Registry Backup Precautions before changes. Problems !

[admiral_victory]

Before applying Registry Tweaks which are recommended in a Web Site I
was reading, I decided to Export the entire Registry to a file on my
second h/d - I called this file "xxx.reg".

To check that a possible Registry Restore would work before I went
ahead with these tweaks , I then double clicked on this file which , I
understand , will then import the data in this file back into the
registry. Since I had changed nothing in the Registry at this stage I
did not expect any problems with this re-importation.

However , I now get a message which says :-

"Cannot import "xxx.reg" .Not all was successfully written to the
Registry.Some keys are open by system or other processes."

Why do I get this message ? Nothing has been changed - is this not the
recommended proceedure for restoring a damaged Registry after changes
have corrupted it ?

The PC still seems to be working OK in spite of this message .

B.N.

 

[Linda B]

The system can't modify keys which are already in use, although it can
export them. So when you went to re-import the entire registry, it
attempted to overwrite several keys which were in use (although it tried to
overwrite them with the same data), so it threw that error message. Since
it's an exact copy, it shouldn't have hurt anything.

You can keep that full export around, but if I were you I'd just export the
keys that you're planning on modifying. You can also make backup copies of
the hives themselves (found in %systemroot%\system32\config).

--LB

 

[Rock]

Before applying Registry Tweaks which are recommended in a Web Site I
was reading, I decided to Export the entire Registry to a file on my
second h/d - I called this file "xxx.reg".

To check that a possible Registry Restore would work before I went
ahead with these tweaks , I then double clicked on this file which , I
understand , will then import the data in this file back into the
registry. Since I had changed nothing in the Registry at this stage I
did not expect any problems with this re-importation.

However , I now get a message which says :-

"Cannot import "xxx.reg" .Not all was successfully written to the
Registry.Some keys are open by system or other processes."

Why do I get this message ? Nothing has been changed - is this not the
recommended proceedure for restoring a damaged Registry after changes
have corrupted it ?

The PC still seems to be working OK in spite of this message .

B.N.

Best to use ERUNT to backup the registry.

http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/

 

[Wesley Vogel]

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

Get both of these...

NTREGOPT NT Registry Optimizer
ERUNT The Emergency Recovery Utility NT
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Plato]

Before applying Registry Tweaks which are recommended in a Web Site I

Some registry backup/restore puppies to play with:

http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/erunt.zip
http://superwin.swmirror.com/wnrsqxpz.exe

 

[admiral_victory]

Thanks for all the replies - lots of things I didn't know about in
them ! - Will post back if any further problems.

B.N.

 

[Alex Nichol]

To check that a possible Registry Restore would work before I went
ahead with these tweaks , I then double clicked on this file which , I
understand , will then import the data in this file back into the
registry. Since I had changed nothing in the Registry at this stage I
did not expect any problems with this re-importation.

However , I now get a message which says :-

"Cannot import "xxx.reg" .Not all was successfully written to the
Registry.Some keys are open by system or other processes."

Why do I get this message ? Nothing has been changed - is this not the
recommended proceedure for restoring a damaged Registry after changes
have corrupted it ?

It isn't. An export like that is first very large (in Unicode text).
and second only allows restore by merging in, so it does not remove
entries made later. And some items may be in use when you try doing it
under a running system

The registry is backed up daily as part of the day's System Restore
point. Restore it by going to
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore
Take Restore to an earlier time and from the calendar select a point
made before you tried the tweaks

 

[admiral_victory]

It isn't. An export like that is first very large (in Unicode text).
and second only allows restore by merging in, so it does not remove
entries made later. And some items may be in use when you try doing it
under a running system

The registry is backed up daily as part of the day's System Restore
point. Restore it by going to
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore
Take Restore to an earlier time and from the calendar select a point
made before you tried the tweaks

Thanks for the explanation .

B.N.