Microsoft KB Archive/831260

= &quot;\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM is corrupt&quot; error message when you try to restart your Exchange 2000 server or your Exchange Server 2003 =

Article ID: 831260

Article Last Modified on 10/25/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server

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Important This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry



SYMPTOMS
When you restart a computer that is running Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server or Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, you receive the following error messages:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM.ced



CAUSE
This problem occurs because of a condition in Exchange Server that may cause the System hive to unexpectedly grow. The System hive is limited to approximately 10.3 MB. This is because the System hive and the Microsoft Windows kernel must be less than 16 MB when Windows starts.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, you must first recover from the registry condition that kept your computer from starting. After you start your computer, install the hotfix that is described in this article to resolve the problem that caused your System hive to grow beyond the 10.3 MB limit.

Restore or repair the registry
To recover from the registry condition that is described in this article, use one of the following methods:  Restore your registry from a working backup. To restore the registry, you must have a previously-created backup of the registry. For additional information about how to restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322755 How to back up, edit, and restore the registry in Windows 2000

 Use the Windows 2000 Registry Repair Utility (Chkreg.exe) to repair the registry. Use this utility if you do not have a backup of your registry.

For additional information about how to obtain and use the Windows 2000 Registry Repair Utility, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=56D3C201-2C68-4DE8-9229-CA494362419C&displaylang=en



Service pack information
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microoft Exchange Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

836993 How to obtain the latest service packs for Exchange Server 2003

Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Exchange 2000 Server service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Component: System Attendant

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Date        Time   Version            Size    File name -- 23-Dec-2003 03:55  6.0.6552.0      4,370,432  Adcadmin.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:55  6.0.6552.0         69,632  Ccmproxy.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:55  6.0.6552.0      2,109,440  Cdoexm.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:55  6.0.6552.0      8,470,528  Exadmin.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:55  6.0.6552.0      3,850,240  Excluadm.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:56  6.0.6552.0      1,867,776  Exmgmt.exe 23-Dec-2003 03:42  6.0.6552.0        720,896  Exsp.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:56  6.0.6552.0      1,347,584  Exwmi.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:56  6.0.6552.0         73,728  Inproxy.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:56  6.0.6552.0      2,973,696  Mad.exe 23-Dec-2003 03:56  6.0.6552.0        811,008  Madmsg.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:55  6.0.6552.0      4,698,112  Maildsmx.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:27  6.0.6552.0         57,344  Oabgen.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:56  6.0.6552.0         77,824  Pcproxy.dll 23-Dec-2003 03:56  6.0.6552.0         94,208  X400prox.dll

Note Because of file dependencies, this hotfix requires Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 3 (SP3). For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

301378 How to obtain the latest Exchange 2000 Server service pack



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section.

This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2.



MORE INFORMATION
Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

After you apply this hotfix, you must add the following subkey to the registry:

To add this subkey, follow these steps:  Start Registry Editor (regedit.exe). Locate and click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\MSExchangeSA

</li> On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. Add the following value information to this subkey:

Value name: LegacyCodeExecutionLevel

Value type: DWORD

The registry subkey should now appear as:

</li></ol>

You can set the value of this subkey to any one of the following values:
 * 0: Use this setting if you do not want to exclude anything. All the code will be run.
 * 1: Use this setting if you want to exclude the legacy code that is safe to exclude, but include the code that can have high destabilization impact.
 * 2: Use this setting if you want to exclude all the legacy code.

Note This setting is a high risk setting. If you set this value to 2, the Exchange System Attendant (MAD) does not apply any of the security policies to the registry.

Keywords: kbhotfixserver kberrmsg kbqfe kbfix kbexchange2000presp4fix kbbug KB831260

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