Replacing a boot critical file in NT6.1 OS

Source

I did resolve the problem last night and was able to get the system booted.

The following series of events resulted in the successful start of the system:

01) Installed Vista Ultimate x64 of a secondary machine (AMD Athlon 64 laptop)

02) Installed Vista SP1 on the secondary machine.

03) Copied the \windows\system32\drivers\ecache.sys file to a thumb drive(*Note:* File size after SP1 install was 151 K).

04) Booted the ailing machine from a Vista Ultimate x64 DVD

05) Launched the repair option and let the attempt another automatic repair.

06) Attempted a standard reboot after the repair but the system failed again.

07) Rebooted the system again and exercised the repair option again.

08) After the repair attempt completed, I closed the window and opened a command shell.

09) Performed an xcopy command

XCOPY {USB THUMB DRIVE}\ecache.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers

10) Rebooted the machine again.

11) The machine took longer than usual to boot and notified me that system restore had rolled back the system to a previous date.

12) I rebooted again and the shut down took a real long time...

(I almost powered the machine off because I thought that it was hung).

It rebooted again and I am not doing analysis on the machine.

*Note :* -I am not sure if an automatic update corrupted the file but I think the restore roll back was a good thing to have done.

It appears that the original attempt to replace the file came from a 32 bit version of Vista Ultimate which was unrecognized by the system and there is a difference between the file sized for pre and post SP1 versions of the file.-

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Source (as example)

STOP 0x80070246

ERROR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER

This problem occurs if the GlobalInstallOrder.xml file is corrupted. The GlobalInstallOrder.xml file is in the following location:

%Windir%\Winsxs\x86_microsoft-windows-servicingstack_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16386_none_07289f4cca5f6990\GlobalInstallOrder.xml

To resolve this problem, replace the corrupted GlobalInstallOrder.xml file on the system with the same file from the Windows Vista installation media. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Obtain the WIM filter driver from the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK). To download and install the Windows AIK, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c7d4bc6d-15f3-4284-9123-679830d629f2&DisplayLang=en
2. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft Windows AIK, right-click Windows PE Tools Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
   If you are prompted for an administrator password, type the password. If you are prompted to continue, click Continue.
3. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER.
   MD c:\Mount
   This command creates a folder that is named Mount.
4. Put the Windows Vista installation media in the CD or DVD drive.
5. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   Imagex /mount DVDDriveLetter\sources\install.wim 1 \mount
6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   CD\mount\Windows\winsxs\x86_microsoft-windows-servicingstack_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16386_none_07289f4cca5f6990
   This command moves to the source folder
7. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   xcopy GlobalInstallOrder.xml %windir%\winsxs\x86_microsoft-windows-servicingstack_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6000.16386_none_07289f4cca5f6990
   This command copies the GlobalInstallOrder.xml file to the destination folder.

Microsoft Knowledge Base: 929833 

How to use the System File Checker tool (SFC.exe) to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7.

If a Windows Resource Protection (WRP) file is missing or is corrupted, Windows may not behave as expected. For example, some Windows functions may not work, or Windows may crash. The System File Checker tool (SFC.exe) scans for missing or corrupted system files and repairs them.

Use the System File Checker tool (SFC.exe) to determine which file is causing the issue, and then replace the file. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open an elevated command prompt. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   sfc /scannow
   The sfc /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

To determine which files could not be repaired by the System File Checker tool, follow these steps:

1. Open an elevated command prompt. 
2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   findstr /C:"[SR] Cannot repair member file" %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log >sfcdetails.txt
    Note The Sfcdetails.txt file contains details from every time that the System File Checker tool has been run on the computer. The file includes information about files that were not repaired by the System File Checker tool. Verify the date and time entries to determine the problem files that were found the last time that you ran the System File Checker tool.
3. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   edit sfcdetails.txt
   The Sfcdetails.txt file uses the following format:
   Date/Time SFC detail

The following sample log file contains an entry for a file that could not be repaired:

2007-01-12 12:10:42, Info                  CSI    00000008 [SR] Cannot 
repair member file [l:34{17}]"Accessibility.dll" of Accessibility, Version = 
6.0.6000.16386, pA = PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE_MSIL (8), Culture neutral, 
VersionScope neutral, PublicKeyToken = {l:8 b:b03f5f7f11d50a3a}, Type 
neutral, TypeName neutral, PublicKey neutral in the store, file is missing

If the System File Checker tool cannot repair a file, follow these steps:

1. At an elevated command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   takeown /f Path_And_File_Name
   For example, type takeown /f E:\windows\system32\jscript.dll.
2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER to grant administrators full access to the file:
   icacls Path_And_File_Name /GRANT ADMINISTRATORS:F
   For example, type icacls E:\windows\system32\jscript.dll /grant administrators:F.
3. Type the following command to replace the file with a known good copy of the file:
   Copy Path_And_File_Name_Of_Source_File Path_And_File_Name_Of_Destination
   For example, type copy E:\temp\jscript.dll E:\windows\system32\jscript.dll.