Error code 0xc000014x

Deadhouse · Tuesday at 5:25 PM

When I boot windows it has a blue screen which says:

“Your PC/Device needs to be repaired
The operating system couldn't be loaded because the system registry file is missing or contains errors.
File: \Windows\system32\config\system”

When I use the windows 11 installation media usb and click repair my pc it just reboots the pc which sends me back to the same blue screen as before. Same thing when I try to enter recovery environment. What do I do?

This started after I followed a tutorial which told me to load msoftware hive, then go to windows nt, then passwordless, then set devicepasswordlessbuildversion from 2 to 0. Then unload the msoftware hive. Do you think that was what caused it?

zbook · Tuesday at 5:36 PM

See if the computer can boot to advanced startup > Windows Recovery Environment (RE)

Boot to Advanced Startup (WinRE) in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to boot to the advanced startup (WinRE) in Windows 11. The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a companion operating system installed alongside Windows 11, typically in a separate partition, that can help with troubleshooting, recovery, or booting from...

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Use System Restore in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to use System Restore to go back to a restore point in Windows 11. Turning on system protection for a drive allows System Restore to include the drive when restore points are created so you can undo undesired system changes by reverting to a previous point in...

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Use Startup Repair in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to use the Startup Repair tool to help fix common problems that can prevent Windows 11 from starting up. The Startup Repair tool automatically fixes many common problems. The tool also lets you quickly diagnose and repair more complex startup problems. When the...

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Banjoman301 · Tuesday at 5:48 PM

I would try the following from Microsoft Learn...

You will need a Windows installation media USB. or a recovery drive to fix this issue.

Boot from the the installation media or recovery USB.

Choose your language and click Next.

Click Repair your computer in the bottom-left corner.

Select Troubleshoot, then open Command Prompt.

Type the following commands and press Enter after each one:

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd

If prompted to add the installation to the boot list, type Y for yes and press Enter.

Run a disk check by typing chkdsk C: /f /x /r and pressing Enter.

Restart your computer and remove the USB drive.

Celery · Wednesday at 4:46 AM

Deadhouse said:
When I use the windows 11 installation media usb and click repair my pc it just reboots the pc which sends me back to the same blue screen as before.

Download Windows 11

"Create Windows 11 Installation Media"
- Build 26200.9168

"Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices"
- Build 26200.8037

There is a bug in the installation media currently created by the Media Creation Tool (build 26200.9168). The same bug is also present in some earlier installation-media builds, but it is not present in the direct-download ISO, build 26200.8037.

On the "Select setup option" screen, you can open a Command Prompt by pressing Shift + F10. However, if you need installation media that provides access to the recovery options (Repair my PC > Next), go to the Windows 11 download page, select the "Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices" option, and then create a bootable USB flash drive using Rufus (Partition scheme: GPT).

Banjoman301 said:
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot

These commands are intended for legacy BIOS/MBR-based systems. They are not compatible with boot repairs on UEFI/GPT configurations, where the UEFI firmware loads EFI executables (.efi) directly from the FAT32-formatted EFI system partition, bypassing traditional MBR/VBR boot sector chaining.

Banjoman301 said:
bootrec /rebuildbcd

There is no indication of a problem with the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store.

Immediately before Windows stopped booting, OP had been modifying the offline SOFTWARE registry hive. System Restore is a reasonable first recovery attempt here.

Lavik · Wednesday at 10:32 AM

Deadhouse said:
When I use the windows 11 installation media usb

Advanced Fix: Extracting a Clean Registry Hive from Windows 11 USB
Since your RegBack folder is empty and you don't have System Restore points, we can extract a brand-new, clean SYSTEM registry file directly from your Windows 11 Installation USB media. This will allow your PC to boot up so you can save your data and apps.

Step 1: Boot from the Windows 11 USB

1. Insert your Windows 11 installation USB drive into the corrupted PC.
2. Restart the PC and press the boot menu key (usually F12, F11, F8, or Esc depending on your motherboard) to boot from the USB.
3. When the Windows Setup screen appears (where you select language and keyboard), press Shift + F10 on your keyboard. This will open the black Command Prompt window.

Step 2: Identify Your Drive Letters
In the recovery environment, drive letters often change. We need to find your actual Windows drive and your USB drive.

1. Type C: and press Enter, then type dir and press Enter.
* Look for the Windows and Users folders. If you see them, C: is your Windows drive. If not, try D:, E:, etc., until you find it.
* For the rest of this guide, we assume C: is your Windows drive.
2. Find your USB drive letter by typing dir D:\sources\boot.wim or dir E:\sources\boot.wim.
* Once it successfully finds the file, note that letter. For the rest of this guide, we assume D: is your USB drive.

