"Systemd Is Missing or Corrupt" Error Message After You Install an Update for Windows 2000

After you install an update to your Windows 2000 computer, when you start your computer you may receive an error message that says that Systemd is missing or corrupted.

This issue occurs because the system registry hive is missing or corrupted.

To resolve this issue, restore the system hive by using the Windows Recovery Console. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer by using either the Windows 2000 CD-ROM or Windows Setup floppy disks.
2. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to repair the Windows 2000 installation.
3. Press C to repair the Windows 2000 installation by using the Recovery Console.
4. Type the number of the Windows installation that you want to repair, and then press ENTER.
5. Type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.
   
   Note: The Recovery Console uses the Administrator password that you provided when you installed Windows 2000. Changes that you made to the Administrator password after you installed Windows 2000 do not apply to the Recovery Console.
6. Type the following commands (press ENTER after each command):
   • cd system32\config
   • ren system system.old
   • cd ..
   • cd ..
   • cd repair,
   • copy system drive:\winnt\system32\config, where drive is the drive on which Windows is installed.
7. Type exit and then press ENTER to restart your computer.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: