Things You'll Need:
- USB flash drive (or other storage device)
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Step 1
Find another computer that is running Windows Vista without any problems. It does not matter if the version of Vista is different from the copy of Vista on the error-prone PC (e.g. Home Premium vs. Ultimate).
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Step 2
Click the "Start" button in the lower left-hand corner of the Vista screen.
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Step 3
Click "Run."
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Step 4
Type "regedit" (without quotation marks) in the dialog box and click "OK." This launches the built-in Windows Vista registry-editing program.
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Step 5
Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msiserver in the regedit program. The folders are structured in a hierarchy format. Thus, you click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE before clicking SYSTEM.
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Step 6
Right-click on the file that ends in .reg and select "Export" from the pop-up window. Save the file to your desktop. Drag the file to a USB flash drive or similar portable media storage device.
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Step 7
Boot up the Vista computer that is experiencing problems.
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Step 8
Connect the USB flash drive or similar portable storage device from Step 6. Drag the .reg file to your desktop.
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Step 9
Click the "Start" menu and select "Run." Type "sfc /scannow" (without quotation marks) and click "OK." Don't restart the computer when it asks you to at the end of the scanning process.
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Step 10
Double-click the saved .reg file from Step 8. Import the file into the registry settings of the error-prone Vista PC. Close all open windows.
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Step 11
Click the "Start" menu and select "Restart" to reboot the PC and implement all changes made to the registry. The Vista operating system should now work without errors.
