System Recovery; General Outlines For Recovery; Booting Winpe/Winre And Loading The System Hive Registry - HP BL860c Management Manual

in the Recovery section of this document. While no such hotfix exists for Windows Server 2003,
the same result can also be achieved for that operating system.
Of these two operating systems, the hive limit is more likely reached in those running Windows
Server 2008, mainly because these are newer installations and tend to run the latest software
products. For example, the MPIO framework discussed earlier is more likely the newer version
supporting 32 device paths, thus increasing System hive size considerably. Windows Server 2003
systems often have the older version of MPIO installed, the one supporting 8 paths, and so exert
less pressure on hive size. However, be aware that any new installation, Windows Server 2003
or Windows Server 2008, can take the latest MPIO framework, and is therefore susceptible to
breaching the limit.
In Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft raised the System hive limit considerably for the x64 and
Itanium editions. Both architectures now set their limit to one of the following, whichever is less:
• 1.5 Terabytes
• One half of physical memory
In addition, these barriers are now arbitrary in R2 and can be raised much more easily, due to a
redesign of the boot process.

System Recovery

General Outlines for Recovery

Recovery is needed whenever the System hive reaches its limit, meaning the SYSTEM file size is
32 MB exactly, and there is no reusable space in the file. When this happens, as the operating
system boots, it cannot copy the entire hive without truncating it, and usually fails with a Stop
Code of 0x7B. Most administrators are familiar with Stop Code 0x7B since it is reserved for
inaccessible boot devices. However, a SYSTEM file size of 32 MB with no reusable space also
causes it.
To recover, space must be created in the System hive so the system can boot. The method for
doing this is to boot the system to either WinPE (Windows Preinstallation Environment) or
WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment, if installed).
NOTE: For the remainder of this document, WinPE and WinRE are considered equals from a
procedural standpoint, so whenever WinPE is mentioned, remember that the same tasks can be
achieved with WinRE.
WinPE is the most suitable recovery environment since any RegEdit deletions are done in the
context of the System Account, which can delete much more than a normal Administrator account
(without taking ownership of the subkeys). From WinPE the hive must be manipulated to create
space at boot in order to get past the 0x7B Stop Code. The next few sections explain how to do
this for both operating systems.
In Windows Server 2008 the recovery process is simpler because there are two hotfixes that can
be applied. Even so, space must still be created in the System hive first, in order to boot the
operating system past the Stop Code, since Hotfixes cannot be installed using WinPE.

Booting WinPE/WinRE and Loading the System Hive Registry

The method used for booting to the recovery environment will depend on whether the system
was purchased with Windows pre-loaded at the factory, by HP, or if Windows was purchased
from Microsoft. HP Integrity servers that come pre-installed with Windows include an HP
Reinstall DVD. This media boots to WinPE and provides a recovery shell. If Windows was
purchased from Microsoft, through a Volume License agreement for example, then that DVD
image must be booted and the F8 key pressed to get to the Windows Recovery Environment.
System Recovery 11