help needed

[Guest]

i deleted the CLSID key from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. call me stupid but i was
trying to get rid of spyware and i thought that the whole key was useless.
now i can't open anything. including internet explorer. i'm using a different
computer at the moment. is there any way i can copy and paste the key from
one computer to another? or do i have to reformat the whole thing?

 

[ALEXB]

i deleted the CLSID key from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. call me stupid but i was
trying to get rid of spyware and i thought that the whole key was useless.
now i can't open anything. including internet explorer. i'm using a different
computer at the moment. is there any way i can copy and paste the key from
one computer to another? or do i have to reformat the whole thing?

What I did in a somewhat similar situation was to "export" the whole
registry from a healthy computer onto a flash memory key or another portable
device and after plugging it into a USB port on the sick computer I
"imported" the whole registry into it. I have done it a couple of times
getting an error message every time that the process could not be completed.
Nonetheless, all the mutilated registers were somehow repaired after all.

 

[Guest]

i guess i do have to reformat the whole thing. restarting the computer
results in a blank screen. explorer couldn't start up. i'm dead meat. sighz~~

 

[Dave Patrick]

Importing the entire registry is not possible.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| What I did in a somewhat similar situation was to "export" the whole
| registry from a healthy computer onto a flash memory key or another
portable
| device and after plugging it into a USB port on the sick computer I
| "imported" the whole registry into it. I have done it a couple of times
| getting an error message every time that the process could not be
completed.
| Nonetheless, all the mutilated registers were somehow repaired after all.
|
|

 

[Dave Patrick]

Restore the registry from your recent backup.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
|i deleted the CLSID key from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. call me stupid but i was
| trying to get rid of spyware and i thought that the whole key was useless.
| now i can't open anything. including internet explorer. i'm using a
different
| computer at the moment. is there any way i can copy and paste the key from
| one computer to another? or do i have to reformat the whole thing?

 

[ALEXB]

Importing the entire registry is not possible.

It is funny you say this. This is exactly what I did, it took about 5 min to
perform, although the agonizing about the matter took much longer. I am not
saying that the entire registry was imported but the Win2K definitely
imported (1) all the missing registers or repaired the ones I mutilated and
(2) imported all registers related to applications ever installed on the
source computer. The latter actually created some additional problems which
I found a way to overcome. After I restarted the OS after the registry
import the Windows Installer wanted to install some of the applications that
were missing on the destination computer. I simply copied corresponding
directories to the destination computer and next time when the installer
popped up I did a browse and pointed it toward the setup app in the
corresponding directory. It took care of it. Not to say I understood what I
was doing but it did work.

If you do "cmd prompt-->run-->regedit-->registry" you can see in the drop
down menu "import registry file" and "export registry file" options. I think
it argues against what you just said.

 

[ALEXB]

i guess i do have to reformat the whole thing. restarting the computer
results in a blank screen. explorer couldn't start up. i'm dead meat. sighz~~

"marilyn_csm" wrote:

You should have a Win2K recovery DVD or CD for this. Also, you can go to a
DELL website and look for DOS recovery software which used to come on floppy
disks. One name is "Windows Setup Boot Disks." that come in a set of 4
floppies. Of course, if you have a floppy disk drive... They are becoming
extinct.

 

[Mark V]

It is funny you say this. This is exactly what I did, it took
about 5 min to perform, although the agonizing about the matter
took much longer. I am not saying that the entire registry was
imported but the Win2K definitely imported (1) all the missing
registers or repaired the ones I mutilated and (2) imported all
registers related to applications ever installed on the source
computer. The latter actually created some additional problems
which I found a way to overcome. After I restarted the OS after
the registry import the Windows Installer wanted to install some
of the applications that were missing on the destination
computer. I simply copied corresponding directories to the
destination computer and next time when the installer popped up
I did a browse and pointed it toward the setup app in the
corresponding directory. It took care of it. Not to say I
understood what I was doing but it did work.

If you do "cmd prompt-->run-->regedit-->registry" you can see in
the drop down menu "import registry file" and "export registry
file" options. I think it argues against what you just said.

What Dave said is correct. Export/Import can neither be used to
backup nor restore registry information entirely. One should never
expect this to work, It simply cannot and is the wrong tool/method
for the job. Export/Import are useful but not for backing up the
entire multi-hive registry on NTx systems.

NT5.x provides Full Registry Backup via the ntbackup.exe program
("ERD" backup with "Also backup..." checked). Third party tools
such as ERUNT are also available and are generally much easier to
use and have additional functionality. Full Registry Backups
should IMHO be every bit as important as data backups and should be
performed regularly.

If your description and results are correct, you got lucky. Really
lucky and don't count on it in the future. Instead read and
acquire the understanding and skills needed to do registry
backups/restoration correctly would be my advice.

