This should help answer that question. The steps below will have you download a different copy of regedit and then use that copy to search for "finder".

Download the xp_emergencyutil.zip file and save it to your hard drive. Double-click the xp_emergencyutil.zip file and extract xp_emergencyutil.exe to your hard disk. To run the EXE just double click it, there is no installer. You will have the option of running the programs automatically, after the copies are created.

finder found!

GOOD! - we are making progress. are you able to copy the locations where it was found?

Not so fast. I find I was able to find the first instance of finder with standard regedit as well.

As I used the replacement regedit and continued "find next" the system eventually crashed again.

I don't know if the following analysis might help, but here goes. I did selective exports to txt files of the registry and found that I could export:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG

The system crashes when I try to export:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
HKEY_USERS

Using HKEY_CURRENT_USER, I selectively exported each and every sub-heading successfully:
AppEvents
Console
Control Panel
Environment
Identities
Keyboard Layout
Network
Printers
Software
SYSTEM
UNICODE Program Groups
Volatile Environment
Windows 3.1 Migration Status

but upon exporting the whole of HKEY_CURRENT_USER the system crashes.

The reason you cannot export the entire HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_USER is that you are a user on the system.

Try doing a search for the entire site's name using the new regedit. There should be very few entries with that. Let me know the results.

system crashed and rebooted before it found anything.

Things are not looking good at all. You better make copies of all your stuff in case a reformat/reinstall is called for. I will do some more research and post back when I think I found something.