How do you restore an older version of the registry in XP?

[rhodius]

How do you restore an older version of the registry in Windows XP?

I run Win98 on one of my computers and just had to restore an older
version of the registry after letting a reg cleaner program screw it
up.  In Win98 that is done from the Dos prompt.  But I know XP dont
have a true dos prompt, so how would you do this restore?  I dont need
to do it, just curious.

I asked in a Windows98 newsgroup (crossposted from this XP newsgorup)
and no one could answer it.

And fo the heck of it, would this also be the same method for Win2000,
Vista, and Win7?  (I also have Win2000 installed).

Thanks

Look here: http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

 

[Nil]

How do you restore an older version of the registry in Windows XP?

"System Restore."

Search Windows' help system for deatails.

Also consider ERUNT, a third party utility for registry backup/restore.
Google will help you find it.

 

[jw]

How do you restore an older version of the registry in Windows XP?

I run Win98 on one of my computers and just had to restore an older
version of the registry after letting a reg cleaner program screw it
up. In Win98 that is done from the Dos prompt. But I know XP dont
have a true dos prompt, so how would you do this restore? I dont need
to do it, just curious.

I asked in a Windows98 newsgroup (crossposted from this XP newsgorup)
and no one could answer it.

And fo the heck of it, would this also be the same method for Win2000,
Vista, and Win7? (I also have Win2000 installed).

Thanks

 

[Unk]

How do you restore an older version of the registry in Windows XP?

I run Win98 on one of my computers and just had to restore an older
version of the registry after letting a reg cleaner program screw it
up. In Win98 that is done from the Dos prompt. But I know XP dont
have a true dos prompt, so how would you do this restore? I dont need
to do it, just curious.

I asked in a Windows98 newsgroup (crossposted from this XP newsgorup)
and no one could answer it.

And fo the heck of it, would this also be the same method for Win2000,
Vista, and Win7? (I also have Win2000 installed).

Thanks

As a last resort you could copy C:\WINDOWS\repair to C:\WINDOWS\system32\config

Use Bart's PE or Hiren's BootCD to do the copying.

Unk

 

[Paul]

How do you restore an older version of the registry in Windows XP?

I run Win98 on one of my computers and just had to restore an older
version of the registry after letting a reg cleaner program screw it
up. In Win98 that is done from the Dos prompt. But I know XP dont
have a true dos prompt, so how would you do this restore? I dont need
to do it, just curious.

I asked in a Windows98 newsgroup (crossposted from this XP newsgorup)
and no one could answer it.

And fo the heck of it, would this also be the same method for Win2000,
Vista, and Win7? (I also have Win2000 installed).

Thanks

The recovery console, gives you the DOS prompt. You can either install
the recovery console, as a boot time option, or you can run it
from the installer CD. If you own a pre-built computer, then some
other path may be needed (not sure what would be best there). Pre-built
computers don't necessarily come with a genuine installer CD as such.

The recipe here, describes some usage of the recovery console, as part
of bootstrapping yourself enough to do a recovery.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

Using an installer CD, you can see an option here.

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/img/gif_wxp/rcons00.gif

I have two eligible partitions on my computer here, and the next window
in the process, allows you to select one of them to work on. Since I have
different administrator passwords on these partitions, I can verify based
on the password, that I'm accessing the correct one. If the administrator
password entered, doesn't work, I must be pointed at the wrong partition.

http://www.techrepublic.com/i/tr/cms/contentPics/5835305-Recovery-Console-F.gif

Note that, even some later versions of Windows, and their recovery/repair CDs,
can be used for their DOS prompt as well. For example, a Windows 7 or Windows 8
installer DVD, can be booted and you can get a DOS-like prompt there. Problem
there is, the commands have different names (no fixboot or fixmbr for
example, names like bootrec or the like).

There are probably a ton of different ways to get a repair environment
running, and I haven't used half of them.

In terms of copies of the Registry, System Restore saves copies. If
you have System Restore disabled, your options are pretty limited.
There is an "empty" but operational set of registry files available
on C:, as described in KB307545, but they're only good enough for
bootstrapping you to the point you can run System Restore again. If
you didn't have any "full" registry files, files that had the benefit
of all the program installers writing to them, then the registry
recovery might be pointless, and a reinstall might be the best
option.

If you don't have System Restore turned on, then you had better be
doing backups of C: with great regularity... Or alternately speaking,
be prepared to reinstall from scratch if there is a problem. If you
don't have a lot of programs installed, that might be an option for
you.

