was formatting a floppy disk using a program that creates win98 floppy disks, It was finishing up and then my computer locked up. I rebooted and I got this error:

I don't know how to fix it, I go to safe mode and get the same error. I click on OK and it reboots the system. It does this as soon as it boots up (where it loads security policy, network settings, etc). If I don't click on it, it never goes past loading the network settings. Is reinstalling win2k my only option? "something I DON'T wanna do". =(

Hmmmm... not by any chance running a domain controller with Windows 2000 are you??? In that case, try this:


Try this:

1. Boot machine.

2. Press F8 when the Boot menu appears.

3. Boot to Directory Services Restore mode and log on with the Directory Services Restore mode administrator account and password (assigned during DCPromo).

4. Locate the drive containing the directory and log files, generally the NTDS folder of %SystemRoot%.

5. Delete any old EDBxxxxx.log files.

LSASS is Local Security Administration Subsystem, the process running the Local Security Authority component of the Windows NT Security Subsystem. This process handles aspects of security administration on the local computer, including access and permissions. The Net Logon service shares this process.

Its pretty nasty getting probs with that because it will prevent you from starting your machine to fix any problems. The recovery console may be your only hope now.

How is your available hard disk space??? Running out can cause problems of this kind.

na, HD space is healthy. As for as I know, I don't think my computer is a PDC. It's win2k professional. I will try booting to DSR though. Thx for the reply.

was a no go, I think I'm just gonna have to push the red button and nuke the OS. I can never seem to keep an OS for more than 3~4 months =(

Here is what MS says about it.Start your computer in Directory Services Repair mode.


At a command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after each:


ntdsutil
files
info
The output should look similar to:

Drive Information:

C:\ NTFS (Fixed Drive ) free(2.9 Gb) total(3.9 Gb)
D:\ NTFS (Fixed Drive ) free(3.6 Gb) total(3.9 Gb)

DS Path Information:

Database : C:\WINNT\NTDS\ntds.dit - 10.1 Mb
Backup dir : C:\WINNT\NTDS\dsadata.bak
Working dir: C:\WINNT\NTDS
Log dir : C:\WINNT\NTDS - 30.0 Mb total
res2.log - 10.0 Mb
res1.log - 10.0 Mb
edb.log - 10.0 Mb
Verify that each of the paths and files that are listed above exist.


Check each of the paths and files that are listed above to ensure that the permissions are at least set to the defaults (administrators and system - full control).

See if that helps

can't try it now, reinstalled win2k about 4 days ago. My computer wasn't a PDC so I doubt it would work.

damn... i just got the same problem with my windows
i dont want to delete anything and i keep getting the same error.
can you guys plz help me.


thx

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316751/en-us

I used option #2 and a Win98 boot floppy because this is a donated laptop from one of my clients and it was originally part of a domain change from domain account name by clicking down triangle and select anything that says: (this computer) next to account name when logging in--- after you copy the SAM file backup from the repair folder:

DOS commands: cd.. change directory copy also uselful is dir scandisk may be helpful as well surface scan and be sure to make a backup of data on hard drive if important also if you forgot the pasword use this:

http://www.petri.co.il/forgot_admini...password.htm#1

I like this one the best:

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor (v050303)

Petter Nordahl-Hagen has written a Windows NT/2000/XP offline password editor:

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd


Method 2: Copy the SAM File from the Repair Folder
If you cannot restore the SAM file by using the Windows Backup utility, copy the SAM file from the following location
C:\WINDOWS\repair
and paste it to this location:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\config

"Security Accounts Manager Initialization Failed" Error Message When You Start Windows XP
View products that this article applies to.
Article ID : 316751
Last Review : July 11, 2006
Revision : 3.0
This article was previously published under Q316751
On This Page
SYMPTOMSSYMPTOMS
CAUSECAUSE
RESOLUTIONRESOLUTION
Method 1: Restore the SAM File from BackupMethod 1: Restore the SAM File from Backup
Method 2: Copy the SAM File from the Repair FolderMethod 2: Copy the SAM File from the Repair Folder
Method 3: Reinstall Windows XPMethod 3: Reinstall Windows XP
SYMPTOMS
When you start your Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional-based computer, you may receive the following error message:
Security Accounts Manager initialization failed because of the following error: A device attached to the system is not functioning.
Error Status: 0xc0000001.
Please click OK to shut down this system and reboot into Safe Mode, check event log for more detailed information.
When you start the computer in Safe mode, you receive the same error message.
Back to the top Back to the top
CAUSE
This issue may occur if the Security Accounts Manager file (SAM) is corrupted or missing.
Back to the top Back to the top
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, either restore or replace the SAM file.

Note You cannot use the repair process or the recovery console to resolve this issue. These methods require authentication, which cannot occur if the SAM file is corrupted or missing.

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.
Back to the top Back to the top
Method 1: Restore the SAM File from Backup
If you used the Backup utility in Windows XP to back up the system state, you can restore the SAM (and all other registry settings) from the disk or archived copy by using the Restore Wizard or the Automated System Recovery Wizard.

Note ASR is not supported on Windows XP Home Edition.

For additional information about using the Backup utility in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
309340 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309340/EN-US/) HOW TO: Use Backup to Restore Files and Folders on Your Computer in Windows XP
Back to the top Back to the top
Method 2: Copy the SAM File from the Repair Folder
If you cannot restore the SAM file by using the Windows Backup utility, copy the SAM file from the following location
C:\WINDOWS\repair
and paste it to this location:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\config


Note When you do this, you will lose all accounts or groups that had been created. You will also need credentials that were valid at the time that the ASR was run. This will restore the SAM back to the last instance that Automated System Recovery (ASR) was run, or to when the system was first installed. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Do either of the following:
• Start the computer from another operating system (if you have a multiple-boot system).

Note If Windows XP is installed on an NTFS file system drive, you must start the computer from an operating system that can access the NTFS drive (for example, Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows NT). If Windows is installed on a FAT32 drive, you can start the computer by using Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or Microsoft Windows 98.

-or
• Perform a parallel installation of Windows XP, and then start the computer from the parallel installation.

For additional information about how to perform a parallel installation of Windows XP , click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
316941 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316941/EN-US/) HOW TO: Install Windows XP
2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd (or command if you are using Windows Me or Windows 98), and then click OK.
3. At the command prompt, type each of the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command:

copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam

Note This procedure assumes that you have Windows XP installed in the following default location:
c:\windows
4. Restart the computer by using the original installation of Windows XP.
Back to the top Back to the top
Method 3: Reinstall Windows XP
If you cannot restore the SAM file by using either Method 1 or Method 2, you must reinstall Windows XP to replace the SAM file.

Note You must use the New Installation option to replace the SAM file. If you perform use the In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) option for Windows XP, the SAM file is not replaced. This method may require that you reformat the partition that Windows XP is installed to. Before you continue with this method, make sure that you have a backup of your My Documents folder, or select an option to install Windows XP to a different partition than where Windows is currently installed.

For additional information about how to install Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
316941 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316941/EN-US/) HOW TO: Install Windows XP
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APPLIES TO
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
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Keywords:
kberrmsg kbsiteserv300sp1fix kbprb KB316751

I tried with Method2. but i can't delete/replace sam file under system32 folder. it's replied me as 'It's being used by other program'. What should i do next?