I am using Windows 7 Home Premium, Office Home and Student 2007 and Outlook Express from Office Basic 2003. Originally Outlook was presenting the license acceptance screen every time it opened. Using http://support.microsoft.com/kb/884202 I made the mistake of attempting to adjust the registry permissions. I did not make a backup first. I got the license to stop presenting but in the process of resetting the permissions to their original state I set something wrong someplace so that now I cannot BOOT Windows 7. Before the boot failure stage I tried to reinstall Outlook but was refused access for a lack of permissions to uninstall. That is what started me into testing registry configurations leading to the boot failure. I get a repair/restore screen. Repair does not do the job. Restore, no matter how far back I go, says that it cannot complete the process. Startup Repair message: "Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically" In System Restore: The drive selection screen does not allow C: drive to be checked. Also, the "NEXT" button is inactive. System Restore message: "You must enable System Protection on this drive". Using the REGEDIT program from the DOS prompt through the WINDOWS 7 install disc I cannot find any version of Office. But Office is in the Program Files directory from the DOS prompt. Before the boot failure stage I tried to reinstall Outlook but was refused access. That is where I am at now. I manually loaded Registry Mechanic. It did a lot of repairs but no reboot luck. I tried to use the Paragon Rescue Kit 9.0 Express but its product key did not work. And I attempted to reset the registry keys to default using "SubInACL" but it is not designed for Windows 7 and the folders needed do not exist in Windows 7. Is there a way to reset the registry key to default in Windows 7 using the DOS prompt accessible through the shift-f10 at the "Install Now" screen of Windows 7 install disc? Thanks up front. Pat P.S. I have recently changed email addresses and the change of address preference page here is not working so I will not receive any update to this this in email.

that's your first mistake is loading junk registry editors - along with other junk software, does more harm than good. Here's what you should do - uninstall anything that isn't Microsoft (including your AV/3rd Party firewalls), disconnect all external devices (except for keyboard/mouse/monitor naturally) then go here and read up on how to do a system repair from your DVD http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/What-are-the-system-recovery-options-in-Windows-7MCSE, MCSA, MCDST [If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]

CDOBBS: This was useless information. I wish you had read my note before responding. And the useless Microsoft-centric recriminations were a distraction. I ended up re-installing Windows 7 as the only solution. I reinstalled Registry Mechanic and Norton Anti Virus because they are good software that help to better manage the crappy Windows software.

I hope you realize that people on this site are volunteers who are only trying to help. You may not like what you hear and that's okay but it saying it is useless information is not necessary nor very friendly. If you believe Microsoft products are crappy, that's your opinion, and you are entitled to it, but again what is the point of that statement.It is my opinion that registry optimizers/cleaners are more harmful that helpful and most who use them will find themselves in these forums seeking help sooner or later.

aahpat wrote:> > > I ended up re-installing Windows 7 as the only solution.> > I reinstalled Registry Mechanic and Norton Anti Virus because they are good > software that help to better manage the crappy Windows software. That's very unfortunate. Registry Mechanic was very probably the cause of your problems, to start with. Like all registry "cleaners," it's nothing but pure snake oil.-- Bruce ChambersHelp us help you:http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.htmlhttp://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin FranklinMany people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand RussellThe philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.~ Denis Diderot

I hope you realize that people on this site are volunteers who are only trying to help. You may not like what you hear and that's okay but it saying it is useless information is not necessary nor very friendly. If you believe Microsoft products are crappy, that's your opinion, and you are entitled to it, but again what is the point of that statement.It is my opinion that registry optimizers/cleaners are more harmful that helpful and most who use them will find themselves in these forums seeking help sooner or later. No one here responded to the issue. Instead this obsession with Registry Mechanic. Registry Mechanic was NOT THE PROBLEM. The problem was what I MANUALLY did to the registry that I could not recover from. I created the problem. I purchased Registry Mechanic after buying a PC because Windows and Office were impossible to keep running without consent crashes and freezing. Registry Mechanic helped immensely. It significantly reduced the number of crashes in XP and also now in Windows 7. I responded to CDOBBS the way I did because he did NOT respond to the issue that I clearly submitted. His note was both condescending and off issue. He did not read the issue but simply read enough to see something to belittle. Unfortunately, my wife requires the Office Suite to do her work and so we keep a PC for her. I am trying to get her migrated over to my Mac because there are none of the system related problems in Mac that we are forced to deal with DAILY with PC. EXMPLE: The closest thing to a solution for the current problem is in Microsoft flyer 921541. It offers solutions for the SAME PROBLEM going back to Word 2002. Eight years of Microsoft Office revisions and the problem persist. ALL that Microsoft has been able to do to address this problem is to UPDATE THE FLYER for the continuing problem in the latest software version! This is pathetic! If Bill Gates would put 10% of his enormous personal fortune into software engineering this kind of thing would not be happening. SOLUTION TO THE ORIGINAL CRASHING IN WORD: This all started out because of a high degree of crashes in WORD. All version from 2003 to the current 2007. Flyer 921541 offers several 'registry key' modification solutions. The problem seems to be a result of user need to create a separate TEMPLATE folder, aside from the original TEMPLATE folder that contains the NORMAL.dot template, in order to install custom templates. There is a new NORMAL.dot template create in the new TEMPLATE folder. But the original NORMAL.dot template persist and conflicts with the new one so there is a need to rename the original NORMAL.dot template so that it no longer conflicts. I highly recommend this RENAMING solution for people who have problems with WORD crashes after creating a new template for their custom templates. Flyer 921541 gives this as the last solution of several. The other solutions involve the registry and are dangerous. To be avoided if at all possible. Renaming the original NORMAL.dot template should be the first solution in the flyer not the last. One last point. My wife tells me that she avoided attempting the renaming solution because the flyer instructions were so hard for her to understand. (She is a professional physical science editor and she could not comprehend that flyer. Microsoft needs user friendly editors for its engineers.) It was only after I looked at that solution and reinterpreted it for her that the solution was attempted.