Registry Keys to Backup & How to do it.

[Larry(LJL269)]

ConfigSafe, an alternative to RESTORE, creates
"snapshots" of a system's configuration information,
including the Windows Registry, startup files such as
autoexec.bat and system.ini, and summaries of system
hardware, network connections and directory
structures.

I've been doing alot of work importing IE Rules &
checked to insure these keys were in Registry snapshot.
Was surprised that Default Sys Configuration saves only
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE + HKEY_USERS keys in Registry. I
did expand that to include entire Registry but the run
time went from 1:30 to 5:30.

So I thought I would snapshot just subkeys that I tweak
myself. I was hoping that those with more knowledge
than I could suggest other subkeys to
snapshot/alternative faster ways to do it. Exporting
from Regedit the key b4 I change it had disadvantage
that if I cant boot, I dont think I can run Regedit
from DOS on floppy ( which I can with ConfigSafe).
Maybe this is a moot point because the 2 keys it does
snapshot guarantee XP will boot.

Comments/suggestions/corrections appreciated.
Thanks- bye- Larry


Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Willit]

Restore is not reliable. It's a marketing gimmick for MS.
You can turn it off from Control Panel > System > and then
re-boot and it will purge it's file. Then re-boot, turn it
back on.
You still have to deal the problem, it's a crap program,
that half works, half the time.

Do a real backup and get Erunt for your registry. It puts
a folder on your root dir with a installer.

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

System Restore In MS's own words .......lol


"The System Restore feature of Windows XP enables you to
restore a PC, in the event of a problem, to a previous
state without losing personal data files. System Restore
actively monitors system file changes to record or store
previous versions before the changes occurred. With System
Restore, you never have to think about taking system
snapshots as it automatically creates easily identifiable
restore points, which allow you to restore the system to a
previous point in time."


"you never have to think about taking system snapshots"
Oh, really.

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003 04:09:58 -0700, "Willit"

Thank you for such a quick response.

|Restore is not reliable.
I dont use it- its been disabled since day 1. I use
ConfigSafe. Post if u'd like URL.


|http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/
Thats very helpful.
How long does it take to backup entire Registry?
Can u quantify improvements of NTREGOPT?

Comments/suggestions/corrections appreciated.
Thanks for ur input- Larry



Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Doctor Jekyl.]

http://home.kooee.com.au/kingull/regrecovery.html
This does it automatically.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Restore is not reliable. It's a marketing gimmick for MS.

System Restore is not a cure for all problems, and is certainly
not a substitute for a backup. But it is far more than "a
marketing Gimmick for MS." It is a very useful feature, one that
has gotten me and many others out of trouble many times.

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 02:46:41 +1000, "Doctor Jekyl."

|http://home.kooee.com.au/kingull/regrecovery.html
|This does it automatically.
|
Thank you for ur post- its very helpful.
How long does it take to backup entire Registry?
u use NTREGOPT too? How big is the improvement?

Comments/suggestions/corrections appreciated.
Thanks for ur input- Larry

Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003 11:29:26 -0700, "Ken Blake"

|System Restore is not a cure for all problems, and is certainly
|not a substitute for a backup

Ken- ConfigSafe came with my original IBM PC 4 yrs ago
and I use it over Restore cause it always worked & I
was advised in ME NG that it was more thorough. See
http://www.imaginelan.com/configsafe/index.html

You can use ConfigSafe to restore almost anything from
DOS or XP on FAT32 partition but the following are the
Default files saved:
Windows Registry- saves only
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE + HKEY_USERS keys
Startup files- it saves only autoexec.bat, win.ini,
config.sys, msdos.sys, io.sys, and system.ini but NOT
boot.ini
Assets- it saves only C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\

U can see but not restore changes to C:/Windows &
drives.

My concern is that I've been using defaults to protect
me from mistakes when I edit Services & OE rules but
the defaults dont save/restore these items. So I'm
looking at alternatives: expand what CSafe saves vs
other solutions offered here.

Comments/suggestions/corrections appreciated.
Thanks- bye- Larry


Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Ken Blake]

In

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003 11:29:26 -0700, "Ken Blake"

|System Restore is not a cure for all problems, and is certainly
|not a substitute for a backup

Ken- ConfigSafe came with my original IBM PC 4 yrs ago
and I use it over Restore cause it always worked & I
was advised in ME NG that it was more thorough. See
http://www.imaginelan.com/configsafe/index.html

Comments/suggestions/corrections appreciated.
Thanks- bye- Larry

Sorry, I have no comment on ConfigSafe, since I've never used it
and don't know anything about it.

