registry file failure

I am assuming that you are running Windows NT. The following cause and resolution came from Microsoft.

When you install Windows NT or Windows NT Advanced Server from a CD to a machine whose C drive is a SCSI drive with a DTC3290 SCSI controller,Setup may fail, displaying the STOP message:

STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure}
The registry cannot load the hive (file):
\SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE
or its log or alternate.
It is corrupt, absent, or not writeable.

CAUSE
During the installation process, Windows NT expects to read certain information from the SOFTWARE registry hive. Due to a hardware problem, this cannot be done.

RESOLUTION
This problem was not reproducible at Microsoft. If you run into this problem, the following steps may help:

Use only hardware listed on the hardware compatibility list (HCL).

Ensure that the SCSI bus is properly terminated at both ends.

Try a different SCSI cable.

DTC has a firmware upgrade thatfixes certain over-run problems.

if you were not loading adv server might just mean that you have a bad spot on the hard drive. if so reloading the os would probably get you back in but any programs you have added will need to be reinstalled again also as their settings will be lost (they were in the SOFTWARE file which is part of the resitry) alternatively if you made recovery disks you will be able to use those to restore the SOFTWARE file

good luck

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