Managing the System Registry Hive on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 Integrity Systems

Table of Contents
About This Document.........................................................................................................5
Intended Audience.................................................................................................................................5
Typographic Conventions......................................................................................................................5
Technical Review....................................................................................................................................7
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................7
Understanding System Hive Fundamentals and Limits...................................................................7
Estimating System Hive Size.............................................................................................................8
Causes of Increasing System Hive Size...........................................................................................10
Breaching the System Hive Limit....................................................................................................10
Differences in Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2.........10
System Recovery...................................................................................................................................11
General Outlines for Recovery........................................................................................................11
Booting WinPE/WinRE and Loading the System Hive Registry.....................................................11
Recovery Specifics: Windows Server 2003......................................................................................14
Recovery Specifics: Windows Server 2008......................................................................................15
Creating a Pseudo LastKnownGood System Registry Hive for Windows Server 2003 and
Windows Server 2008......................................................................................................................16
Using the Created Pseudo LastKnownGood (LKG).......................................................................19
Proactive Avoidance.............................................................................................................................20
Checking Disk Infrastructure..........................................................................................................20
Special Consideration for Symantec Veritas Volume Manager (SFW)............................................21
Working with the SAN Administrator for MPIO Optimizations and SAN Maintenance..............21
Introducing the HP Registry Monitor Service.................................................................................21
Installing the HP Registry Monitor Service.....................................................................................22
Configuring the HP Registry Monitor Service................................................................................22
Deciding Whether to Implement a Single ControlSet strategy.......................................................24
Optimizing the Hive........................................................................................................................24
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................24
Table of Contents 3