Paul

 

[Nil]

You just answered one of my questions. I was wondering what a
person would do who cant boot to Windows to run this ERUNT.

ERUNT can be run from the Recovery Console, too.

Booting from dos is simple (I always have a floppy drive available
too). Of course if the HD is formatted to NTFS, I guess I'd be
screwed. This is one reason I do not want a drive with NTFS.

The benefits of NTFS outweigh the liabilities, IMO.

The thought I have, would be to put the NTFS drive as a secondary
(slave) drive on my Win2000 computer, boot to 2000, and run ERUNT.
Dont know if that would work or not,

No, I don't believe that would work. The registry files would be
restored to the wrong location.

That ERUNT sounds simple enough when you explain it, but when I
tried to read their online manual, it quickly started to sound
like Greek (or a damn linux manual).

Try it again. It's pretty simple.

 

[jw]

In addition, SR only goes back a short time, ERUNT saves last until you
delete them.

In both cases if you screw up Windows to the extent that it won't start,
you'll need a way out of trouble: there is a way from SR I'm not that
familiar with, and for ERUNT you'll need to get to a point where you can
(get at and) run the executable it puts with the save: ERUNT's author
recommended BartPE when I asked him (if your disc is FAT rather than
NTFS a DOS boot floppy will do).

You just answered one of my questions. I was wondering what a person
would do who cant boot to Windows to run this ERUNT. Booting from dos
is simple (I always have a floppy drive available too). Of course if
the HD is formatted to NTFS, I guess I'd be screwed. This is one
reason I do not want a drive with NTFS. Unfortunately I'm stuck with
one with NTFS at the moment, but that will be changed when I can
figure out how without losing the installation of XP.

The thought I have, would be to put the NTFS drive as a secondary
(slave) drive on my Win2000 computer, boot to 2000, and run ERUNT.
Dont know if that would work or not, but I know Win2000 can read NTFS,
even though I have it on a Fat32 drive, and 2000 is pretty easy to
install and use. (I like it much better than XP, even though I still
like Win98 the most). It's getting to the point we all need at least
XP for a lot of stuff, even thought I keep trying to force Win2000 to
compensate.

That ERUNT sounds simple enough when you explain it, but when I tried
to read their online manual, it quickly started to sound like Greek
(or a damn linux manual).

Thanks

 

[boatman312]

Could be a good basis for manual recovery though. It's another great
justification for removable drive frames.

If you have a second drive, that's a good excuse to image your boot
drive periodically (when it's stable). That's why I keep the OS and
programs on a separate drive from the data files.

 

[jw]

ERUNT can be run from the Recovery Console, too.

I've never used a recovery console, so I find it hard to picture what
is there. My installed XP on my laptop did not include a Cd. I only
use the laptop when I'm on the road, for WIFI, so it's not too likely
to get corrupted. The only software I ever installed was Firefox and
Adobe Flash. If it ever fails, I'd either have to buy the Cds, or
maybe I'd just install Win2000 on it (but they clain XP is needed to
use the WIFI card).....

The benefits of NTFS outweigh the liabilities, IMO.

I'll take your word for it, but I really dont see any benefit. To me
it's more trouble than it's worth, since I cant do a simple boot to
dos to fix stuff. From what I've been told, the benefits of NTFS are
to have files greater than 4gig in size. I have never had any file
even close to that big, and dont see where I ever will. I dont
download full length movies and stuff. WIFI is faster than my dialup
connection at home, but I still find were it takes 10 minutes or more
to download a 200 meg file. So a 4 gig file just wont happen.....
I was also told that FAT wastes a little more drive space than NTFS,
but is that small space savings worth having a system that I cant get
into if there is a OS failure? To me, it's not. I'd rather just
spend a few extra bucks for a larger HD.

No, I don't believe that would work. The registry files would be
restored to the wrong location.

Ok, I sort of figured that.....

Try it again. It's pretty simple.

I'll probably just download it and play around with it on a spare
computer. Manuals are often more complicated than the software, or
for that matter a lot of other stuff too. Ever try putting a bicycle
together by reading the instructions??? Its pretty obvious where the
wheels and chain go....

-----

Here is another question.