I certainly don't claim that System Restore is the only program
to use or even the best one (since I don't know all the
alternatives). But Willit's oft-repeated claim that "Restore is
not reliable. It's a marketing gimmick for MS" is nonsense.
System Restore works for many people and has solved many problems
for many people.

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003 19:34:17 -0700, "Ken Blake"

|I have no comment on ConfigSafe, since I've never used it
|and don't know anything about it

I guess I've used it|and don't know anything about it


I'm sending the post b4 this to their TS to verify &
for suggestions. That was a compilation taken from 5
sources of documentation & my notes so is a unique
summary of the default snapshot.

Anything that only reports changes without being able
to reverse them (like C:/WINDOWS) I dont see a use for.
But that only reduces ConfigSafe's runtime by 2-3 sec
out of 5:30 .

Thanks 4 ur input- Larry


Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003 19:34:17 -0700, "Ken Blake"

|System Restore works for many people and has solved many problems
|for many people

http://www.imaginelan.com/configsafe/srdangers.pdf
claims shortcomings of Restore are:

Shuts down without warning, leaving system unprotected
No recovery capability from DOS or Minimum boot mode
Fails to create restore points for most existing
software installations
Provides minimal restore point history

Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Alex Nichol]

I've been doing alot of work importing IE Rules &
checked to insure these keys were in Registry snapshot.
Was surprised that Default Sys Configuration saves only
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE + HKEY_USERS keys in Registry. I
did expand that to include entire Registry but the run
time went from 1:30 to 5:30.

So I thought I would snapshot just subkeys that I tweak
myself. I was hoping that those with more knowledge
than I could suggest other subkeys to
snapshot/alternative faster ways to do it. Exporting
from Regedit the key b4 I change it had disadvantage
that if I cant boot, I dont think I can run Regedit
from DOS on floppy ( which I can with ConfigSafe).

Such export IMO should be just for small areas that you are currently
working on, and may wish to restore. The only one I export, outside
that, is the
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs]
- and then edited - top keep just a basic collection of URLs that I like
to have available as drop points in INternet Explorer's address bar (as
an alternative to Favorites). If you delete History this list gets
cleared out, and I can put the start level back again. But that is a
rather specialised tweak.

The trouble with using export - import is that import is a Merge, and
hence does *not* delete items you have added to the relevant key *after*
the export was made

For normal registry backup - together with other things - the tool is
System Restore. that puts you back where you were in a consistent way.
As a reserve backup of the registry on its own, I suggest ERUNT -
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt

 

[Alex Nichol]

Ken- ConfigSafe came with my original IBM PC 4 yrs ago
and I use it over Restore cause it always worked & I
was advised in ME NG that it was more thorough. See
http://www.imaginelan.com/configsafe/index.html

In that case it should *not* be trusted to work correctly with the XP
registry.

 

[Alex Nichol]

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 02:46:41 +1000, "Doctor Jekyl."

|http://home.kooee.com.au/kingull/regrecovery.html
|This does it automatically.
|
Thank you for ur post- its very helpful.
How long does it take to backup entire Registry?
u use NTREGOPT too? How big is the improvement?

That is the one I suggest too - though it is not the author's prime site
for ERUNT, which is
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt

You just reminded me to run it - it backed up mine in just under 100
seconds.

There is not that much room, relatively speaking, for saving space in
the XP registry, so NTREGOPT while worth doing occasionally is not
something I would make a regular chore

 

[Ken Blake]

In

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003 19:34:17 -0700, "Ken Blake"

|System Restore works for many people and has solved many problems
|for many people

http://www.imaginelan.com/configsafe/srdangers.pdf
claims shortcomings of Restore are:

Shuts down without warning, leaving system unprotected
No recovery capability from DOS or Minimum boot mode
Fails to create restore points for most existing
software installations
Provides minimal restore point history

Once again, I've never claimed that it was perfect or that it was
useful in all situations. But shortcomings or not, it's often
been very useful to many people, and has solved many people's
problems.

Are there better programs that do similar things? Perhaps. But
that doesn't make System Restore useless or "a marketing Gimmick
for MS." I happen to think that WordPerfect is a better program
than Microsoft Word, but that doesn't mean I would be so foolish
as to say that Word is therefore "a marketing Gimmick for MS."

