Error Message: XMS Cache Problem. Registry Services May Be...

ID: Q194731

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you start your computer, your computer may stop responding and you may receive the following error message:

XMS Cache Problem. Registry services may be inoperative this session.


CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the registry is too large to fit into memory.


RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).


To work around this behavior, use the appropriate method:

Windows 98

Use the Windows Registry Checker (Scanreg.exe) program to restore a copy of your previous registry. To do so, follow these steps:

WARNING: After you perform the following steps, you may need to reinstall some programs.

  1. Restart your computer, press and hold the CTRL key until the Windows 98 Startup menu appears, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only.


  2. At the command prompt, type scanreg /restore, and then press ENTER.


  3. Click a registry that has the word "Started" next to the date, and then press ENTER.


  4. Press ENTER to restart your computer.

    For additional information about the Windows Registry Checker (Scanreg.exe) program, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q183887 Description of the Windows Registry Checker Tool


Windows 95

Use either of the following methods:

Regedit.exe to Export and Import the Registry

For information about backing up the registry, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q132332 How to Back Up the Registry
Use the Registry Editor program in the real-mode MS-DOS environment (Regedit.exe) to export and import the registry files. For information about how to do this, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q131352 Using Registry Editor in Real Mode

Rename the Registry Files and Reinstall Windows

To rename the registry files and reinstall Windows, follow these steps:

  1. Restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.


  2. At a command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after each command:
    attrib -r -s -h system.1st
    ren system.1st system.xxx
    cd windows
    attrib -r -s -h system.dat
    attrib -r -s -h system.da0
    attrib -r -s -h user.dat
    attrib -r -s -h user.da0
    ren system.dat system.yyy
    ren user.dat user.xxx
    ren system.da0 system.zzz
    ren user.da0 user.zzz


  3. Reinstall Windows.


Additional query words: 98 


Keywords          : kbenv kberrmsg win95 win98 
Version           : WINDOWS:95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 7, 1999