Fixing SAM and SAM.LOG without disk

Question

Fixing SAM and SAM.LOG without disk

Snowy Hug 0

My friend asked me to help with their dead dad's old Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 computer so that they can get the family photos stored onto it. From what they told me in their efforts the booted it in Safe Mode Command Prompt without logging in and "accidentally" deleted the SAM and SAM.log files from there and since then whenever you get to a login screen an error pops up reading "Security Accounts Manager initialization failed because of the following error: A device attached to the system is not functioning. Error Status 0xc0000001." and there is no options to even attempt a login and without being able to log in I am having trouble trying to get administrator privileges to fix this. I have the disc for the device but whenever the disc is entered all keyboards plugged in gets shut off and I cant hit the keys to repair it. Can anyone help so that I can give them their family photos or will I need to find a new method.
Edit: In case people were wondering they have a Sata hard drive on Raid mode and my computer cant read it's files

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Answer 1

Carl-L 21,320 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Snowy Hug,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

The issue you see is actually expected when the SAM registry hive has been deleted. The login screen shows an error because there is no database to begin with.

Before we proceed, may I know what it says when you try to read the SATA drive on your computer? And may I know if there are any other drive in the computer?

Regarding the disc issue, based on your description, I believe that the computer is quite old. So modern USB-C keyboard might not work since the BIOS don't have any support for it. May I know if you have tried a PS/2 keyboard instead?

I'm waiting for your reply.

Snowy Hug 0 Reputation points

2026-06-24T07:52:44.03+00:00

The SATA Drive is the only drive in the tower and when plugged into my pc it doesn't get detected nor does the hard drive spin. I have USB keyboards and I have bought USB to PS/2 converter and no matter what nothing gets detected once I get to the "Press R to Repair" screen.
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-24T13:26:05.38+00:00

Hello Snowy Hug,

I'll see what I can find. I'll keep you updated.
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-25T12:48:18.5033333+00:00

Hello Snowy Hug,

Just want to check, are you sure that the drive is still working electrically? A SATA drive should be spinning as soon as it receives electricity. Also, if the drive is a 3.5 inches drive, a simple SATA to USB cable might not provide enough power for it.

Also, may I know the type of converter you use. A generic converter might only work if the keyboard supports PS/2 signaling itself, which most modern keyboard doesn't. If that is the case, you will need an active converter for this.

I'm waiting for your reply.
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-26T13:29:57.7666667+00:00

Hello Snowy Hug,

Just checking in to make sure that you have received my reply. Please let me know if you have any updates.
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-30T12:39:01.8433333+00:00

Hello Snowy Hug,

It's been a while since I last heard from you. May I know if you still need assistance in this?

Any feedback is appreciated.