Help with 0xc000014c error

[Marvzl1357]

Hullo,

I was browsing youtube and the forums (and torrenting 2 episodes of an anime) when suddenly my laptop went all bsod on me.

I rebooted and it says 

 

The operating system couldn't be loaded because the system registry file is missing or contains errors.

File:\Windows\system32\config\system

Error code: 0xc000014c

You'll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media. etc. etc.

I've searched around a bit, and I found this: https://neosmart.net/wiki/0xc000014c/

However, I don't have any money on card or anything to pay for even the most basic one.

I don't have the boot cd that came with the laptop either.

Are there any free alternatives that can fix this problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, the laptop contains most of my work. 

 

Thanks a lot

[Marvzl1357]

please... help....

[Fulgrim]

1.     Turn on your machine

2.     Immediately begin tapping the F8 key repeatedly (If you get to the Windows startup screen start over)

3.     When the Startup Options menu comes up select “Last known good configuration”

4.     Let the computer attempt to boot into Windows

If this successfully gets you booted into WIndows you should be ok.  Your system will function as it did before.  If this DOES NOT get you booted into Windows normally you can try running the System File Scanner:

1.      Turn on your machine

2.     Immediately begin tapping the F8 key repeatedly (If you get to the Windows startup screen start over)

3.     When the Startup Options menu comes up select “Safe Mode with Command Prompt”

4.     At the command prompt type this command sfc /scannow

5.     Then press enter

[Marvzl1357]

 

1.     Turn on your machine

2.     Immediately begin tapping the F8 key repeatedly (If you get to the Windows startup screen start over)

3.     When the Startup Options menu comes up select “Last known good configuration”

4.     Let the computer attempt to boot into Windows

If this successfully gets you booted into WIndows you should be ok.  Your system will function as it did before.  If this DOES NOT get you booted into Windows normally you can try running the System File Scanner:

1.      Turn on your machine

2.     Immediately begin tapping the F8 key repeatedly (If you get to the Windows startup screen start over)

3.     When the Startup Options menu comes up select “Safe Mode with Command Prompt”

4.     At the command prompt type this command sfc /scannow

5.     Then press enter

shit, it failed to get into the startup settings, it keeps looping back to the same error screen

[Fulgrim]

shit, it failed to get into the startup settings, it keeps looping back to the same error screen

Can you get into safe mode?

[Marvzl1357]

Can you get into safe mode?

nope, tapping f8 for startup settings brings it back to the same error screen

pressing enter to "try again" brings it back to the same error screen

 

oh, and windows 8 btw, don't know if that makes any difference

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

If it's Windows 8, and you can't even get into recovery, just pray it auto-fixes itself like it tends to do. If you get a chance to launch into recovery, and get the WindowsRE command prompt, type in:

bootrec /rebuildbcd

I've found that to fix almost all boot errors with Windows 8.
Personally, it hasn't worked once, but running the same command, only /fixmbr solved the issue.

[Marvzl1357]

If it's Windows 8, and you can't even get into recovery, just pray it auto-fixes itself like it tends to do. If you get a chance to launch into recovery, and get the WindowsRE command prompt, type in:

bootrec /rebuildbcd

I've found that to fix almost all boot errors with Windows 8.

Personally, it hasn't worked once, but running the same command, only /fixmbr solved the issue.

oh, there's a new message now saying 

 

 

a required device isn't connected or can't be accessed.

error code: 0xc0000225

then I went to press f8 for startup settings and it reverts to the 0xc000014c error

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

The new message, is saying it can't access the boot partition, which is a tad problem. Double check all cables, and I guess, try booting again. Sometime Windows 8 throws hissy fits with stuff like this, and then magically fixes itself.

I had an issue where I could boot, and shortly after booting, it would completely freeze, and if I tried accessing any repair options, I got a drive locked warning. It was so bad, and mysterious, MS elevated my issue to a research tech, and even they didn't know wtf was ging on. During the call with the tech though, I tried booting up just randomly, and suddenly it went into auto-repair mode.

I swear, Win 8 is just freaking bi-polar.

[Marvzl1357]

The new message, is saying it can't access the boot partition, which is a tad problem. Double check all cables, and I guess, try booting again. Sometime Windows 8 throws hissy fits with stuff like this, and then magically fixes itself.

I had an issue where I could boot, and shortly after booting, it would completely freeze, and if I tried accessing any repair options, I got a drive locked warning. It was so bad, and mysterious, MS elevated my issue to a research tech, and even they didn't know wtf was ging on. During the call with the tech though, I tried booting up just randomly, and suddenly it went into auto-repair mode.

I swear, Win 8 is just freaking bi-polar.

ah the joys of windows 8

anyway, I'm cracking open my laptop, clearing cmos, re-seating ram and hard drive and I'll see if that fixes anything

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

I highly doubt it, it just sounds like typical Windows 8 shenanigans to me. As much as I love the OS, it's got it's own menstrual cycle or something. Some days it's just fine, other days something like this, or it takes like an hour to shut down...

