up.

<EDIT>
Looking at a couple of other search results, I found this:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q265/5/09.ASP

This one should be it -- so either install the patch or go with FAT32 instead of NTFS. Heck, a defrag might be enough to get it going (if that is in fact the problem, it almost sounds like the drive might be too small/full?)

Hope this helps.
</EDIT>

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Justin Nelson
SFE Software (http://www.sfesoftware.com)
[This message has been edited by Justin (edited 04-30-01@12:16 pm)]

[MTDesigns]

Dear Justin,

Thanx so much for your suggestions -- I'll give dh the info and see if he can fix things!

Thanx again!

Best always,

Joi~

[tedloh]

I second what Justin says - use FAT32 unless security is absolutely essential to your machine.

Assuming the board is new, as well as the drives, he may be required to hit F6 in order to force Win2K to ask him if he needs to install any optional devices (such as SCSI) - it's entirely possible the ATA 66/100 hardware is not being recognized properly.
------------------
Ted (Chief Do-It-All)
Got2Bet.com - The Net's Winner's Circle
http://www.got2bet.com
ted@tygresystems.com

[MTDesigns]

This is a machine he built with all new parts -- he hasn't even had a chance to install aol yet.[nbsp][nbsp]I upgraded to aol 6.0 a couple of months ago, and was warned...but I have yet to see any major problems, thankfully!

DH is too busy during the week to try your suggestions -- he's going for his MCSE at night.[nbsp][nbsp]But I will definitely keep you updated.

Thanx again!

Best always,

Joi~

[jimbo]

Is AOL 6.0 on the machine?

I installed AOL6 (the horrors :P), and it wouldn't let me reboot, shutdown, or anything of the sort on my W2K machine.

If you have AOL6, run for your life, or just uninstall it.[nbsp][nbsp];)[nbsp]