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how to make a copy of your system
- Thread starter ffaucher
- Start date
There is a product I use called Adaptec Go Back 2.2 which is now included in Norton's System Works 2002. It is a complete clone of your drive contained within your hard drive and is updated as you use your pc. I use it a lot when I am "trying" shareware etc and if the prog gives me grief I click on the Go Back icon and it will give me all the safe ports options of being able to "revert the drive" to. I choose one from the list which is comprehensive and my pc restarts and I'm back where I want to be before I installed the bad program. You also have a choice to opt to do a revert drive between the system boot and Windows loading which is handy if the new software or settings causes a major crash.
Regards, Cerillah
Regards, Cerillah
Why not just use the built-in registry protection and add more backups if you prefer. 5 is default, I wouldn't go over 15 at tops.
First you should customize what the Windows Registry Checker will & won’t do. Open your C:\Windows\Scanreg.ini file. The Scanreg.ini file contains the entries that determine how the Registry Checker tool makes backup copies of your registry. Edit the x values of the settings below.
Backup=x, a value of 1 causes a backup copy of your registry to be made the first time you start your computer on any given day (determined by the system clock). A value of 0 disables the backing up of the registry.
Optimise=x, a value of 1 automatically optimises your current registry if it contains 500KB+ of unused space. A value of 0 does not automatically optimise your current registry by removing unused space.
MaxBackupCopies=x, use this value to set the maximum amount of registry backups, e.g. a value of 5 saves the last 5 registry backups in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. This value can be between 0 and 99.
NOTE: When you restore a registry backup using Registry Checker for MS- DOS (scanreg), only the five earliest backups are displayed.
BackupDirectory=x, by default this entry does not contain a value, and registry backups are automatically saved in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. If for some reason you wish to change where the backup is stored then use this to do so. E.g. If you want to change it to you C:\Backup directory then you would have BackupDirectory=C:\Backup. I’d suggest just leaving the backup directory in its default location.
NOTE – This next Scanreg.ini setting is recommended for advanced users only. & Must be manually added into the Scanreg.ini if you intend to use it.
=========================================================
From David Candy's site...
Backups are saved with names RBnnn.CAB, eg: RB001.CAB, RB002.CAB
There is also RBBAD.CAB which is the registry that won't boot.
Scanreg [/Dir] [/Backup] [/Nop] [/Opt] [/Autorun] [/Restore] [/Help] [/?] [/Comment] [/Dossetup] [/Setup] [/Win] [/Fixbad] [/Fix]
Scanregw [RegistryFile] [/Backup] [/Nop] [/Restore] [/Help] [/?] [/Autorun] [/Scanonly] [/Autoscan] [/Sagerun] [/Fix] [/Comment]
Scanreg is the MS-Dos mode command and ScanRegW is the Windows mode command. Running Scanreg in Windows starts ScanregW. Scanreg works happily on Windows 95 systems.
Scanreg
<nothing> Checks the registry and asks do you want to back it up.
RegistryFile The registry file to check.
/Dir Shows a UI with a test and cancel button.
/Backup Backs up the registry
/Nop Shows a UI without user input.
/Opt Optimises the registry by compacting it
/Autorun Windows Registry Checker automatically scans the system registry for invalid entries and empty data blocks when it is started. If invalid registry entries are detected, Windows Registry Checker automatically estores a previous day's backup. This is equivalent to running "scanreg /autorun" (without quotation marks) from a command prompt. If no backups are available, Windows Registry checker tries to make repairs to the registry. This is equivalent to running "scanreg /fix" (without quotation marks) from a command prompt. If the registry contains more than 500K of empty data blocks, Windows registry Checker automatically optimizes it.
/Restore Restores previously backed up
/Help Shows a subset of the command line switches
/? Shows a subset of the command line switches
"/Comment=Text" Adds a comment to a backup. This doesn't cause a backup to be created, but if one is created by another command line switch or the user choosing to backup then this comment will be added.
/Dossetup Unknown, probably used when Windows Setup starts in Dos mode.
/Setup Unknown, probably used when Windows Setup starts in Windows mode.
/Win Shows a UI, tests the registry and shows options to backup or restore the registry.
/Fix Repairs the registry and compacts the registry by completely rebuilding it.
Scanregw
<nothing> Checks the registry and asks do you want to back it up.
RegistryFile The registry file to check.
/Backup Backs up the registry
/Nop Does nothing
/Restore Displays a message saying to run Scanreg in Dos mode.
/Help Does nothing
/? Generates an error
/Scanonly Scans the registry for errors and displays an error message if any are found.
/Autoscan Automatically scans the registry and backs it up without displaying any prompts if there is no backup for that date.