Lets assume I have an installation of XP that will not boot.
All my important data is on that drive. (and it's NTFS)

Can a person plug that drive into another working XP (or Win2000, or
Vista) computer which can read NTFS, and retrieve the data (copy it to
the working drive). I'm not talking about fixing the OS, just copying
the data to save it. (Of course I know that the jumper on that drive
would have to be set to SLAVE).

(I have done this with Win9x drives, but never with any NT based
system).

 

[Bob CP]

In message <[email protected]>, (e-mail address removed)

A friend of mine had a Vista system, which got more and more flaky; we
eventually discovered its hard disc was failing. Fortunately he had a
couple of DVDs he'd made soon after getting the system (it told him to),
so when we bought a new HD, he was able to restore it to as-new
condition. We then laboriously read the data back from the failing
drive, so it is possible; we did it (the system was a laptop, so no
extra drive slot) by using an external drive case (available at any good
and some bad PC stores) that plugged into the USB socket. You can also
get a poor man's version which doesn't have the case, just a lead with a
USB plug on one end and a big plug (that must obviously contain some
electronics) at the other which plugs into the drive in question; most
such leads have a two-sided plug at the drive end, so they will mate
with either 3.5" (desktop) or 2.5" (netbook) drives. These days the big
plug usually has a socket for connecting a SATA lead too, which most
drives are moving to. I bought my such lead (dating from before SATA) -
which came with quite a respectable power supply, since most at least
3.5" drives will need that too - for five pounds at a computer fair.
This is the sort of thing:
http://www.ebuyer.com/130517-plexus-usb-to-ide-2-5-3-5-transfer-adapter-with-power-adaptor-plex-037

If things haven't progressed too far, sometimes it helps to put the
failing drive in the freezer, then quickly attach it to the USB adapter
for reading while it's still cold. Worked for me a couple of
(desperate) times.

 

[Bob CP]

In message <[email protected]>, Bob CP

If things haven't progressed too far, sometimes it helps to put the
failing drive in the freezer, then quickly attach it to the USB
adapter for reading while it's still cold. Worked for me a couple of
(desperate) times.

Yes, I've heard of that one. There's a document called something like
100 ways to rescue a failing hard drive out there, and it seems to be
thoughtfully written - certainly includes the freezer one.

(I've just thought - given suitable physical arrangement of freezer
compartment and laptop, it might be possible to actually use it _in_ the
freezer, with the cable going through the door seal [and the drive and
USB adapter inside a bag]. Probably the heat it generates itself while
operating would still raise the temp., but if the fault is something
that cooling helps, might give you longer. But I think you'd need to be
pretty desperate!)

In my case, the (internal desktop) drive took several freezes to remove
all the relevant data. Your idea to keep the usb station in the freezer
would have helped, but I didn't think of using a laptop to transfer the
files. ;>D Might not have owned one at the time.

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it...

 

[jw]

If things haven't progressed too far, sometimes it helps to put the
failing drive in the freezer, then quickly attach it to the USB adapter
for reading while it's still cold. Worked for me a couple of
(desperate) times.

I had an old IDE drive that was acting flaky. I noticed that if I
applied some pressure to the circuit board on the drive, it would
sometimes run better. I discovered that those boards plug into a
multi-pin plug on the drive body. Taking out a few screws, the whole
board comes off the drive. I removed it, cleaned all the pins with a
pencil erasor, then with rubbing alcohol. let the alcohol dry, and put
it back together. It worked fine again. I copied all the data off of
it, and stashed it away, with a note that read: Do not trust, for
temporary use only. I think it's still in one of my spare parts
boxes, but is small, like 6 gigs or something like that.

 

[jw]

I don't think there is enough really good audio and video editing software
out there for W98. Heck, even something as old as Adobe Audition 1.5
(which replaced CoolEditPro, but added FSE (frequency space editing) - a
must for restorers - won't even install on W98. And with SoundForge,
you're stuck at version 6.

And as far as video editing goes, is there anything good and reliable (and
fully capable) that will run on W98? (VirtualDub does not qualify

I'm running Win98se right now. While I have an XP computer, I just
prefer my old Win98 machine, and dont have all the bloat of XP. Plus,
I still use Dos software quite often. There is good audio editing
sotware for 98, called Goldwave. I probably have an older version of
this, but it works well.

As for video editing, I have not seen anything made for 98, but this
is not something I am not really needing.
Since I have Kernal-Ex, i as, able to run newer versions of Firefox
whick work with sites that complain about older browsers, such as
youtube. I also have a few of the "good" files from Windows ME
installed in 98, such as the much improved DEFRAG.

