STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure}

[eabradfo]

My laptop has freezed last night. So I tried to forcefully turned it off. Removing the power adapter was not working so I removed the battery. After a while when I turned it on back again I got a error code on the screen. The error is :

STOP:  c0000218 {Registry File Failure}.
The registry cannot load the hive (file):
\SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE
or its log or alternatre
It is corrupted, absent, or not writeable.

Windows failed to start and it is not working. My system use to freeze a lot but on reboot it went back to normal. I am not able to find a working solution for the same. I hope there is some way to deal with the issue. I just want to restore my system back as it was.

[Sulolab]

You must have backup your data before doing that. And never remove a laptop battery. It puts your entire hardware on risk and can cause major failure in the system. Just keep pressing the power button the system will turn off on its own. I think you had screwed your system entirely. Now to fix Windows you can do the following. Boot from Windows installation disc and then choose Recovery Option. You will need to hit R for that. In that type chkdsk and hit enter. Then wait back, the bootable disc will scan your system for corrupt files and replace it. It is not at all a complicated job. If this does not work then you have to install windows from scratch.

[eabradfo]

That was really sad to find that the system is completely screwed up. I would have avoided that. But for my data backup there is nothing to much worry. I am using Norton 360 Online backup and it really works well. There is no issue at all. But I am not having a windows installation disc. That is the another said point. I am trying to use another disc that is borrowed from my friend. But that too does not work well. It is necessary to use the OEM recovery disc only. Because I will loose my license if I add any other. It is same like purchasing a new os.

[Jag]

If you have a laptop then just check there is a recovery option available. A number of branded computers comes with recovery partition that works really very well and helps to restore your system os back again from scratch. It is not at all complicated and works quiet properly. You can try hitting the function keys on boot and I am sure if there is recovery partition in your system your OS will be restored. That is the OEM OS. The second option is to contact the manufacturer and ask him to provide you duplicate cd's of your laptop.