 

[Mark V]

In microsoft.public.win2000.registry =?Utf-8?B?bWFyaWx5bl9jc20=?=
wrote:

i deleted the CLSID key from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. call me stupid
but i was trying to get rid of spyware and i thought that the
whole key was useless. now i can't open anything. including
internet explorer. i'm using a different computer at the moment.
is there any way i can copy and paste the key from one computer
to another? or do i have to reformat the whole thing?

There is no reliable way to copy this information from another
system. Presuming you have no recent registry backup (Dave) you
should consider doing so in the future (my other post this thread).

Recovery options (if any) depend on your operating system version,
file system and other factors such as user's skill level. I am sorry
to say that if in fact you destroyed your registry or a large part of
it, did not make a Full Registry Backup in advance, (or have other
(eg System State) backups), then you are hosed. One might try doing
a "repair install" followed by re-installation of servicepack,
hotfixes and all your applications. But in that case it may be
"cleaner" to start fresh.

 

[ALEXB]

In microsoft.public.win2000.registry ALEXB wrote:


If your description and results are correct, you got lucky. Really
lucky and don't count on it in the future. Instead read and
acquire the understanding and skills needed to do registry
backups/restoration correctly would be my advice.

It is funny. Very funny not from the standpoint of the substance of what you
are saying but that you are questioning my experience. As I said, I did it
perhaps 3 times as I remember, twice for sure. First two times I imported
some problems from the source computer I did not know how to handle because
the Windows Installer kept asking me where those software were. I found a
way around it as I said. Anyway, I suggest before you are about to dispose
of you current computer(s) when it becomes obsolete, try it. You will be
surprised. The funniest part for me is that people keep insisting on a dogma
against (overwhelming, should I say?) experimental evidence like in the
Intelligent Design thing.

 

[Mark V]

It is funny. Very funny not from the standpoint of the substance
of what you are saying but that you are questioning my
experience. As I said, I did it perhaps 3 times as I remember,
twice for sure. First two times I imported some problems from
the source computer I did not know how to handle because the
Windows Installer kept asking me where those software were. I
found a way around it as I said. Anyway, I suggest before you
are about to dispose of you current computer(s) when it becomes
obsolete, try it. You will be surprised. The funniest part for
me is that people keep insisting on a dogma against
(overwhelming, should I say?) experimental evidence like in the
Intelligent Design thing.

When a design precludes the "experimental evidence" results you
report I cannot help you explain it.

 

[alexb]

When a design precludes the "experimental evidence" results you
report I cannot help you explain it.

It does not bother me. I am not trying to understand Win2K from any
theoretical standpoint. What I want is to learn a way to handle quickly most
persuasive problems that have been bothering me for years. I have never had
time to pay attention to the system because I felt that next time I would do
better. Then you erase an insignificant register like Marilyn did and get in
trouble for a month. It was exactly what happen to me a month ago. Finally I
decided to put a stop to it. That's why I am here.

 

[alexb]

What Dave said is correct. Export/Import can neither be used to
backup nor restore registry information entirely. One should never
expect this to work, It simply cannot and is the wrong tool/method
for the job. Export/Import are useful but not for backing up the
entire multi-hive registry on NTx systems.

NT5.x provides Full Registry Backup via the ntbackup.exe program
("ERD" backup with "Also backup..." checked). Third party tools
such as ERUNT are also available and are generally much easier to
use and have additional functionality. Full Registry Backups
should IMHO be every bit as important as data backups and should be
performed regularly.

BTW, I want to take you to task with it. I do not quite understand how one
can save registry ONLY with the system backup utility which ntbackup.exe is?
I checked it once more and found no way to achieve this.

Just a few days ago I tried to do a system backup on my Win2K and pointed it
to an external HDD with 120G. I have very little stuff on my computer. All I
do is algorithm and computation intensive. The results are stored in a few
tables. The system backup worked for a while and then stopped giving me an
error message that there was not enough memory in the storage. When I
checked, the file saved had only 6.5G. It is 100% of the total stuff on my
drive C:. Why did it give me an error message?

At the same time I do not want saving the entire system. I want to save
registry only. Is there a way to do it?

 

[Dave Patrick]

You can 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.

Then archive the files in
%windir%\repair\RegBack
These would, in effect, be registry restore points.

You can replace registry hives from within the recovery console by copying
the files from your archive 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. At
the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Press F10 or 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%

In most cases replacing the software and or system hive will do it depending
on where the damage is.


--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| BTW, I want to take you to task with it. I do not quite understand how one
| can save registry ONLY with the system backup utility which ntbackup.exe
is?
| I checked it once more and found no way to achieve this.
|
| Just a few days ago I tried to do a system backup on my Win2K and pointed
it
| to an external HDD with 120G. I have very little stuff on my computer. All
I
| do is algorithm and computation intensive. The results are stored in a few
| tables. The system backup worked for a while and then stopped giving me an
| error message that there was not enough memory in the storage. When I
| checked, the file saved had only 6.5G. It is 100% of the total stuff on my
| drive C:. Why did it give me an error message?
|
| At the same time I do not want saving the entire system. I want to save
| registry only. Is there a way to do it?
|
|

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Alex - In addition to the approach Dave outlined for you, you can also
use Erunt/Erdnt. The following will also explain a little about why you
CANNOT get a full backup and a correct restore using the Export/Import
functions in Regedit.



Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/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://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/erunt.txt, and for some
useful information about this subject

The following tutorials are useful:

Installing & Using ERUNT
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html

To see an illustrated registry restore procedure
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_erdntuse.html

This program is one of the best things around - saved my butt 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. See erunt.txt for
detailed instructions. Basically, 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
folder. After a good boot, then do another normal ERDNT restore to also
restore the user hives also.) (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.


Perhaps this will help you a little.

 

[ALEXB]

Hi Alex - In addition to the approach Dave outlined for you, you can also
use Erunt/Erdnt. The following will also explain a little about why you
CANNOT get a full backup and a correct restore using the Export/Import
functions in Regedit.



Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/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://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/erunt.txt, and for some
useful information about this subject

The following tutorials are useful:

Installing & Using ERUNT
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html

To see an illustrated registry restore procedure
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_erdntuse.html

This program is one of the best things around - saved my butt 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. See erunt.txt for
detailed instructions. Basically, 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
folder. After a good boot, then do another normal ERDNT restore to also
restore the user hives also.) (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.


Perhaps this will help you a little.

Thanks, it seems very interesting. I will have to study it a little bit more
before I've decided to download. It also appears the Germans might be much
more trustworthy than the Yankees product wise. I have been using Spybot S&D
for years and have nothing but praise for it. I will make a donation if I
decided to download it.

Thanks again.

 

[ALEXB]

You can 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.

Then archive the files in
%windir%\repair\RegBack
These would, in effect, be registry restore points.

You can replace registry hives from within the recovery console by copying
the files from your archive 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. At
the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Press F10 or 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%

In most cases replacing the software and or system hive will do it depending
on where the damage is.

Thanks, it is very valuable.

 

[Mark V]

Hi Alex - In addition to the approach Dave outlined for you, you
can also use Erunt/Erdnt. The following will also explain a
little about why you CANNOT get a full backup and a correct
restore using the Export/Import functions in Regedit.

[ ]

The following tutorials are useful:

Installing & Using ERUNT
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html

To see an illustrated registry restore procedure
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_erdntuse.html

You always have great links. I've not been to the silenrunners site
is some while...guess it's past time to see "new stuff".
Cheers.
[ ]

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Mark - BTW, if you haven't downloaded the latest version of Silent
Runners, you might want to do so - it's been substantially enhanced.
Recommended.

--
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP
My Blog Defending Your Machine here:
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/

Hi Alex - In addition to the approach Dave outlined for you, you
can also use Erunt/Erdnt. The following will also explain a
little about why you CANNOT get a full backup and a correct
restore using the Export/Import functions in Regedit.

[ ]

The following tutorials are useful:

Installing & Using ERUNT
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html

To see an illustrated registry restore procedure
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_erdntuse.html

You always have great links. I've not been to the silenrunners site
is some while...guess it's past time to see "new stuff".
Cheers.
[ ]

 

[Mark V]

[ ]

It does not bother me. I am not trying to understand Win2K from
any theoretical standpoint. What I want is to learn a way to

Hmm. I view understanding "how it works" as practical rather than
theoretical.

handle quickly most persuasive problems that have been bothering
me for years. I have never had time to pay attention to the

Backup backup backup (and correctly) is a life saver when one slips
up and needs to "go back". This applies to mysterious changes just
as much as user mistakes. This applies to registry data every bit
the same as user data IMO. I alway backup the registry (fully and
with correct tools/procedures) prior to installing, un-installing,
applying patches, service packs or embarking on non-trivial
registry modification. It's a "religion" and it has saved my ass
more than once. (I mention ERUNT again here, but see Jim's post).
I am also want to "track" software installations and store the
records of changes for future reference. And FWIW I also use
Exports of specific keys as an *additional* tool.

system because I felt that next time I would do better. Then you
erase an insignificant register like Marilyn did and get in

HKCR is far from insignificant... The points (for Marilyn) are
that her mistake was made by not understanding the consequence of
her actions in advance (ignorance) and not having made an adequate
backup beforehand (safety). With an adequate registry backup her
system could have been completely recovered through the Recovery
Console.

trouble for a month. It was exactly what happen to me a month
ago. Finally I decided to put a stop to it. That's why I am
here.

Excellent! I suggest a great question for self is, "what if
something goes wrong?" Correctly made and tested backups are part
of the answer as is documenting one's actions. When in doubt it
never hurts to ask in advance. Some study (or even some considered
thought) should lead most to the conclusion that deleting an entire
"branch" such as HKCR might well be in-advisable. In point of
fact, registry editing is fraught with hazards. The very least a
prudent person should do is to ensure there is some means of
recovery or roll-back.

First Principle for me is to CYA!