How to Troubleshoot a Stop 0xC0000218 Error

This behavior can occur if a necessary registry hive file cannot be loaded because the file is corrupted or missing. Registry files can be damaged because of hard disk corruption or some other hardware problem.

This behavior can also occur if the driver has damaged the registry data while loading into memory, or if the memory where the registry is loading has a parity error. In the latter case, turn off the external cache and check the memory chips. This post provides technical support to fix 0xC0000218 Error.

To resolve this error, complete the following troubleshooting steps until the error no longer occurs:

1. Attempt to start the computer by using the "Load Last Known Good" configuration. To do this, when Windows loads, press the SPACEBAR when the Load Last Known Good message appears.
2. Restore the registry files by using Recovery Console.For additional information about how to restore the files by using Recovery Console, click the article number below to view How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry
You may need to change the boot order in the basic input/output system (BIOS) in order to boot from the CD and launch the Recovery Console. For additional information, click the article number below to view the HOW TO: Install and Use the Recovery Console for Windows XP
3. You may need to change the boot order in the basic input/output system (BIOS) in order to boot from the CD and launch the Recovery Console. Complete a parallel installation, and restore the registry files from a tape backup.
1. Reinstall Windows into a separate folder.
2. Restore the registry hives that are found in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config folder.
3. If you do not have a tape backup, contact your administrator. The backup of network servers and production workstations is included as a critical part of running any production system.
NOTE: If Windows is stored on a partition formatted with the FAT file system, you can restore the files by using files from another computer and copying the registry hive files into the Windows folder.

4. You may need to change the boot order in the basic input/output system (BIOS) in order to boot from the CD and launch the Recovery Console. If the Stop error message is caused by a hardware problem (for example, bad sectors on the hard drive), the drive might require low-level formatting, repartitioning, reformatting, and a restoration of the entire system from a tape backup to clear up the error. If the Stop error is caused by a physically bad sector, you must use low-level formatting to relocate the bad sector even though this is a drastic solution.