SYSTEM hive is too large

In Microsoft Windows 2000, 16 megabytes (MB) of memory are available during the startup process. In this 16 MB of memory, the following items must load: The System hive, the Page Frame Number (PFN) database,

 
 

Windows Server 2003 can increase the size of the memory that is available for the startup process as follows:

•	Windows Server 2003 (32-bit): The System hive size can be up to one-quarter of the physical memory (up to a maximum of 200 MB).
•	Windows Server 2003 (32-bit) with the /3gb switch: The whole startup process is limited to 16 MB, including the System hive. In Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1), the limit increases to 110 MB.
•	Windows Server 2003 (IA-64): The System hive is limited to 32 MB. The System hive plus HAL, kernel, and drivers can use up to 64 MB.

 
 

 
 

Since I still manage 2000 Servers and babysitting poor hardware and complicated applications running , I have to keep living in night mares for these legacies…

Lately I stucked with server failed to boot due to hive problem and since all work from my side done remotely, the support done by Panadol extra sponsorship .. I followed MS KB step /step with technician but It seems he forgot to do the most critical step (which is backup the system files before playing with ) so I lost the most critical sever we have and I had to stay till today working on recovering it ….

 
 

The steps in summary are

Restore a Backup of the System Hive

IMPORTANT: This procedure will not work on an active directory domain controller, because if you use the REPAIR folder system hive, then you are no longer a domain controller.

 
 

Use the Repair Console tool to replace the backup copy of the System hive from the repair folder. If the Repair Console tool is not installed on your computer, you can run it from the Emergency Repair process:

1.	Use the Windows 2000 CD-ROM or the Windows 2000 Startup disk to start the computer.
2.	When you see the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R for "repair."
3.	Press C to run the Recovery Console tool.
4.	Select the installation that you want to repair.
5.	Type the administrator password.     If the computer is a domain controller, type the password for Directory Services Restore Mode when you are prompted to do so.For additional information about the Recovery Console tool, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 239803 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/239803/EN-US/) How to Change the Recovery Console Administrator Password on a Domain Controller 223301 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/223301/EN-US/) Protection of the Administrator Account in the Offline SAM
6.	At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following commands, pressing ENTER after you type each command: cd system32\config ren system system.old ren system.alt systemalt.old
7.	If you have run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard from Windows Backup and Recovery tools, copy the backup of the System hive from the %SystemRoot%\Repair\Regback folder.     If you have not run the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard, copy the default System hive from the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder.     IMPORTANT: You need to restore the most recent copy of the System hive. You also need to reinstall any hardware device drivers or programs that run as services that you installed since the last time that you updated your Emergency Repair Disk.     To copy the default System hive, type the following command, and then press ENTER: copy c:\winnt\repair\system c:\winnt\system32\config To copy the System hive that was backed up the last time that you ran the Emergency Repair Disk Wizard, type the following command, and then press ENTER: copy c:\winnt\repair\regback\system c:\winnt\system32\config
8.	At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER to restart your computer.

Reduce the Size of the System Hive

If a large number of resources are shared on the computer, the registry may become too large. To resolve this issue, use the following steps.

1.	Start registry editor (Regedt32.exe).
2.	Locate and click the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Share
3.	On the Registry menu, click Save Key.
4.	In the File name box, type Shares.new, and then click Save.
5.	Locate and click the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
6.	On the Registry menu, click Load Hive.
7.	In the list of files, click the System.old file, and then click Open.
8.	In the Key Name box type System.old, and then click OK.
9.	Locate and click the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select
10.	Note the setting for the Default value.
11.	Locate and click the following key in the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System.old\ControlSetx\Services\LanmanServer\Shares where x is the number that you noted in step 8.
12.	On the Registry menu, click Save Key.
13.	In the File name box, type Shares.old, and then click Save.
14.	Restore the Shares.new key to the System.old registry hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System.old\ControlSetx\Services\LanmanServer\Shares
15.	Click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System.old key.
16.	On the Registry menu, click Unload Hive.
17.	Quit Registry Editor.
18.	Restart the computer to the Recovery Console.
19.	At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line: ren system system.org ren system.old system
20.	At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER to restart the computer.

 
 

I hope anyone have the same problem to read the steps carefully before adopting them….