Timbob505
Chances are I'm repeating here what you fellas already know. But bear with me, let me have my say. So lend me thy ears. I come not to bury Tombob505's computer but to resusitate it, if I can.
I guess you all know that there are 2 versions of Scanreg - Scanreg.exe and Scanregw.exe. The former is a real-mode item, the latter being protected-mode, a Windows 32-bit item. What's the big deal, you might say. Only this.
Scanreg.exe does not detect registry damage in memory contrary to popular belief. Scanreg /Fix isn't the perfect fix for registry problems. It does have its drawbacks. When you activate the command, Scanreg assesses the structure of the Registry. If it is sound, Scanreg returns the "fix" message. Scanreg /Fix does allow you to choose from a list of the latest 5 backups of the Registry, from which you select to restore a working copy. When this fails, you have to do the other thing, RUN Scanregw.exe (Windows 32-bit protected-mode item).
When backing up a known good copy fails from Scanreg.exe fails, you've got to contend yourself with possible defective memory. For example, a defective memory chip can damage the registry in memory. Scanregw.exe scans the Registry in memory for damage (Scanreg.exe doesn't do that). When Scanregw.exe finds a damaged Registry in memory, it marks the Registry as damaged and Scanreg.exe is activated the next time your computer starts, hence the message WINDOWS WILL NOW RESTART AND REPAIR THE REGISTRY FOR YOU. Scanreg.exe, however, may not detect any damage if the defective memory is not used in real-mode, i.e., within the 1MB memory line. Windows will start as usual but your Registry problem ain't fixed. Do I make sense so far.
The Registry is kept in C:\Windows above the 1MB memory line. It's logical to assume that Scanreg.exe will never be able to detect defective memory because the Registry resides above the 1MB memory line (in protected-mode territory). So what's the solution. How do you establish the presence of defective memory.
Two ways to determine whether defective memory chips are the troublemakers. The first is very simple. Change ram.
The second is where the excitement begins, where Windows comes into its own and becomes your big brother for a day ... or two, perhaps. You limit the range of memory Windows uses. In other words, you confine Windows to working within a certain memory range to isolate the defective memory chip, if it exists at all (really just part of the troubleshooting process). Here's how you do it -
Start Windows in SAFE MODE.
Click START|PROGRAMS|ACCESSORIES|SYSTEM TOOLS and select
SYSTEM INFORMATION.
In the TOOLS menu, click SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY. Click GENERAL tab, click ADVANCED button. In the ADVANCED TROUBLESETTING SETTINGS box, check the LIMIT MEMORY TO <N> MB box. Set the value to 32MB. Click OK, click OK and restart your computer.
If the Registry problem disappears, you know you're dealing with defective ram.
There are no failures in the world; there are only those who didn't know they could succeed!
Michael Chiew