Fix 0X00000A44: RPL Boot Info Corrupted on Windows

You're setting up a diskless workstation or an old Windows NT/2000 server that's still running Remote Program Load (RPL), and suddenly you get this error: 0X00000A44 with the message "Boot block record information NERR_RplBootInfoCorrupted has been corrupted." I've seen this most often when someone tries to add a new network card to an RPL client or updates the network drivers on the server, and the boot block that tells the client how to load its operating system gets messed up. It's rare these days, but if you're maintaining legacy systems, it'll bite you.

What's actually going on?

RPL is that old technology that lets a computer boot from the network without a hard drive. The server holds a database of boot blocks — tiny files that define which OS image gets loaded for each client. The error NERR_RplBootInfoCorrupted means the server's RPL database has an entry that's broken. Could be a bad checksum, a partial write, or a mismatch between the boot block file and the database's record of it. I had a client last year whose whole print queue died because of a corrupted RPL entry after a power outage during a backup — same kind of thing.

The database itself is stored in the registry under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Rpl\, plus a set of files in the %SystemRoot%\system32\rpl\ folder. If those get out of sync, boom, you get this error.

The fix: clear the RPL database and rebuild it

Skip trying to edit the registry by hand — that's a rabbit hole. The real fix is to wipe the RPL database clean and let the service rebuild it from the configuration files. Here's the steps I've used on Windows NT 4, 2000, and even Server 2003 (yes, it still runs on 2003).

1. Stop the RPL service. Open a command prompt as Administrator and run:

   net stop rpl

   If it's not started, you'll get an error — that's fine.
2. Back up your current RPL configuration. Just in case, copy the folder %SystemRoot%\system32\rpl to a safe spot. Also export the registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Rpl to a .reg file.
3. Delete the RPL subkeys from the registry. Use regedit, navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Rpl. Under that, you'll see keys like Configuration, Profiles, Wksta. Delete all subkeys under Rpl, but don't delete the Rpl key itself.
4. Clear the RPL files. Go to %SystemRoot%\system32\rpl\ and delete the contents of the Profiles and Wksta subfolders. Don't touch the bin or scripts folders — you'll need those.
5. Restart the RPL service. Run:

   net start rpl

   The service will recreate the database with default settings. You'll lose any custom profiles you had, but that's the price for a clean start.
6. Re-add your boot blocks and profiles. Use the RPL manager console (rplmgr.exe) or the command-line utility rplboot to recreate the boot block records. I always do this step manually — it forces the service to write fresh entries.

If the error persists

If you're still seeing the error after that, check the file permissions on the rpl folder. The RPL service runs as LocalSystem, but if you've got a domain policy that restricts writes, it can't rebuild the database. I once spent an afternoon tracking that down — a security admin had locked down system32.

Also, make sure the boot block file you're referencing actually exists. The error can be misleading — it says "corrupted" but sometimes the file is just missing. Look in the Profiles folder for the specific boot block name from the error log. If it's gone, that's your problem.

Finally, check for any leftover antivirus or backup software that might be locking the RPL files. Those tools love to hold onto files and cause havoc. Disable them temporarily and retest.

That's it. It's an old-school error, but the fix is straightforward once you know the database is the culprit. If it still won't cooperate, you might be looking at a hardware issue on the network card or the server itself, but in my experience, the database reset handles 90% of these cases.