Microsoft Windows: How to Restore a No-Boot Windows OS with Registry Corruption

Summary: This article shows a way to repair a no-boot Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) with registry corruption.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Instructions

  1. Boot to Windows media and instead of choosing to install Windows, click the link in the lower-left corner that says Repair your Computer.
  2. Choose Advanced Options, and then the command prompt. 
  3. Run dir on each drive letter to locate the Windows folder as the installation drive letter can change from the usual C: Drive in the recovery environment. 
  4. Once the Windows folder is located, change the directory to \windows\system32.
  5. Run the following commands:
mkdir configBak
copy config configBak
cd config\RegBack
run dir and make sure the files we are restoring are not 0 KB.
copy * ..\*
  1. Reboot the computer and it should boot to Windows without error. 

Additional Information

Watch this video:
How to Restore Regback for Registry Corruption.

Duration: 00:04:19 (hh:mm:ss)
When available, closed caption (subtitles) language settings can be chosen using the CC icon on this video player.

The video is also available on YouTube:

Affected Products

Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Microsoft Windows Server 2019, Microsoft Windows Server 2022, Microsoft Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Microsoft Windows 2008 Server R2, Microsoft Windows 2008 Server Service Pack 2 , Microsoft Windows 2012 Server, Microsoft Windows 2012 Server R2 ...

Products

Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008
Article Properties
Article Number: 000193578
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 05 Sep 2025
Version:  11
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