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 15:46:12 +0100, Alex Nichol

|In that case it should *not* be trusted to work correctly with the XP
|registry
I didnt - they had upgrade that I got 4 XP.

All along I thought CSafe stored Registry but it
saves only HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE + HKEY_USERS keys- WHY?
CSafe TS answered 'it saves the whole registry (other
keys are just shortcuts to the two main hives)' So OE
rules are really in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE + HKEY_USERS?
Makes no sense to me.

It saves autoexec.bat, win.ini,
config.sys, msdos.sys, io.sys, and system.ini but NOT
boot.ini. WHY?

Their TS only answers 1 Q at a time so this could be a
long GD process..

Any light u could shed on the above I'd really
appreciate. Thanks- bye- Larry



Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 15:45:49 +0100, Alex Nichol


|The trouble with using export - import is that import is a |Merge, and|hence does *not* delete items you have added to the |relevant key *after*the export was made
That I had clarified in another post & combined it with
KB article on deleting keys as 1st line added to key u
export. Even made a little example

|For normal registry backup - together with other things - the tool is
|System Restore. that puts you back where you were in a consistent way.
|As a reserve backup of the registry on its own, I suggest ERUNT
CSafe does that. Ideally I'd like 1 all inclusive
profile to handle all situationsbut but that makes
CSafe run too long.(6min) But creating special profiles
for just 1 task seems workable: 1 to BU Message rules,
1 to BU Registry, 1 for varius tweaks, etc.

All along I thought CSafe stored by default entire
Registry but it saves only HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE +
HKEY_USERS keys because 'other keys are just shortcuts
to the two main hives' according to CSafe TS. Assuming
that's true, maybe I need just 2 profiles: 1 for those
2 keys(which is default) & 1 for the rest.

CSafe advantage is u can specify Reg keys & subkeys &
both system & non-system files to BU, they r stored
compressed, & u can restore them in DOS if XP wont
boot plus I know mechanics of its use.

To do this u use the most advanced features of CSafe
which opened-up a Pandora's Box of questions that I
sent to their TS who answer them 1 at a time.

Thx for ur input which I really appreciate.
Comments/suggestions/corrections appreciated.
Larry

Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Alex Nichol]

All along I thought CSafe stored Registry but it
saves only HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE + HKEY_USERS keys- WHY?
CSafe TS answered 'it saves the whole registry (other
keys are just shortcuts to the two main hives)' So OE
rules are really in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE + HKEY_USERS?
Makes no sense to me.

It saves autoexec.bat, win.ini,
config.sys, msdos.sys, io.sys, and system.ini but NOT
boot.ini. WHY?

Answer - because it is a Win9x program, where the registry is structured
physically in a different way, and is file oriented. Win98 has just
system.dat - those items part of the system - and user.dat.

System includes the HKLM hive, and also HKCR, which is just an alias,
for convenience, to HKLM\Software\classes. In ME that was separated out
as a separate file - Classes.dat and *both* those keys become just
pointers to it. So the program may not even be appropriate for ME

User.dat is HKCU for the current user:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Sofetware\Microsoft\rs is that *plus* the individual
user.dats for other users, contained in the Profiles folder.

IN XP there are quite different files - SYSTEM SOFTWARE SECURITY SAM
etc in the system32\config folder, *plus* the individual user's
ntuser.dat files in his section of Documents and Settings

As to other files, XP has no use for or interest in config.sys or
autoexec.bat, and its initial boot files are not io.sys and MSdos.sys
(vestiges of DOS) but the ntldr, ntdetect..com and boot..ini

IOW the program is utterly unsuitable for use with XP, excellent though
it may be in 9x

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 14:18:01 +0100, Alex Nichol

|IOW the program is utterly unsuitable for use with XP, excellent though it may be in 9x

That may be altho I did pay for and upgraded 2 XP
version. Either
1-it's utterly unsuitable for use with XP
2-i got bad install file
3-they didnt change interface- I got 1 of 1st XP
versions

Your post has given me enuf info to ask their TS some
specific questions. Many thanks Alex. Think I'll
address boot.ini, win.ini,.. list 1st- less complicated
than Registry questions. Exprimenting I found that
CSafe can NOT be made to save boot.ini but it does save
others which r N/A in XP.

Frankly, I hope 2/ or 3/ above is the problem!!
Thanks again- Larry


Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm