First thing ya'll need to know, is I'm not joking when I say I'm computer illiterate. How dumb am I?? So dumb, that when my puter wizard son, since deceased, bought me this puter, 5yrs ago, he offered to teach me all the intricate, on a simple level, workings of the computer. I, being so smart...WRONG..passed. REALLY DUMB!

Now, I have a major problem, and I'm clueless as how to fix it, and this problem allows the Windows start page to load, and the welcome page, then it goes nuts and will only boot to the menu page for minutes, sometimes seconds at a time, and I have to scramble to get my e-mail program up, which can take an hour or more, in order to move around the internet and look for help....So below is my problem..

C0000218

STOP: registry file failure, registry cannot load hive (file)\systemroot\system32\config\security or its log or alternative. It is corrupt, absent or not writable

Computer is HP Pavilion a 300y (D7222C) CTO desktop
Running Windows XP pack 2

There is NO Windows XP disk because all the programs that came with this machine were burned on the hard drive, and Compaq doesn't seem to want to work with me on this..grrrrrrr

I don't wanna do a complete recovery, if at all possible, and I don't seem to be able to remember my admin password, since I'm the only user of this machine, I've never needed it. Five years, age of puter, is a long time for an old blonde to remember anything...

All help will be GREATLY appreciated!!

UNfortunately-- no computer owner should be without a copy of his OS on disc.
Fortunatley XP can be bought very cheaply nowadays due to the advent of Vista (do NOT buy Vista)...
If you had the disc you could fix this in a bout five-ten minutes.You DO have XP Home,yes?? not Pro ?

I have personally done business with this site-- and found them to be honest-- and accurate.
A full-retail version is what you want ($20.00 more) buys you the right to use this on your next PC if you wish to..

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Retail Box

With this disc you can tell Compaq to stuff it... LOL

I'ld like to tell Compaq more than that..and withold the lube....LOL

THANK YOU for you responce!! Will definitely take your advice, anything under $50 is cheaper than my having to take it to the local Puter Hospital. I had hoped the fix would be minor, and shuddered when people have said my hard drive was gone, which I had a difficult time believing as I'm able to navigate around, once I get a page open. Of course the whole menu is not available, I just have to pick a couple or programs while the screen is up, like email, and try them til the 'OPEN' takes. Sometimes however it takes ME almost over the edge til I wanna turn this devil box, actual name of my puter, into a football and boot it out the window....

Thank you again 'cause you have no idea how I was dreading seeing an answer to this fix being one of those long system info pages, or worse someone requesting that from me, and that is a joke. It was a total accident I found the informatin I listed here, I was just poken around looken at safe mode etc etc, stuff I had never used. I'm a system restore kinda gal, and fortunate enough never needed more than that, yet it failed me this time. Plus anything to do with the system, and/or command prompt is not only over my head it is in another galaxy....

So, all I need to do now is buy the disk and run it, and it will be all fixed??

YES?? YES?? PLEASE say YES...LOL

ohhhh...I forgot, it is a Windows XP Home

and one other question...

when I get and run the cd will it wipe out everything or will it just correct the error???

This will give you an idea of what things will look like:
http://www.pchelpforum.com/windows-t...indows-xp.html

You want to use the recovery INSTALLATION --NOT the recovery console...
If you use the installation-- Widows should fix everything and leave your good stuff untouched.
Don't be intimidated-- it is not that hard

WOW...after reviewing, and printing the page you directed me to, I think if I can find, and get past BOSI, or BOIS (sp) I will be ok. uhhhhh...don't take that to the bank..*giggle giggle*

I think, even though blonde, like most women, my female brain is organised to respond more sensitively to all sensory stimuli as we females are equipped to receive a wider range of sensory imformation, to connect and relate that information with greater facility, to place a primacy on personal relationships, and to communicate, where as the male brain has what scientists call "spacial ability". That's being able to picture things, their shape, position, geography and proportion, accurately in the mind's eye - all skills that are crucial to the practical ability to work with three-dimensional objects or drawings. As females we only see 2 dimensions, making it very difficult to understand and work on things, especially machines, of any kind, using written directions or manuals, cause we don't envision the end result, nor do we have that curiousity to see what makes things tick. So, when reading instructions, for assemble, as example, it is a struggle for me, buttttttttt if someone can show me once, I'm good to go. Now, if I live through this experience, I hate the feeling that this stupid machine is smarter than me, and it is, so I may kill myself before this is over..lol...I bet I know what to do if it should ever happen again, to me or someone I know...SHOOT THE **** MACHINE...*giggle giggle*

Thank you once again, for your kindness, and your great information...