Assuming I previously backed-up the registry and the computer now

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Assuming I previously backed-up the registry and the computer now will not
bootup to the desktop because of a bad registry, how can I enter DOS so I can
change the registry?
 
Are you posting a hypothetical question? Normally, Windows XP is installed on a
drive formatted in NTFS, which DOS cannot read or write to without special (and
expensive) software. If it's formatted in FAT or FAT32, you can use a Win98 boot
disk to access your backup and restore the registry.

Otherwise, see this article for help:

How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545&Product=winxp

If the system stills boots up and you simply want to go back to a previous
system state, Windows XP uses its own built-in utility called System Restore to
get you back up and running. This can be run in the either the normal or safe
modes. It does backup and restore the registry.

How to restore the operating system to a previous state in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q306084

If you really think you need to backup your registry, Search Google for a
utility called ERUNT. It has backup capabilities along with a registry
optimizer. The backup can be restored either from a command prompt or from the
Recovery Console.

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

--
Hope this helps,
Newt


| Assuming I previously backed-up the registry and the computer now will not
| bootup to the desktop because of a bad registry, how can I enter DOS so I can
| change the registry?
 
Newt said:
Are you posting a hypothetical question? Normally, Windows XP is installed on a
drive formatted in NTFS, which DOS cannot read or write to without special (and
expensive) software. If it's formatted in FAT or FAT32, you can use a Win98 boot
disk to access your backup and restore the registry.
Click to expand...

Or a free NTFS reader/writer:
http://www.datapol.de/dpe/freeware/
 
Plato,

Have you actually tried that utility? I just did and it's scary. Not much in the
documentation about barebones recovery techniques either. It does have its own
chdsk and defrag app, but I didn't dare test them. It appears to be designed to
mount NTFS volumes in order to utilize other recovery utilities made by this
same company.

IMO, it's much safer and easier to use either a BartPE CD or an Ultimate Boot CD
4 Windows. These allow one to repair a Windows system with a Windows system
while in full GUI mode. With either of these CDs one can read and write to any
drive on the system, even if it's mounted in a USB box or on a network. The
UBCD4Windows contains more than enough utilities to fix any system. It even has
burner software to transfer or save data to CDs.

I'd say that the days of trying to use DOS for NTFS repairs are over....or
should be.

--
Hope this helps,
Newt


| Newt Ownsquare wrote:
| >
| > Are you posting a hypothetical question? Normally, Windows XP is installed
on a
| > drive formatted in NTFS, which DOS cannot read or write to without special
(and
| > expensive) software. If it's formatted in FAT or FAT32, you can use a Win98
boot
| > disk to access your backup and restore the registry.
|
| Or a free NTFS reader/writer:
| http://www.datapol.de/dpe/freeware/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| --
| http://www.bootdisk.com/
|
|
 
Back
Top