Step 3: Mount the Clean Image and Replace the File
Now we will use the DISM tool to temporarily unpack a clean Windows image into a temporary folder, copy the fresh SYSTEM registry hive, and replace your broken one.
Run the following commands one by one, pressing Enter after each:

1. Create a temporary folder on your hard drive:

md C:\scratch

2. Mount (unpack) the clean boot image from the USB into that folder:

dism /mount-wim /wimfile

:\sources\boot.wim /index:1 /mountdir:C:\scratch

(Wait a few moments for the progress bar to reach 100% and show "The operation completed successfully")
3. Create a safety backup of your current broken registry folder (just in case):

md C:\Windows\System32\config\broken-reg
copy C:\Windows\System32\config\* C:\Windows\System32\config\broken-reg\

4. Copy the fresh, clean SYSTEM file from the unpacked USB image into your actual Windows registry folder:

copy C:\scratch\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM

(Type Y to confirm and overwrite the existing broken file)
5. Unmount and clean up the temporary directory:

dism /unmount-wim /mountdir:C:\scratch /discard
rd C:\scratch

Step 4: Reboot Your PC
Close the Command Prompt by typing:

exit

Now click the X on the Windows Setup window to cancel the installation. The PC will reboot. Unplug the USB drive and let it boot into your normal Windows 11.

What to expect after booting:
Since we replaced the SYSTEM hive with a generic factory one, your personal files and installed programs will still be safely on the disk, but Windows might "forget" some hardware drivers (like Wi-Fi, audio, or graphics card). Once you are back on your desktop, make sure to copy your important files to an external drive first, and then run Windows Update or your manufacturer's driver utility to re-install any missing drivers.

FreeBooter · Wednesday at 12:10 PM

Windows 11 does not back up registry hives if you have back up use it or use system restore tool but something telling me you may need to reinstall Windows 11.

spapakons · Wednesday at 12:29 PM

I recently had a similar issue when I was installing some applications including Adobe Audition CC 2015 (last version to save as AC3) in my wife's new laptop. Audition added a DVD filter in Registry (code to identify DVD media) that was incompatible with current Windows 11 25H2 builds and caused this issue. I couldn't even load Windows in Safe Mode. I had to load Windows choosing the Command Prompt option and then run regedit to load Registry Editor and delete specific keys. I don't remember which, Google "remove lower filters in Windows 11" and follow AI instructions. Adobe Audition wasn't affected after deleting the offending Registry keys and it works as expected.

glasskuter · Wednesday at 12:48 PM

Deadhouse said:
This started after I followed a tutorial which told me to load msoftware hive, then go to windows nt, then passwordless, then set devicepasswordlessbuildversion from 2 to 0. Then unload the msoftware hive. Do you think that was what caused it?

Exactly what tutorial and exactly what were you trying to accomplish by using it? Did the problen start on the next boot after working in the registry?

Banjoman301 · Wednesday at 3:00 PM

Celery said:
These commands are intended for legacy BIOS/MBR-based systems. They are not compatible with boot repairs on UEFI/GPT configurations

No indication that the OP has a UEFI/GPT config.

Celery said:
System Restore is a reasonable first recovery attempt here

Hopefully, the OP has restore points.

All else failing, an offline drive image restore (hopefully, there are backups) would be the best solution.

Thanks.

zbook · Wednesday at 5:12 PM

When Windows is working well these are some options to recover if there are future problems:

a) backup images

(Acronis, Aoemi, EaseUS, Hasleo, Macrium, Paragon, etc.)

Macrium is widely used in Ten Forums.

Macrium Software | Your Image is Everything

Backup and Recovery Software for Critical Systems | Macrium

Reliable backup and recovery software for Windows, OT, embedded systems and enterprise environments. Minimise downtime, restore fast.

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Download Macrium Reflect FREE Edition 8.0.7783 - MajorGeeks

With Macrium Reflect Free Edition you'll be able to easily make an accurate and reliable image of your HDD or individual partitions. Using this image you can restore the entire disk, partition or...

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Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect

How to Create and Restore a System Image Backup with Macrium Reflect

www.tenforums.com

b) regback

Enable Automatic Backup of System Registry when Restart in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable automatic backup of the system registry to the RegBack folder when the computer restarts in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Starting with Windows 10, version 1803, Windows no longer automatically backs up the system registry to the RegBack folder when the...

www.elevenforum.com

c) system restore points

See List of Available Restore Points in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to see a list of all available restore points in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Turning on system protection for a drive allows System Restore to include the drive when restore points are created so you can undo undesired system changes by reverting to a previous...

www.elevenforum.com

Create System Restore Point in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to manually create a restore point in Windows 11. Turning on system protection for a drive allows System Restore to include the drive when restore points are created so you can undo undesired system changes by reverting to a previous point in time. System...

www.elevenforum.com

Change System Restore Point Creation Frequency in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to increase or decrease the system restore point creation frequency to what you want in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Turning on system protection for a drive allows System Restore to include the drive when restore points are created so you can undo undesired system...

www.elevenforum.com

Banjoman301 · Wednesday at 5:17 PM

zbook said:
a) backup images

zbook said:
b) regback

zbook said:
c) system restore points

Indeed...and all require proactive steps to be taken by the user to make sure they happen.

zbook · Wednesday at 8:06 PM

@SIW2 may have some rescue options.

Error code 0xc000014x

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