File:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\combatt.sys Missing or Corrupt

[Simone424]

Hello,
I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop with Vista Home Premium (32). I have been receiving the following message at start up:
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem insert Windows installation disc and restart your computer.

File:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\combatt.sys
Status: 0xc000000f
Info: Windows failed to load because a critical system driver is missing, or corrupt.

I ran System Repair and received this error message: The instruction at 0x7463060a referenced memory at 0x00000000. The memory could not be read.

I was able to complete the System Restore process (I think) because from that point forward the operating system said recovered on (C, but then I would receive this message at start up:
Choose an operating system to start:
Windows Vista Home Premium (recovered)

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem insert Windows installation disc and restart your computer.

Other options:
If power was interrupted during startup, choose Start Windows normally.
Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Last Known Good Configuration (advanced)
Start Windows Normally

Regardless of what option I choose, it takes me back to the original message stating:
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem insert Windows installation disc and restart your computer.

File:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\combatt.sys
Status: 0xc000000f
Info: Windows failed to load because a critical system driver is missing, or corrupt.

How can I repair/ replace this driver?

[AnnMarie]

Hi Simone424 and welcome. You may find that there is more than one file missing or corrupted and Windows will have to be reinstalled however we can give it a try.

Do you have a Vista DVD? If not, you can download a Vista Recovery disk from here, burn the iso to DVD, use it to boot and perform the below actions.

Boot using the DVD and open a command prompt (print this page for more help) and type:

C:\windows\notepad.exe

Notepad will open. Go to File Open and where it says Look In, if Vista is on your C drive, change the directory to OS (C: ) or to whatever drive letter Vista is installed on. Next, change the Files of Type to "All Files". Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers and look in the folder. Is compbatt.sys there? Also look in C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository and tell me if there is also a copy there please.

[Simone424]

I do have a disk. It takes forever to get to the command prompt option because it goes through the repair process first. Is there a way to bypass the repair to get to the menu options?

[AnnMarie]

Yes. Click on Cancel when it tries to run.

[Simone424]

Ok, there is a file named CMBatt.sys but there is not a compbatt.sys listed in the drivers file

[AnnMarie]

Have you looked in both folders? CMBatt.sys is not the file we are looking for.

[Simone424]

C:\Windows\System32\Drivers

[AnnMarie]

I edited my post Simone. See my previous reply.

[Simone424]

It is not there either

[AnnMarie]

Ok, I am going to load compbatt.sys online for you to download. It will be zipped so unzip it and copy it to a portable USB drive. Plug the USB drive into your Vista machine and reboot back into the RE Command Prompt. Using Notepad as before, you should now be able to see the USB drive and and be able to copy the file to your C:\Windows\System32\Drivers folder. To do this, navigate to your USB drive and rightclick on compbatt.sys and choose Copy. Go back to the C:\Windows\System32\Drivers folder, rightclick on it and choose Paste.

Remove your DVD and see if Windows will load now.

I'll post the download link in a minute or so.

[Simone424]

Great! Thank you.

[AnnMarie]

No problem. Link below.

http://cid-302fc4a61ffc4465.office.l...c/compbatt.zip

[Simone424]

I copied the file to the drivers file. Now I am receiving a blue screen error message stating:
A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer. If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again follow these steps: Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK / F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.
Technical information:
STOP: 0x0000007B (0x8B609BA0, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

This message has appeared after restarting twice

[AnnMarie]

I suspected there might be other issues. Files dont just disappear. Go ahead and run Chkdsk. To do this, boot back into the RE Command Prompt and type:

chkdsk c: /r

after the prompt and hit Enter. It will take a while to run but keep an eye on it. Did it find any errors on the volume and are you still unable to boot into Windows?

If I were you, I would backup any important data first though using Notepad to copy the files from your drive to your USB drive.

[Simone424]

Ok I will try this