Windows 2000 Pro - Restore Registry of parallel Win installation

[Guest]

I saved the registry (32 mb file) to a "temp.reg" file before I apparently deleted a few keys I shouldn't have while using regedit....when I rebooted system would boot but never get into windows and then restart and continue in a cycle. I loaded a parallel copy of Win 2K Pro on the same drive so that I could access the drive

How do I get the saved reg file (temp.reg) back into the correct file of the original intall so that I can use the original (currently non-working) copy of windows to work like before

I have already tried everything "F6" had to offer (Last known good config, safe mode ...etc.)

 

[Dave Patrick]

Exporting the entire registry to a *.reg file is not an acceptable means of
backup. You can't import the entire registry. You might want to describe the
situation, perhaps there is another solution.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
Microsoft Certified Professional [Windows 2000]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


:
| I saved the registry (32 mb file) to a "temp.reg" file before I apparently
deleted a few keys I shouldn't have while using regedit....when I rebooted
system would boot but never get into windows and then restart and continue
in a cycle. I loaded a parallel copy of Win 2K Pro on the same drive so
that I could access the drive.
|
| How do I get the saved reg file (temp.reg) back into the correct file of
the original intall so that I can use the original (currently non-working)
copy of windows to work like before.
|
| I have already tried everything "F6" had to offer (Last known good config,
safe mode ...etc.)

 

[Guest]

Thank you for the reply

I basically went into the registry and attempted to delete some sub-key that I thought were causing unwanted program start-ups each time I booted into windows. (I went into the RUN and RUN- keys and deleted a few entries) Before I did this I backed up the registry by exporting through the registry drop down menu; I named the file temp.reg. and selected "all". When I tried to reboot, at the windows login I got a 75% sized screen with severe pincushioning on the sides. Seeing this, I went into the registry and tried to import the temp.reg file back in and it began the import but only got about 95% finished when it stopped with an error message

I tried to reboot again and it got to the blue screen and stopped...tried all of the F6 options (Last Known Good Config..Safe Mode ...etc) nothing got me past the blue screen and the then the proceess became automated in a cycle .....each time it got to the blue screen it would cycle back to the boot process automatically, and start all over again

To get access to the hard drive, I loaded a parallel installation of Windows 2K Pro on to the drive. At the present time, I can choose between which installation of Win 2K Pro I want to use, the old or the new. What I would like to do is bring the saved registry-back-up file (temp.reg...about 32 meg) back into the original windows installation so that I can resume using that installation of windows (I have been using this computer for 5 years and there is a lot of settings software, etc that would have to be recreated if I had to use the fresh installation.

As best I understand it, any changes made in the registry are saved to the ....WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG folder itn the SAM, Security, Software, and System files. The NTUSER.DAT is found in the WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\DEFAULT

My dilemna is that I would like to get the info from the saved temp.reg file back into the failed windows installation but I am not sure as to the best way of doing this. Can I load the hive....WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM (or another file) and then somehow (maybe double-click the temp.reg file) get the info into the loaded hive and then when finished unload the hive back to the non-working installation,........and then hope all goes well..

Thanks for any time you put into this, I appreciate it.

 

[Dave Patrick]

Editing the "Run" keys shouldn't have caused any issues with starting the
operating system. Hard to say what that issue was. From what you describe
the registry is now damaged beyond any repair. Restoring from your 32 mB REG
file isn't possible. For future reference; if you run
Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Backup, then choose ERD, then if you check
the box for "Also backup....", then the reg will also be backed up to
%windir%\repair\RegBack
leaving the
%windir%\repair\
directory files intact as original installation.

Repair, Recovery, and Restore
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/samplechapters/fndc/fndc_rec_uctu.asp

From the recovery console you can copy the hives you wish to restore from;

%windir%\repair\regback
to
%windir%\system32\config\

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks.
Press ENTER at the "Setup Notification" screen. Press R to repair a Windows
2000 installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The
Recovery Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do
not have the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
Console quits and restarts the computer. Once the password has been
validated, you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access
to the hard disk. You can only access the following folders on your
computer: %systemroot% and %windir%

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
Microsoft Certified Professional [Windows 2000]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


:
| Thank you for the reply,
|
| I basically went into the registry and attempted to delete some sub-key
that I thought were causing unwanted program start-ups each time I booted
into windows. (I went into the RUN and RUN- keys and deleted a few entries)
Before I did this I backed up the registry by exporting through the registry
drop down menu; I named the file temp.reg. and selected "all". When I tried
to reboot, at the windows login I got a 75% sized screen with severe
pincushioning on the sides. Seeing this, I went into the registry and tried
to import the temp.reg file back in and it began the import but only got
about 95% finished when it stopped with an error message.
|
| I tried to reboot again and it got to the blue screen and stopped...tried
all of the F6 options (Last Known Good Config..Safe Mode ...etc) nothing got
me past the blue screen and the then the proceess became automated in a
cycle .....each time it got to the blue screen it would cycle back to the
boot process automatically, and start all over again.
|
| To get access to the hard drive, I loaded a parallel installation of
Windows 2K Pro on to the drive. At the present time, I can choose between
which installation of Win 2K Pro I want to use, the old or the new. What I
would like to do is bring the saved registry-back-up file (temp.reg...about
32 meg) back into the original windows installation so that I can resume
using that installation of windows (I have been using this computer for 5
years and there is a lot of settings software, etc that would have to be
recreated if I had to use the fresh installation.)
|
| As best I understand it, any changes made in the registry are saved to the
.....WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG folder itn the SAM, Security, Software, and
System files. The NTUSER.DAT is found in the WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\DEFAULT
|
| My dilemna is that I would like to get the info from the saved temp.reg
file back into the failed windows installation but I am not sure as to the
best way of doing this. Can I load the hive....WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
(or another file) and then somehow (maybe double-click the temp.reg file)
get the info into the loaded hive and then when finished unload the hive
back to the non-working installation,........and then hope all goes well..!
|
| Thanks for any time you put into this, I appreciate it.

 

[Guest]

I gues I am beating this to death but,......

From what I have read about the registry and restoring, there is a method of simply double-clicking on the REG file and it automatically rewrites the file to the current user registry. If I have this file but need to get it into a non-loading windows, why shouldn'y I be able to do something with it....the information is there. The simple answer is to concede the corruption and start on a week or so of time consumng tweaking and adjusting as well as reloading all programs and setting them up again. I believe there is a way to use the information in the registry. Can you point me in any direction other than staring from a clean windows

Thank you again for your time.

 

[Dave Patrick]

The current user hive is a tiny part of the registry that isn't loaded till
the user logs on (ntuser.dat) This can be found in
%userprofile%\ntuser.dat

The bulk of the rest of the registry is made up of files in
%windir%\system32\config

It simply isn't possible to replace the entire registry while the operating
system is running which is what you would propose to do with the *.reg file.
On the other hand it isn't reasonably possibly to split the reg file into
the files that make up the operating system's registry.

You never did mention the error message but after attempting the import, the
registry most likely is corrupt beyond any repair.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
Microsoft Certified Professional [Windows 2000]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


:
| I gues I am beating this to death but,.......
|
| From what I have read about the registry and restoring, there is a method
of simply double-clicking on the REG file and it automatically rewrites the
file to the current user registry. If I have this file but need to get it
into a non-loading windows, why shouldn'y I be able to do something with
it....the information is there. The simple answer is to concede the
corruption and start on a week or so of time consumng tweaking and adjusting
as well as reloading all programs and setting them up again. I believe
there is a way to use the information in the registry. Can you point me in
any direction other than staring from a clean windows?
|
| Thank you again for your time.