Re: Registry Import Problem

From: Jim Byrd (jrbyrd_at_spamlessadelphia.net)
Date: 02/24/05 

Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 23:15:35 -0800

Hi Les - For future reference.

Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/ I've set it up to take a
scheduled backup each night at 12:01AM on a weekly round-robin basis, and a
Monthly on the 1st of each month. See here for how to set that up:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/erunt.txt, and for some
useful information about this subject

This program is one of the best things around - saved my *** on many
occasions, and will also run very nicely from a DOS prompt (in case you've
done something that won't let you boot any more and need to revert to a
previous Registry) IF you're FAT32 OR have a DOS startup disk with NTFS
write drivers in an NTFS system. (There is also a way using the Recovery
Console to get back to being "bootable" even without separate DOS write NTFS
drivers, after which you can do a normal ERDNT restore. If you make your
backup into a folder inside your Windows or Winnt folder, you can restore at
a Recovery Console boot by copying the files from that ERDNT folder into the
system32\config one. After a good boot, then do another normal ERDNT
restore to also restore the user hives.) (BTW, it also includes a Registry
defragger program). Free, and very, very highly recommended.

FYI, quoting from the above document:

Note: The "Export registry" function in Regedit is USELESS (!) to make a
complete backup of the registry. Neither does it export the whole registry
(for example, no information from the "SECURITY" hive is saved), nor can the
exported file be used later to replace the current registry with the old
one. Instead, if you re-import the file, it is merged with the current
registry, leaving you with an absolute mess of old and new registry keys. 

-- 
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP
In news:0unq115ar4auc32hmskpdp1d8apmbnkkas@4ax.com,
Les Feinstein <les2046at_trip_dot_net@> typed:
> Dave,
> Thanks for the detailed explanation. Unfortunately, the link you
> provided points to a page that's been removed by MS.m What was on that
> page?
>
>
> On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 03:28:46 -0700, "Dave Patrick"
> <mail@Nospam.DSPatrick.com> wrote:
>
>> Exporting the entire registry to a *.reg file is not an acceptable
>> means of backup. You can't import the entire registry. If you run
>> Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Backup, then choose ERD, then if
>> you check the box for "Also backup....", then the reg will also be
>> backed up to %windir%\repair\RegBack
>> leaving the
>> %windir%\repair\
>> directory files intact as original installation.
>>
>> Repair, Recovery, and Restore
>>
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/samplechapters/fndc/fndc_rec_uctu.asp
>>
>> You can replace registry hives from within the recovery console by
>> copying the files from
>> %windir%\repair\regback
>> to
>> %windir%\system32\config
>>
>> To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows
>> 2000 Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not
>> have Setup floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the
>> Windows 2000 Setup CD, use another Windows 2000-based computer to
>> create the Setup floppy disks. Press ENTER at the "Setup
>> Notification" screen. Press R to repair a Windows 2000 installation,
>> and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The Recovery Console
>> then prompts you for the administrator password.  If you do not have
>> the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
>> computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the
>> Recovery Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the
>> registry is corrupted or missing or no valid installations are
>> found, the Recovery Console starts in the root of the startup volume
>> without requiring a password. You cannot access any folders, but you
>> can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot, and fixmbr for
>> limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated, you have
>> full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
>> disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer:
>> drive root, %systemroot% or %windir%
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