To fix it, boot to an alternate install of NT and expand the
each hive on your ERD (or original %SystemRoot%\Repair folder)
to the original %SystemRoot%\System32\Config folder:
expand c:\winnt\Repair\Software._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\Software
expand c:\winnt\Repair\Software._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\Software.sav
expand c:\winnt\Repair\Default._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\default
expand c:\winnt\Repair\Default._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\default.sav
expand c:\winnt\Repair\SAM._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\sam
expand c:\winnt\Repair\SAM._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\SAM.sav
expand c:\winnt\Repair\Security._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\security
expand c:\winnt\Repair\Security._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\security.sav
expand c:\winnt\Repair\System._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\system
expand c:\winnt\Repair\System._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\SYSTEM.ALT
expand c:\winnt\Repair\System._ c:\WINNT\system32\config\system.sav
Here is an example of the response from
expand c:\winnt\Repair\Software._ C:\WINNT\system32\config\Software
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility Version 2.50
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1990-1994. All rights reserved.
Expanding c:\winnt\repair\software._ to C:\WINNT\system32\config\Software.
c:\winnt\repair\software._: 1242580 bytes expanded to 6377472 bytes, 413% increase.
If the files required to boot your alternate install are damaged or missing, you will need a boot floppy (see tip 012). After doing this, I was able to boot and in my case, I was fully recovered. You may need to repair boot records using your ERD.