[Marvzl1357]

I highly doubt it, it just sounds like typical Windows 8 shenanigans to me. As much as I love the OS, it's got it's own menstrual cycle or something. Some days it's just fine, other days something like this, or it takes like an hour to shut down...

yup, didn't do anything, back to the same problem

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

When all else fails, you can try what I do... Hardboot it when it's trying to boot, or spits an error, and reboot while mashing F8 to get into the startup options/recovery and pray it works. Eventually it will, or it'll go into auto-repair, from my experiences at least. That being said, the previous issue I mentioned, took like a week to fix itself, and since it did a refresh, I lost all my installed programs and stuff, so keep that in mind.

[Marvzl1357]

When all else fails, you can try what I do... Hardboot it when it's trying to boot, or spits an error, and reboot while mashing F8 to get into the startup options/recovery and pray it works. Eventually it will, or it'll go into auto-repair, from my experiences at least. That being said, the previous issue I mentioned, took like a week to fix itself, and since it did a refresh, I lost all my installed programs and stuff, so keep that in mind.

well, this is greatly inconvenient, I have two lab reports that I was supposed to write up this weekend, but looks like that's gonna be a bit of a problem...

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

Mine pulled the shenanigans the day of a mid-term, I had to get it re-scheduled. Chances are, your teachers with either 1) understand, 2) say you should've gone to a library or something to do it, or 3) done it sooner (IFF given a long time to do it). Just keep trying to boot it/get into repair mode.

[Marvzl1357]

Mine pulled the shenanigans the day of a mid-term, I had to get it re-scheduled. Chances are, your teachers with either 1) understand, 2) say you should've gone to a library or something to do it, or 3) done it sooner (IFF given a long time to do it). Just keep trying to boot it/get into repair mode.

Yeah, hopefully it'll work soon, if all else fails, I'll have to *gasp* go to the school's IT service

*dun dun duuuunnn*

but we only did the experiments on Thursday, so hopefully that's a short enough period for them to give me extra time to do it somehow

[Marvzl1357]

Mine pulled the shenanigans the day of a mid-term, I had to get it re-scheduled. Chances are, your teachers with either 1) understand, 2) say you should've gone to a library or something to do it, or 3) done it sooner (IFF given a long time to do it). Just keep trying to boot it/get into repair mode.

hey, just to let you know, I fixed the problem.

I borrowed my friend's computer and created a recovery tools usb, and after some failed attempts at dinking around, I found that system restore worked.

Thankfully, it set a recovery point at 1 week ago, so everything's still around, and now back to normal.

Thanks for all your help though.

you too @Fulgrim

but damn, that means I won't get the extension I wanted for my lab reports...

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

hey, just to let you know, I fixed the problem.

I borrowed my friend's computer and created a recovery tools usb, and after some failed attempts at dinking around, I found that system restore worked.

Thankfully, it set a recovery point at 1 week ago, so everything's still around, and now back to normal.

Thanks for all your help though.

you too @Fulgrim

but damn, that means I won't get the extension I wanted for my lab reports...

Awesome. I recommend making data backups once a week if you can, or once a month at the very least. Definitely back up important data like assignments though. Make sure system restore is set to create a point weekly too.

[Marvzl1357]

Awesome. I recommend making data backups once a week if you can, or once a month at the very least. Definitely back up important data like assignments though. Make sure system restore is set to create a point weekly too.

Yeah, I'll definitely do that.

This event has scared the shit out of me, never want to experience it again

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

If it makes you feel better, my Networking professor is the network Admin for World Vision Canada. One day they had a storm, and lost a lot of hardware and so on. Worst part was, they lost their SAN, which had backups of passwords and stuff. Though it was technically against the rules, he at some point backed up all the passwords, and kept them at home. If it weren't for that backup, they would've lost hundreds of thousand of dollars.

 

If you want more details, I can forward the message he mailed my class when he didn't make it to the practical.

 

Dead SAN, dead switches, dead network.... had to reconfigure everything, including hardware from multiple vendors, and went to write his CCIE in the middle of it all

[Marvzl1357]

If it makes you feel better, my Networking professor is the network Admin for World Vision Canada. One day they had a storm, and lost a lot of hardware and so on. Worst part was, they lost their SAN, which had backups of passwords and stuff. Though it was technically against the rules, he at some point backed up all the passwords, and kept them at home. If it weren't for that backup, they would've lost hundreds of thousand of dollars.

 

If you want more details, I can forward the message he mailed my class when he didn't make it to the practical.

 

Dead SAN, dead switches, dead network.... had to reconfigure everything, including hardware from multiple vendors, and went to write his CCIE in the middle of it all

nah, I don't think I'll need the forwarded message, thanks though.

on another note, what does the "push button reset" do?

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

In reference too? If you're talking about the Windows 8/8.1 reset, it simply keeps all your files, but re-installs the OS, basically. You lose all your programs, and have to reinstall all of that.

[Marvzl1357]

In reference too? If you're talking about the Windows 8/8.1 reset, it simply keeps all your files, but re-installs the OS, basically. You lose all your programs, and have to reinstall all of that.

well, under the C:\ drive in system restore options, there's a folder icon marked as "Push button reset".

It has a maximum limit of being 16 gb in size.

well, whatever it is, I've created a restore point for that as well. 

Edit: oh dear god, my laptop is actually unable to create even a recovery tools usb. Thank god my friend was kind enough to lend me his computer...

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

Oh! That's the folder used in Win 8/8.1 for "Refresh PC", and "Reset PC". Also, refresh is actually the one that keeps files.