ATTENTION ALL MVPS

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Guest

I've just discovered that a restore point is not a backup of the registry,
etc. If 1 restore point is bad then the previous r. points are useless!!!!!!
Think about that!!!

Who created the r. p. system?
 
I do not use System Restore, I use ERUNT.

Get both of these...

NTREGOPT NT Registry Optimizer
ERUNT The Emergency Recovery Utility NT
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

Direct download links (the zip files just need unzipping and dropping on the
drive. {Thank you, Jim}
http://aumha.org/downloads/erunt.zip

http://aumha.org/downloads/ntregopt.zip

ERUNT [[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.]]
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/erunt.txt

NTREGOPT [[Similar to Windows 9x/Me, the registry files in an NT-based
system can become fragmented over time, occupying more space on your hard
disk than necessary and decreasing overall performance. You should
use the NTREGOPT utility regularly, but especially after installing
or uninstalling a program, to minimize the size of the registry files
and optimize registry access.

The program works by recreating each registry hive "from scratch",
thus removing any slack space that may be left from previously
modified or deleted keys.

Note that the program does NOT change the contents of the registry in
any way, nor does it physically defrag the registry files on the drive
(as the PageDefrag program from SysInternals does). The optimization
done by NTREGOPT is simply compacting the registry hives to the
minimum size possible.]]
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/ntregopt.txt

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

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

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Hi,

Sorry but you are wrong.

When a system is restored using System Restore it replaces the current
registry with the registry snapshot taken when the restore point chosen
was created. (*note: some current values will persist)

Passwords in the SAM hive are not restored.

Here is a description of System Restore:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/description.html

Microsoft Windows XP System Restore (Windows XP Technical Articles)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnwxp/html/windowsxpsystemrestore.asp?frame=true
 
That's news to me ! I established, (hopefully erroneously), AGESs ago that
the registryy is not saved or "completely" restored during the creation, or
restore, of a "Restore Point." The only way to save the registry is to
save the "System State" by using Windows Backup. It's difficult to find, in
Windows backup, and Windows backup has to be dug out from a directory on the
Window Home ed. CD. It's installed if using the Retail version but, not
with the OEM version.

....looking at what you say implies that during a System Restore, registry
entries are merged into a possibly problematic registry, instead of having
the whole thing REPLACED, as in restoring a "System State."

regards, Richard
 
coooh! I haven't read this for ages. It confirms to me that the registry
is only completely saved, and restored, using Windows Backup "System State."
:-)

regards, Richard
 
....I've just read through this:-
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/description.html
....and I can safely say that, (whilst being blinded by science on this
page), in the past, after I'd implemented a "Restore Point," (the most
recently taken one), I still ended up with a busted Windows platform.

System Restore can quite easily "maintain" conditions in the registry that
are problematic - that's my experience anyway.

Restoring a "System State" REPLACES the registry / a "restore point"
doesn't, or if it does, it can still contain the problems that prompted the
user to attempt a "system restore, leaving him or her in a mess."

regards, Richard
 
b11_ said:
I've just discovered that a restore point is not a backup of the
registry, etc. If 1 restore point is bad then the previous r.
points are useless!!!!!! Think about that!!!

Who created the r. p. system?
Click to expand...

Not a complete backup - correct.
Thus why you can backup your system using NTBackup and "System State".
Or use third party apps like ERUNT.
(And it is just more fun to say.)
 
System Restore keeps a snapshots of the registry. It will restore
everything in the registry except for portions of the Sam Hive that
contain passwords. This is for security reasons.

Take a look in the System Volume Information folder and you will see a
Snapshot folder in each restore point. The Snapshot folder contains a
backup of the registry.
Open C:\WINDOWS\system32\config in details view and compare the entries.
 
Read the text below:

Each restore point only stores changes to the system since the creation of
the previous restore point to minimize space usage and improve performance
and so all the restore points are associated to each other. Thus, restoring
the machine from the current state to a previous state requires the
availability of all restore points created in between to undo changes tracked
inside them. For e.g. when a user wants to restore the machine from point D
to a point A, System Restore will work through the changes made to the system
and recorded in the change logs for each point C, then B and then A as these
restore points collectively hold all the changes to the system since point A
and so are needed to undo all the changes made to the system. It will then
create a roadmap for recovery using these restore points and restore the
system.

________________________________________________________________
 
For what it is worth, I use System Mechanic Backup/Restore. I have never had
it fail. BUT... I am not sure if it is a "complete" registry backup. I also,
use the Registry compactor as well.

I try to remember to make a backup before I install any program, as many to
not set restore points. Windows restore has failed me too many times!!
 
b11_ said:
Read the text below:

Each restore point only stores changes to the system since the creation of
the previous restore point to minimize space usage and improve performance
and so all the restore points are associated to each other. Thus, restoring
the machine from the current state to a previous state requires the
availability of all restore points created in between to undo changes tracked
inside them. For e.g. when a user wants to restore the machine from point D
to a point A, System Restore will work through the changes made to the system
and recorded in the change logs for each point C, then B and then A as these
restore points collectively hold all the changes to the system since point A
and so are needed to undo all the changes made to the system. It will then
create a roadmap for recovery using these restore points and restore the
system.
Click to expand...

Please provide documentation to support this. Nothing I have read about
SR indicates this is true.

Steve N.
 
....fascinating, what you say "rings" true ! ...in relationship to my past
experiences using Sytem Restore, to "drop back" to a previous "restore
point." i.e. it eventually gets its' knickers in such a twist that it fails
miserably. (...am currently about to thoroughly research Bert Kinneys
excellent reccommendations and replies to my posts.)

regards, Richard
 
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