Using the Emergency Repair Disk | Microsoft Corporation Staff, IT Professional Staff - Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Operations Guide

If your system does not start, and using safe mode or the Recovery Console has not helped, you can try using the Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) option of Backup. Backup includes a wizard to help you create an ERD. If a system failure occurs, you can start the system using the Windows 2000 Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks which can be created by running Makeboot.exe from the Bootdisk folder on the Windows 2000 Setup CD. Then use the Emergency Repair Process to restore core system files.

Make sure to create an ERD when your computer is functioning well so that you are prepared if you need to repair system files. The ERD allows you to make only basic system repairs, such as to the system files, boot sector, and startup environment. The ERD does not back up data, programs, or the registry and is not a replacement for regular system backups.

Important

The Windows 2000 ERD, unlike the ERD used with Windows NT, does not contain a copy of the registry files. The backup registry files are in the folder %SystemRoot%\Repair. However, these files are from the original installation of Windows 2000. In the event of a problem, they can be used to return your computer to a usable state.

When you back up system state data, a copy of your registry files is placed in the folder %SystemRoot%\Repair\Regback. If your registry files become corrupted or are accidentally erased, use the files in this folder to repair your registry without performing a full restore of the system state data. This method is recommended for advanced users only and can also be accomplished by using the Recovery Console commands.

Creating the Emergency Repair Disk

When the ERD is created, the files listed in Table 13.2 are copied from %SystemRoot%\Repair to a floppy disk.

Table 13.2 Contents of the Repair Directory Created by Windows 2000 Setup

File Name	Contents
Autoexec.nt	A copy of %SystemRoot%\System32\Autoexec.nt, which is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment.
Config.nt	A copy of %SystemRoot%\System32\Config.nt, which is used to initialize the MS-DOS environment.
Setup.log	A log of which files were installed files, and Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) information for use during the Emergency Repair Process. This file has the read-only, system, and hidden attributes, and it is not visible unless you have configured My Computer to show all files.

Create the ERD after Windows 2000 is installed. Recreate the ERD after each service pack, system date, or updated driver is installed. Be sure to make a copy of your current ERD and store it in a secure location, perhaps off-site.

Note

The ERD is not a replacement for backups!

For more information about the %SystemRoot%\Repair and %SystemRoot%\System32\Config folders and the ERD, see the Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page http://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/reskit/webresources.

Emergency Recovery Process

If you have prepared an ERD, you can use it to help repair system files after starting the computer using either the Windows 2000 Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. However, the Windows 2000 Setup CD is required for replacing any damaged files.

The ERD must include current configuration information. Make sure that you have an ERD for each installation of Windows 2000 on your computer, and never use an ERD from another computer.

Note

You cannot repair all disk problems by using the ERD.

When you start the Emergency Repair Process, the following information is displayed on the screen:

This operation will attempt to repair your Windows 2000 system.

Depending on the type of damage present, this operation might or might not be successful. If the system is not successfully repaired, restart Setup and choose the option to recover a destroyed system or system disk.

Select one of the following repair options:

Manual Repair. To choose from a list of repair options, press M.
Fast Repair. To perform all repair options, press F.

If you select Manual Repair, the registry files are not checked. If you select Fast Repair, and if the folder %SystemRoot%\Repair is accessible, the registry files are checked. If the folder %SystemRoot%\Repair is inaccessible (for example, due to file system corruption) the registry files are not checked.

Manual Repair. It is recommended that only advanced users or administrators choose this option. Using it, you can repair system files, boot sector problems, and startup environment problems.
Fast Repair. This is the easier option to use, and does not require user input. If you choose this option, the Emergency Recovery Process attempts to repair problems related to system files, the boot sector on your system disk, and your startup environment (if your computer has more than one operating system installed). This option also checks and repairs the registry files by loading and unloading each registry key. If a key is not successfully checked, it is automatically copied from the repair directory to the folder %SystemRoot%\System32\Config.

If you choose Fast Repair, all repair options are performed. Manual Repair allows you to select from the following three options:

Inspect Startup Environment Inspect Startup Environment verifies that the Windows 2000 files in the system partition are correct. If any of the files that are needed to start Windows 2000 are missing or corrupted, Repair replaces them from the Windows 2000 Setup CD. These include NTLDR and Ntdetect.com. If Boot.ini is missing, it is recreated.

Verify Windows 2000 System Files Verify Windows 2000 System Files uses a checksum to verify that each installed file is good and that it matches the file that was installed from the Windows 2000 Setup CD. If the recovery process determines that a file on the disk does not match what was installed, it displays a message that identifies the file and asks if you want to replace it. The Emergency Repair Process also verifies that startup files, such as NTLDR and Ntoskrnl.exe, are present and valid.

Inspect Boot Sector Inspect Boot Sector verifies that the boot sector on the system partition still references NTLDR. The Emergency Repair Process can only replace the boot sector for the system partition on the first hard disk. The Emergency Repair Process can also repair the boot sector for the system partition on the startup disk.

If you choose Fast Repair, all repair options are performed.

If the Emergency Repair Process Does Not Fix Your System

If you have performed the Emergency Repair Process and the computer still does not operate normally, you can use the Windows 2000 Setup CD to perform an in-place upgrade over the existing installation. This is a last resort before reinstalling the operating system. Note that the time required to complete the following procedure is equal to the time it takes to reinstall the operating system.

To perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 2000

Mount the Windows 2000 Setup CD.
Press Enter to install a copy of Windows 2000.
When you are prompted to repair the existing Windows 2000 installation, press R.

Note

Windows 2000 Setup performs an in-place upgrade of your existing installation. However, you might lose some customized settings of your system files.