I like 98 because it's simple and dont bug the user with stupid
questions and popup nags. Better yet, when something screws up, I can
boot to dos to fix it. The only complaints I have about 98 is the USB
support/drivers hassle, and the fact that the newer browsers are no
longer making them 98 compatible. (Not that I really want the newer
browsers anyhow, but the web authors seem to thing I need their
bloated newer browsers, so they can dump more Adobe flash ads on my
screen).

 

[Patok]

In message <[email protected]>, Bob CP

If things haven't progressed too far, sometimes it helps to put the
failing drive in the freezer, then quickly attach it to the USB
adapter for reading while it's still cold. Worked for me a couple of
(desperate) times.

Yes, I've heard of that one. There's a document called something like
100 ways to rescue a failing hard drive out there, and it seems to be
thoughtfully written - certainly includes the freezer one.

(I've just thought - given suitable physical arrangement of freezer
compartment and laptop, it might be possible to actually use it _in_ the
freezer, with the cable going through the door seal [and the drive and
USB adapter inside a bag]. Probably the heat it generates itself while
operating would still raise the temp., but if the fault is something
that cooling helps, might give you longer. But I think you'd need to be
pretty desperate!)

In my case, the (internal desktop) drive took several freezes to remove
all the relevant data. Your idea to keep the usb station in the freezer
would have helped, but I didn't think of using a laptop to transfer the
files. ;>D Might not have owned one at the time.

The way I did it the one time I needed was to place the drive in a
sturdy plastic ziploc bag and put that into a container with ice water
next to the computer. Pouring out water and adding ice as it melted was
easier than it would have been going back and forth to the freezer.
(The bag was standing, so that the opening was above water, and the
drive was vertical with the wires on top, but below the waterline.)

 

[jw]

I was most impressed with soporific's "tenth anniversary" build of
Windows 98: basically he took 98, drivers for pretty much all the
hardware that had come out since, and a few other things like a
universal USB driver, and made an installation disc (that was full to
the 700M brim). Unfortunately, probably because the "few other things"
included hacked versions of some commercial software (such as the _full_
version of 98lite), it seems to have disappeared.

I'd sure like to get one of these. Anyone still have a copy?

 

[jw]

(e-mail address removed) wrote in

Add NUSB to a new install. It's a huge improvement.

I noticed you said to a "new install". Why not an old one? I tried
to install it some years ago, and it did not work. However it wanted
all my other usb drivers removed, and I didn't want to do that or none
of them would work if NUSB would not work.

Currently I just boot to Win2000 (dual boot) when I need to copy my
camera cards or use my external usb harddrives. I make sure not to buy
a usb mouse, printer, etc.

 

[jw]

Hell yes, a guy called Robin Bowden who does a bit of laser and electronic
engineering told me about those. He got four PCB tracks under an 8 pin SOIC
(the small standard surface mount package for IC's with small pin counts). On

Here is an odd one for ya....

I have a Canon LBP465 laser printer. Works great on Win98, but there
are no drivers for Win2000, and thus can not be used in W2000.
(probably not in XP either). Now that's really backwards..... I dont
print very often, so if I do print something in any other OS, I just
make it compatible with Wordpad for 98, and print from 98. Normally I
give Canon a thumbs up for their products, and this old printer still
works great, but they get a thumbs down for not creating a driver for
W2000 and up....

 

[Al Sparber]

No because you have to first learn how to create short messages for
these newsgroups that people can read. Why do you think Twitter is so
popular?

 

[Al Sparber]

Moron. *plonk*
If you don't like it, don't read it. It wasn't written to please you.

In that case you can suck my big cock to please you. You are ****ing
circumcised nutter with very tiny penis.

 

[jw]

Agreed. Goldwave is probably the best general purpose (and affordable)
audio editor out there for W98. I don't think it is as good as Cool Edit
Pro was, but it was a close second, but Cool Edit Pro is no more (it sold
out to Adobe (Audition). And, of course, Sound Forge (but the newer
versions don't install or run on W98), was also tops, but was a lot more
pricey.

Goldwave does everything I need. I think I tried Cool Edit once. I
did not keep it. I think it was a demo and would not let me save
stuff, or something like that. Too long ago to remember. If they sold
to Adobe, you can kiss it goodbye. Adobe ruins whatever it gets its
filthy money hungry hands on, and I wont even get into the bloat
issues.