RegDatXP v2.0: Confused on Restoring ntuser.dat

Hello & Thanks for taking the time to read this post!!!

Every time I log into my regular profile I am told the profile is corrupt and the system then proceeds to log me into a "temporary" profile.

I did a lot of searching on the internet for answers and am now at a point of repair where I cannot find anything to guide me during the "surgery".

What I have learned & done:
First off, most posts (including Microsoft) refer my symptoms to a corrupt ntuser.dat file.
This file cannot be accessed if it is currently loaded by the system, nor accessed using another profile that uses the same windows partition for its loaded files.

Second, I found many references to using RegDatXP as an excellent tool for restoring a "corrupt" file from the "systems" backup directories or from a manual backup I might have made. ( My last backup is 2 months old.. yes, yes.. stupid me )

Third, I bought RegDatXP and following its Help files, I now have slaved my original HD to a temporary HD.

Fourth, I'm a beginner at working in the Registry. I know you can mess things up quickly & permantly if you are stupid enough to change things you don't understand or aren't sure about what you're doing.

Fifth, I'm smart enough to pick up on things by reading manuals or help files as long as the authors aren't expecting a base knowledge above my level.

My Situation:
RegDatXP's help files regarding the repair process are above my knowledge level. I'm confused on how to repair the ntuser.dat file that is located in the profile of the slaved drive. I don't want to mess things up further by being ignorant & too stubborn to ask for help.

My Computer Specs:
The original HD was running XP Pro SP1.
The temporary HD happened to have Win 2K Pro loaded.
(If I need to be slaving to the same OS then I can immediately install XP Pro)

For anyone who takes the time to post a thought-out & well-written set of instructions for me to follow, investigate or tryout, I Thank You Very Much In Advance!!!

 

Hi PCRepairGuy,

The first method I would try...

1. boot into your W2K,

2. navigate to your corrupt XP ntuser.dat file (for example: \Documents and Settings\PCRepairGuy\ntuser.dat) and copy it to your W2K desktop,

3. run RegdatXP, click Repair Corrupt File, and point it to the ntuser.dat file on your desktop,

4. you may have to run Repair several times to eliminate all errors,

5. once RegdatXP detects no more errors, rename the original ntuser.dat on your XP disk to something like ntuser.dat.bak,

6. and then copy your repaired ntuser.dat back to your XP disk,

7. boot into XP and see what happens...

Try it and see if that works. Dual-booting, as you are doing, is the best environment for this kind of repair as long as you remember to back files up before you edit/repair them.

Nick

 

Thank You Nick S,

I didn't realize I should copy it to the desktop and work on the copy instead. Very good advice!!

In fact, the bummer is that RegDatXP is saying my ntuser.dat is NOT corrupted. (sigh)

I have been reading articles written by Darren Mar-Elia regarding the registry. This is helping me get a fast education regarding the registry but it's still alot to absorb & apply.

At this point, I'm frustrated because the more I read then the more I realize just how much I don't know.

 

Hiya Nick S,

I thought you might like to hear a followup to this situation.

After trying your excellent walk-thru instructions I almost went ahead and reinstalled my system.
Here is the crazy ending to this situtiation which you'll laugh:

The temporary HD had W2K on it and I was using it to boot up on.
I resigned myself to reformating my HD but I decided to first have some fun with it.
I have the image program HDClone.
I decided to image just my OS partition from my problem drive onto the OS partition that had W2K on it.
After it finished, I booted from that same master drive & Surprise! I can now boot into my profile that I couldn't on the other HD.
So, I powerdown, make the original drive my Master Drive & Viola!! I can now boot into my profile.
<Sigh> Never would have guessed this weird ending. I sure wish I didn't have to be a computer geek to have smooth running systems that never had problems.. LOL

Thanks again for your time & help!! See you in the next post!!

 

Thanks for the update. Glad it's up and running again . If you have not done so, you should run chkdsk /r against your original XP partition.

BTW, I noticed that RegdatXP 2.1 was released today. Based on past experience, you should receive download instructions via e-mail shortly.

Nick