Cannot join Windows10 desktop to 2012 R2 domain - Unable to load specified offline registry hive

Barry Wells 21 Reputation points
2022-04-21T21:40:36.237+00:00

I have a very annoying issue where a desktop lost trust with the domain. As a standard practice I joined it to a workgroup and rebooted. When I tried to join it back to the domain, it gave me the following error "Unable to load the specified registry hive". One of the common posted solutions is to go into the GPEditor and add the admin to the \computer configuration\Windows Settings\ Security Settings\ Local Policies\ and filed the Backup and Restore files and directories. When I locate these the ADD button is greyed out. I have reset the group policies to NOT Configured and ran GPUPDATE /force and rebooted.

None of this has made a difference and I am unable to join the domain.

Is there a way to repair the registry hive and get this system back on the domain without completely rebuilding the desktop?

Windows 10 Network
Windows 10 Network
Windows 10: A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.Network: A group of devices that communicate either wirelessly or via a physical connection.
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Accepted answer
  1. Dave Patrick 425.7K Reputation points MVP
    2022-04-22T13:23:37.043+00:00

    You could try this one but it's likely a much simpler task to just clean install it and move on.
    https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/ie/en-US/edef9123-327d-4abc-905e-5529c2c77791/unable-to-load-the-specified-offline-registry-hive-when-rejoining-the-domain?forum=winserverDS

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

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  1. Dave Patrick 425.7K Reputation points MVP
    2022-04-21T21:42:31.693+00:00

    Try creating a new user and do the join from new profile.

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--


  2. Barry Wells 21 Reputation points
    2022-04-22T13:03:35.993+00:00

    Sorry, responded to the wrong post. Let me try

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  3. Barry Wells 21 Reputation points
    2022-04-22T13:14:54.47+00:00

    No, this did not make a difference. I found a built in admin account and used it. Then I created a completely new local account, assigned it to the admin group and tried again. All times I received the error Unable to load specified offline registry hive.

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  4. Barry Wells 21 Reputation points
    2022-04-22T15:12:19.007+00:00

    Well DSPatrick, the second portion of that DID work. After running through the MMC portion, I was able to complete the process and join the desktop back to the domain.

    Thank you very much for the post.

    Barry