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Help: How to extract registry data from dead server HDD... <limsy 10-05-2005
Posted by <limsy on October 5, 2005, 2:00 pm
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 Hi ppl,

My server just died (it wont start up .. keep rebooting ... even safe mode
(ANY mode) and even if I tried to install another OS on the 2nd drive...
I suspect the harddisk is corrupted or something...

I need a way to copy its registry contents so I can setup another machine
without losing TOO much data. I know, i know.. i SHOULD have BACK IT UP
when the SERVER IS WORKING ... *Bonk Me*

I was hoping I can attach the harddisk to another working machine and
hopefully be able to salvage the registry information from there... is it
possible? Plz help?
I used chkdsk on the HDD ... the other machine seemed to be able to SEE data
on it.
Please help. I havent slept a wink since yesterday ... arghhhh....

ANY help/info is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Thanks again...


SY Lim the newbie ... obviously...









Posted by Steven L Umbach on October 5, 2005, 1:52 am
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 If you tried to install the operating system on another drive by booting
from the install cdrom then I doubt the problem is with the hard drive if
the reboots continue. But you should configure the "second" hard drive to be
the primary hard drive and the original primary the secondary hard drive or
put it as the primary on a controller other then the primary controller or
remove it all together to see if it is the core problem or not causing the
rebooting. The cable from the motherboard to the hard drives could also be
bad. You may have to change jumpers on the hard drive to make it a primary
drive unless you are using cable select in which case it is determined by
which connecter on the cable the drive is connected to. You might have a
problem with a loose pci adapter card, loose cable including from the power
supply to the motherboard and to/from all the drives, an overheating CPU
possibly due to a bad fan or clogged heatsink, flaky memory, or a failing
power supply. There could be other hardware problems but those are the main
culprits. At least try blowing out the CPU heatsink and verify the CPU fan
is running, check to se if the power supply fan is running, make sure all
the cables and adapter cards are well seated, and do the same for the memory
sticks.

The registry files would still be on the hard drive in the
\system\system32\config folder but you can't just copy them from one
operating system to the other. If it is a domain controller you need to have
a backup of the System State to restore Active Directory. You could try
putting the hard drive from your server into another computer that works as
a secondary drive to at least access your data and verify if it is bad or
not. FYI if you have any data encrypted with EFS you may lose access to them
unless you can get the original installation working. If a hard drive is bad
it will usually be bad in any computer. If a checkdisk that way shows the
drive to be intact you probably are in good shape and need to repair the
server and then put the hard drive back into it or it possibly could be put
into another working computer and it just may work as is if plug and play
detects the hardware differences. If it does not you could try doing an in
place upgrade/repair install by booting from the installation cdrom and
select the repair option after agreeing with F8 to the EULA which would
however require that you install first the service pack and then security
updates when done and of course do NOT select an option to format. Before
attempting such first try to copy your important data from the hard drive
and if possible make an image of it to another hard drive. --- Steve

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/292175/ --- in place upgrade install.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=249694

> Hi ppl,
>
> My server just died (it wont start up .. keep rebooting ... even safe mode
> (ANY mode) and even if I tried to install another OS on the 2nd drive...
> I suspect the harddisk is corrupted or something...
>
> I need a way to copy its registry contents so I can setup another machine
> without losing TOO much data. I know, i know.. i SHOULD have BACK IT UP
> when the SERVER IS WORKING ... *Bonk Me*
>
> I was hoping I can attach the harddisk to another working machine and
> hopefully be able to salvage the registry information from there... is it
> possible? Plz help?
> I used chkdsk on the HDD ... the other machine seemed to be able to SEE
> data
> on it.
> Please help. I havent slept a wink since yesterday ... arghhhh....
>
> ANY help/info is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Thanks again...
>
>
> SY Lim the newbie ... obviously...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>




Posted by <limsy on October 7, 2005, 9:31 am
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MY HERO!!!!

U know... i did the REPAIR option before i read your mail ... Press R for
Repair .. went for a cup of coffee
(stayed awake for more than 24 hours ...) ... came back .. SAW THE WHOLE
RE-INSTALLING process
happily running... i ALMOST fainted (I thought REINSTALL = REGISTRY ALL
GONE)
thoughts and ideas started running in my mind ... like .. how do i *glup*
explain to my boss .. and etc. etc...

and then .. i read your REPLY .. whew that was a relief! :)
All i wanted was some 3rd party registry entry (they put IMPORTANT data
there ...)

Happy to say everything is ok after the reinstall. Muhahahaha :)

Thanks again.

SY Lim the lived to work another day one.

> If it does not you could try doing an in
> place upgrade/repair install by booting from the installation cdrom and
> select the repair option after agreeing with F8 to the EULA which would
> however require that you install first the service pack and then security
> updates when done and of course do NOT select an option to format. Before
> attempting such first try to copy your important data from the hard drive
> and if possible make an image of it to another hard drive. --- Steve
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/292175/ --- in place upgrade install.
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=249694
>




Posted by Steven L Umbach on October 6, 2005, 8:35 pm
Please log in for more thread options
Glad you got it working and it sounds like you already were on the path to
success. I suppose I don't have to remind you after your ordeal but I would
feel negligent if I did not remind you to back up the System State on your
server on a regular basis for now on.. --- Steve


> MY HERO!!!!
>
> U know... i did the REPAIR option before i read your mail ... Press R for
> Repair .. went for a cup of coffee
> (stayed awake for more than 24 hours ...) ... came back .. SAW THE WHOLE
> RE-INSTALLING process
> happily running... i ALMOST fainted (I thought REINSTALL = REGISTRY ALL
> GONE)
> thoughts and ideas started running in my mind ... like .. how do i *glup*
> explain to my boss .. and etc. etc...
>
> and then .. i read your REPLY .. whew that was a relief! :)
> All i wanted was some 3rd party registry entry (they put IMPORTANT data
> there ...)
>
> Happy to say everything is ok after the reinstall. Muhahahaha :)
>
> Thanks again.
>
> SY Lim the lived to work another day one.
>
>> If it does not you could try doing an in
>> place upgrade/repair install by booting from the installation cdrom and
>> select the repair option after agreeing with F8 to the EULA which would
>> however require that you install first the service pack and then security
>> updates when done and of course do NOT select an option to format.
>> Before
>> attempting such first try to copy your important data from the hard drive
>> and if possible make an image of it to another hard drive. --- Steve
>>
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/292175/ --- in place upgrade install.
>> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=249694
>>
>
>




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