Rock wrote:
> "rooster" wrote
>
>> Happy New Year, y'all;
>>
>> I'm trying to burn a DVD of my XP-Home Documents and Settings folder
>> but the program I use (ImgBurn) aborts and gives the message:
>>
>> "...cannot open file C:\Documents and
>> Settings\LocalService\ntuser.dat" ... being used by another process".
>>
>> Is there a safe way to deal with this?
>
> <snip>
>
> That file is the user part of the registry. You can't back it up from
> within the account it's for, it is locked. Login to another account
> that has admin privileges, either create another account, or use the
> built in Administrator account, and back it up. That being said,
> backing up the user portion of the registry is not going to do you any
> good so don't bother with it.
Putting aside what follows for the moment; "... don't bother with it"
implies I have the option to de-select the "user portion" in the copying
process. I don't think that is possible with the program (ImgBurn)I
cited... which goes in support what you say further along.
System restore creates a backup of the
> registry. Or use another tool such as ERUNT which can be set up as a
> scheduled task to make a backup of the registry on a periodic basis ( I
> have mine set to do so every day). This registry backup can be restored
> from the recovery console if need be.
This is where things get really complicated for me. And I'll probably
have to ask you to trust me a bit (although I'm open to being
corrected)on this, because a lot of people don't believe it and it tends
to spawn lengthy arguments. There is no "Recovery Console" in this
emachines T2893 OEM distribution. Neither is there a way to access the
Directory from within Windows (a "DoD" protection something-or-other);
neither can the machine be booted using the Recovery DVD that comes with
it.
To re-boot after a major crash, or a "Boot Sector" problem, a "Restore"
DVD has to be purchased from eMachines for an additional $20 US. Suffice
it to say, recovering from a major crash of this unit is a major PITA;
essentially starting from scratch to rebuild the "Profile" and settings
even though the essential docs, including mail client backup, should
have been saved to external/removable disk if the operator had a lick of
sense.
>
> ERUNT
> http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
> http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-on...runt/erunt.txt
>
> Installing and Using ERUNT
> http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html
> http://www.winxptutor.com/regback.htm
>
> Best yet is to use a drive imaging program such as Acronis True Image to
> regularly save a compressed image of the drive to external media such as
> an external USB hard drive.
This makes good sense, of course; and thank you for offering it. I shall
probably avail myself of it, or a variation thereof, soon.
In closing, I want to add that for a non-tech, stand-alone, home desktop
camper like me, finding out well after the fact that the unit I
purchased requires a minimum of $60 additional software, and possibly
upwards several hundred dollars for additional installed or peripheral
hardware in order to perform routine backups from which a system or HDD
failure can be done, is annoying. Without going into the details, the
inference given by the description of the Windows XP-Home OS as it
pertains to data security and backup regimes is that these requirements
are fully considered and covered without the need for substantial
additional investments; ... not to mention the significant amount of
time it takes for a non-tech type to figure all that out.
rooster
boundary bay. bc
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