Win 2K Registry Repair

I need to repair the registry of a Win 2K station where no backup disk was created. The unique fact about this station is that the damage to the registry has effected the CD-Rom drive. It can no longer be registered and is not mountable. The Cd-Rom is the only hardware or software area effected. I have been told the only thing to do is reinstall Win 2K and reinstall all applications. This seems over-the-top to me. Can anything less severe possibly work?