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Corrupt COMPONENTS hive

O

originalcave

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2021
Posts
5
Hi,

I have a computer here that is unable to start several important services (TrustedInstaller, among others). Running sfc, I found out that one error relates to a corrupt COMPONENTS hive (DISM reports it as a missing resource and trying to load the file with regedit leads to a message that the hive is corrupt.

I have seen that there are some wizards here who seem to be able to fix mild COMPONENTS hive issues. Can anyone help me out?
 
Hey originalcave,

Have you made any changes to your PC recently that could be responsible? (new hardware, or did the issue start after a particular software/driver update?)


Retrieve the Components Hive
  1. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Config and locate the COMPONENTS file
  2. Please copy the COMPONENTS file to your desktop
    Note: If you receive an error that this file is in-use, simply reboot your computer and try again
  3. Right-click on this file on your Desktop and select Send To...Compressed (zipped) folder. This will create a file named COMPONENTS.ZIP on your Desktop
  4. If file will is too large to upload to the forum please share the file using a service like Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, or upload to www.sendspace.com and just provide the link for the file here
 
Hi Will,

to provide some context: I have only been in charge of this computer (Dell Optiplex 7010) for a couple of days. Small network and frequently changing staff, so I had to reset both the BIOS password and the Windows admin password (replacing Utilman and using net user in SYSTEM context). I believe the errors must have been there before - however, I didn't expect these problems, so I don't have a backup to prove this...

I have zipped all files starting with COMPONENTS together - there are a lot of .regtrans-ms files as well...: https://www.sendspace.com/file/k5x84f
 
I'm able to load the registry hive fine on my PC, and a scan with a components corruption tool we use hasn't flagged any corruptions. We can try re-importing it and seeing if that changes anything.

Before we do, would you be able to run through the tools and post the outputs listed in the Windows Update Posting Instructions:
Windows Update Forum Posting Instructions
 
Hey originalcave,

Thanks for the files!

Lets try loading the COMPONETS Hive using reg.

First, boot into Clean Mode using the instructions here:
How to perform a clean boot in Windows

(Scroll down for the Win 7 instructions)

Loading the COMPONENTS hive with reg:
1. Click on Start
2. Type cmd. When Command Prompt shows up, right-click>Run As Administrator
3. When command prompt opens, Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Right-click > Paste) the following command into it, then press Enter

reg load HKLM\COMPONENTS %WinDir%\System32\Config\COMPONENTS

4.Let me know if there are any errors when you run the command.
 
Hi Will,

I tried the command, and it gives me a "not enough system resources" error - even in clean boot with all services and all startup programs disabled.
 
Hi originalcave,

We can do some digging to work out if anything is blocking this - one question though, as this is a work PC, would it be simpler to do a repair install or reimage the machine?

Lets try and get some more info about the machine as well with Speccy:

  • Download and open Speccy (This is a portable version because the installer bundles unwanted programs)
  • You will see a spinning circle at the bottom. Wait for it to finish and disappear
  • Go to File > Publish Snapshot
  • A warning will appear of publishing the snapshot, click Yes
  • Now, a window will come, and click on Copy to Clipboard and paste it into your next reply.
 
Hi Will,

I'm sorry it took me a couple of days - I am quite busy as of late. Here's the data you were asking for:

We can do some digging to work out if anything is blocking this - one question though, as this is a work PC, would it be simpler to do a repair install or reimage the machine?
Click to expand...
Basically, the people in charge of the network won't reinstall Windows 7 - which I understand - and the computers aren't compatible with Windows 10. However, I asked about continuing to use them if we can get them fixed - until we have bought new ones - and they did agree to that.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Windows Vista/ 7/8/8.1 keep a regular backup of the registry handy in case you need to overwrite a corrupted registry. By default, the RegIdleBackup task runs every 10 days, so that’s as far back as you would lose if you replaced the current registry with the automatically backed-up files. You can find the backed-up registry files in \Windows\System32\config\RegBack folder.


Please boot your computer with Windows Setup Media and from Windows Recovery Environment start the Command Prompt.

Please type the below command into Command Prompt and press the Enter key.

Code: 
 Dir C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack


Above command will list files stored within RegBack folder and their file size, make sure files are not zero size if they are not follow below instructions.

akBT8zC.png


Please replace partition letter C: with Windows installed partition letter. When computer boots into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment the drive letter assign to Windows partition may not be C: drive letter because Windows 7, 8 , 8.1 and 10 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch. The system partition contains boot files WinRE assigns the system partition the C: drive letter and the Windows installed partition will be assigned any other drive letter, usually D: drive letter is assign to Windows installed partition. The Bcdedit | find "osdevice" command can be used to find out the drive letter of the Windows installed partition the output of the Bcdedit command is similar to this osdevice partition=D:. The drive letter after partition= is the drive letter of the Windows partition.

Please type the bellow commands into Command Prompt and for each command you have typed press the Enter key.



Code: 
Replace C:\Windows\System32\Config\RegBack\*     C:\Windows\System32\Config

As files are replaced, the Command Prompt displays their filenames on the screen.

This procedure assumes that Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 is installed to the C:\ partition. Make sure to replace C:\ drive letter to the appropriate Windows OS installed partition drive letter if it is a different location.


The above commands rename the registry files at their existing location, and then copies the registry files from the RegBack folder to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder.
 
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