Registry Problems

[phlip67]

I was using stumbleupon he other day, and I came across a little forum that promised to 'validate windows', and since microsoft doesnt see my copy of windows as genuine, I decided to try it. On the site, they gave me some code to copy into notepad and save as a .reg file (to update the registry with new things), and it copied into the registry just fine, but when i rebooted my computer it got stuck at the welcome screen, and when i log in it gives me an error message "A Problem is preventing Windows from accurately checking your copy of windows 0x80004005"

I have been thinking a lot about this, and since I trust you guys here at techspot to come up with a solution quickly and efficiently, i decided to post here.

Anyways, I am prepared to format and reinstall windwos on my drive if i need to do this, because there is nothing of importance on my drive that isn't already on my USB drive.

Computer Specs:
Compaq Presario 1500US Notebook
Windows XP Home Edition
NO CD Drive
Does not boot from USB
Flopy drive working fine


hope you can help!

phlip67 =]

 

[Ididmyc600]

Hi

easiest answer is to buy a legitimate copy of windows, if your version is supposedly legitimate then a call to microsoft should sort it out.

Just out of interest how do you plan to reinstall windows with no CD drive ?


Regards

 

[phlip67]

yah my copy is the one that came with the computer incase of somethin like this (operating system CD)

and im borrowin my friends laptop to swap the drives (his CD drive works)

 

[Bobbye]

"yah my copy is the one that came with the computer incase of somethin like this (operating system CD)"

If it was an OEM install from a reliable company, it should be a legitimate copy.

 

[phlip67]

Well, I did a repair of XP, and it's working great. It wasn't my copy of windows that was at fault it was the changes i made to the registry because i incorrectly thought my windows was messed up. or something. anyways thank you . you guys here at techspot are very helpful

 

[Bobbye]

Registry "dabbling" is not a good thing! It's one reason why some of us prefer not to even recommend Registry cleaners. The user must realize what the consequence of any Registry change may be and should make a backup copy of the Registry before making any changes. Then, if a change causes a problem, the Registry can be restored from the backup- instead of doing a repair or reinstall.

 

[phlip67]

yup i learned that lesson. thats how my knowledge of computers works:

Do something
the Something breaks the computer
Don't do the something any more
=]

anyways could you tell me how to back up my registry in case this happens again?

 

[Bobbye]

Manual steps to back up the registry in Windows Vista or in Windows XP: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756