Windows 10: Windows10 corrupts SYSTEM registry hive minutes after installation

Hi,



I'm having an issue with my HP EliteBook 840 G4


After installing windows10, everything seems fine, then I connect to the internet through wifi.


Windows starts installing updates, driver updates and optional features...


Then, after a few minutes connected, windows decides to restart on it's own and then crashes on startup with Stop Error 0xc000021a


This only happens if i'm connected to the internet


I have three other computers with windows 10 home and pro editions and they are all good


Things I have tried:


-> installing two versions of windows 10 pro: 1709 and 1809

-> installing windows 10 enterprise

-> BiOS update

-> Startup Repair (sometimes works, but windows crashes again with the same problem)

-> System Restore - Same as startup repair

-> disabling windows updates and cancelling download of optional features

-> disabling driver updates through windows update

-> hiding updates with http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/2/2/f22d5fdb-59cd-4275-8c95-1be17bf70b21/wushowhide.diagcab

-> running update diagnostics with https://aka.ms/wudiag

-> running dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /checkHealth and dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /restoreHealth

-> disabling TPM within BIOS configuration

-> writing a batch to run shutdown -a on an infinite loop to prevent windows from restarting, but windows ignores it

-> reading windows log files from windows update, CBS log, event logs

-> comparing sizes, dates and checksums from Healthy windows files vs Crashed windows files --- this is how I found out that windows is corrupting the SYSTEM registry hive, by restoring altered files through trial and error until I zeroed in on this one file


I imported both good and bad SYSTEM hives and exported them into .reg files for text comparison and it seems that windows deletes a lot of registry keys, related to installed hardware devices, even though the corrupt file is larger

As soon as I replace the SYSTEM file with the previous version, windows boots up again, unfortunately minutes after connecting to the internet, windows corrupts the registry again


I managed to find a way to keep laptop from crashing whilst connected to the internet, and that is by using an old firewall program I wrote years ago during the BLASTER malware days to protect my port 135.


I am currently blocking all connections except those from Remote Desktop which I am using to write this post


Any idea as to what is happening ?

I am running out of ideas...

:)

 

Backup Registry Hives


That's documented on the internet quite widely, making use of the now non-functional Regback feature. Requires a live boot disk of course.

I've used it a couple of times on tenforums; exclusively for the case where a user's registry is suddenly corrupted, PC unbootable, System Restore unavailable, and user has no disk images.

Example: (these include this basic copy from backup and more)
Restore Windows 10 Registry from Backup using Command Prompt TheITBros
5 Ways To Backup and Restore the Windows Registry or Selected Hives • Raymond.CC

 

Corrupted registry

Hi,

Your concern occurs due to some corruption on your system files. We suggest that you try the methods below and check if it helps.

Method 1: Perform System File Checker (sfc) scan.

System File Checker is a utility in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files. To perform this, follow the steps on this link.
Steps mentioned on the link for Windows 8 and 8.1, will work fine with Windows 10.

Method 2: Run DISM commands.

Follow the steps below on how to run the DISM commands:

• 
  Press Windows + X on your keyboard.
  
• 
  Select Command prompt (Admin) to open Administrator Command Prompt .
  
• 
  In the Command Prompt, type the following commands. Press the Enter key after each command.
  
  dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
  
  dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
  

Reply to us with the status of your issue. We will be happy to assist you.

 

Windows 10 professional 64 bit fails to fully boot-up

Hi George,

The BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO bug check occurs if the SYSTEM hive is corrupted. However, this corruption is unlikely, because the boot loader, checks a hive for corruption when it loads the hive. Here are some suggested resolution for this issue.

* Try booting into safe mode and then restart the OS normally. If the restart does not fix the problem, the registry damage is too extensive. Try the following steps:

• If you have a system restore point, try restoring to an earlier restore point.
• Reset your PC.
• Use installation media to restore or reset your PC.
• Use installation media to reinstall Windows.

For more information, see
Recovery options in Windows 10.

Please let us know the result for us to assist you further.

Regards.