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Thread ID: 40030	2003-11-25 22:59:00	Registry backups	Martina (4232)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
194641	2003-11-25 22:59:00	On another forum a flatmate got the following in response to her suggestion that a newbie (like us) should be advised to backup the registry before trying to alter it: ----------- Most people on this forum are so unspecific when it comes to backing up and restoring the registry that I'd hate to find out how many people out there have had to, at the least, re-activate Windows. Put simply, you cannot just backup the entire registry, then reapply it a couple hours later when you found out you f'ed it up. It's a matter of backing up specific portions and restoring them. ----------- If the second para above is true have I been fooling myself in thinking that a backup made using regedit (and selecting "all") is of no use, can the entire registry not be restored in total?? I read FAQs 6 & 7 and got the impression that it could. Thanks M...	Martina (4232)
194642	2003-11-25 23:13:00	Why would you want to alter the registry in the first place?? It might help knowing what you are trying to do firstly? Lo.	Lohsing (219)
194643	2003-11-25 23:33:00	I would say you are right Martina, that second paragraph would only be true if in that 2 hours significant changes had been made to the registry by installing/uninstalling programs. There is a place or case if you like, for both saving the entire registry (often easier to do), and for just exporting a particular key or value. If a program is being installed in order to try it out, then Id save the whole registry. If something goes badly wrong then the whole registry can be restored. I mean, one doesnt know what changes have been made to the registry by a program except by using before and after comparison software, and that can be a pain. If one is playing with changing just one piece of a key, or a dword/string value etc, then yes, just export a small portion.	Terry Porritt (14)
194644	2003-11-25 23:40:00	Another thing, in win98, a backup of the registry is made by default the first time the computer is booted each day. I have found that invaluable in the past when Ive forgotten or havent bothered to back up the registry.when playing around. I still have to find out if XP has that automatic facility,( I dont mean System Restore), but havent got around to it yet.	Terry Porritt (14)
194645	2003-11-25 23:44:00	Martina, it looks like the advice given is correct and you can't backup the entire registry for the Win 2000/ XP/ NT family . Have a look at this site ( . t-online . de/home/lars . hederer/erunt/" target="_blank">home . t-online . de), specifically the Detailed Information (English) page . Although I have not used it myself I have seen that program (ERUNT) recommended at a couple of forums and I plan to try it myself sometime . If you intend to alter the registry you are able to backup (export) the branch or string that you intend to change and if things go wrong import your backup in again . If your whole system crashes and you are right in the deep stuff that's where disk image programs like Ghost come in handy . ;-)	Fire-and-Ice (3910)
194646	2003-11-25 23:46:00	Lohsing.... I don't want to do anything with the registry, just have a backup copy which I thought I could use to restore the registry in case a registry disaster occurred. (much like the System Restore) Terry P..... I think I understand what you are saying. If changes were made to the registry then a backup copy could be restored but any progs installed/uninstalled between registry backup and restore would not perform. Thanks guys M...	Martina (4232)
194647	2003-11-25 23:49:00	I'm a bit slow aren't I Terry? :-) > If a program is being installed in order to try it out, then Id save the whole registry. If something goes badly wrong then the whole registry can be restored. I use System Restore for that purpose and it works quite well. > I still have to find out if XP has that automatic facility It doesn't appear to, according to the link I posted above. That article is quite enlightening actually. ;-)	Fire-and-Ice (3910)
194648	2003-11-25 23:56:00	Oh dear Fire-and-Ice. The following lil note from that article really blew my theory away: *** 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. *** I give up trying to understand it. Thanks heaps M...	Martina (4232)
194649	2003-11-26 00:16:00	Martina I was under the impression by choosing to backup 'System State' which is one of the options in Backup in XP that you are backing up the Registry and other critical system files. I backup System State regularly. Perhaps I am wasting my time? Comments please. Oxie	Oxie (1318)
194650	2003-11-26 00:16:00	We have to distinguish between win9x and XP. In XP it appears that system restore is the best way of backing up the entire registry, and restoring will replace the existing registry. In win98 there was registry checker in system tools that gave an option to back up the entire registry. Using regedit to export the whole registry as a .reg file by selecting "all", some 40MB or so, will as Martina says only merge with the existing directory, thus combining the two in a bit of a mess. In XP there is a difference between merging a .reg file which just adds the saved entry onto whats already there and using the registry hives option. That creates a binary file which when restored overwrites that part of the registry.	Terry Porritt (14)
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