/Autorun See Scanreg
/Autoscan Automatically scans the registry and backs it up without displaying any prompts if there is no backup for that date.
/Sagerun Unknown. Usually this switch is used for running programs from Task Scheduler. However Scanregw doesn't appear to look for any settings in the registry.
/Fix Displays a message saying to run Scanreg in Dos mode.
/Sagerun Unknown. Usually this switch is used for running programs from Task Scheduler. However Scanregw doesn't appear to look for any settings in the registry. ScanregW doesn't support Sageset which is how Task Scheduler programs set their Sagerun settings.
"/Comment=Text" Adds a comment to a backup. This doesn't cause a backup to be created, but if one is created by another command line switch or the user choosing to backup then this comment will be added.
Sample Scanreg.ini
;Scanreg.ini for making system backups.
;Registry backup is skipped altogether if this is set to 0
Backup=1
;Registry automatic optimization is skipped if this is set to 0
Optimize=1
ScanregVersion=0.0001
MaxBackupCopies=5
;Backup directory where the cabs are stored is
;\sysbckup by default. Value below overrides it.
;It must be a full path. ex. c:\tmp\backup
BackupDirectory=c:\windows\sysbckup
;Additional system files to backup into cab as follows:
;Filenames are separated by ','
;dir code can be:
; 10 : windir (ex. c:\windows)
; 11 : system dir (ex. c:\windows\system)
; 30 : boot dir (ex. c:\)
; 31 : boot host dir (ex. c:\)
;Files=[dir code,]file1,file2,file3
;Files=[dir code,]file1,file2,file3
Files=30,config.sys,autoexec.bat
Files=10,protocol.ini,telephon.ini,control.ini
Files=31,msdos.sys
Ini Entries
These are the settings that can be in the ini file.
ScanregVersion The Version of scanreg.
Optimize A value of 1 (default) optimises the registry if there is more than 500K blank space.
MaxBackupCopies A value of 5 (default) saves the last 5 registry backups in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. This value can be between 0 and 99.
Warning
Scanreg will only list the earlist 5 backups when restoring. Use Extract in the Windows\Command directory to extract the files manually.
BackupDirectory Default is Windows\Sysbckup.
PickyRegScan Unknown, perhaps an extra through scan.
Backup A value of 1 (default) causes a backup copy of your registry to be made the first time you start your computer on any given day (determined by the system clock).
BackupCurrentBeforeRestore* Default Unknown
MaxBootedBackupCopies* Default Unknown
Files See Sample ini file above.
LogFileName* Default Unknown
* Ignored by Scanregw
If scanregw find an error in the registry then it tell you it will reboot the computer to start Scanreg to restore or fix the registry. Scanreg is then started by Win.com with the /autorun parameter.
According to the Win98 Resource Kit Scanregw sets a flag in the registry. I've been unable to identify this flag. Scanreg does write to the first 32 bytes of user.dat, perhaps it's a flag that isn't in the registry structure. I've been ubable to duplicate it, so perhaps not.
reghakr
First you should customize what the Windows Registry Checker will & won’t do. Open your C:\Windows\Scanreg.ini file. The Scanreg.ini file contains the entries that determine how the Registry Checker tool makes backup copies of your registry. Edit the x values of the settings below.
Backup=x, a value of 1 causes a backup copy of your registry to be made the first time you start your computer on any given day (determined by the system clock). A value of 0 disables the backing up of the registry.
Optimise=x, a value of 1 automatically optimises your current registry if it contains 500KB+ of unused space. A value of 0 does not automatically optimise your current registry by removing unused space.
MaxBackupCopies=x, use this value to set the maximum amount of registry backups, e.g. a value of 5 saves the last 5 registry backups in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. This value can be between 0 and 99.
NOTE: When you restore a registry backup using Registry Checker for MS- DOS (scanreg), only the five earliest backups are displayed.
BackupDirectory=x, by default this entry does not contain a value, and registry backups are automatically saved in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. If for some reason you wish to change where the backup is stored then use this to do so. E.g. If you want to change it to you C:\Backup directory then you would have BackupDirectory=C:\Backup. I’d suggest just leaving the backup directory in its default location.
NOTE – This next Scanreg.ini setting is recommended for advanced users only. & Must be manually added into the Scanreg.ini if you intend to use it.
=========================================================
From David Candy's site...
Backups are saved with names RBnnn.CAB, eg: RB001.CAB, RB002.CAB
There is also RBBAD.CAB which is the registry that won't boot.
Scanreg [/Dir] [/Backup] [/Nop] [/Opt] [/Autorun] [/Restore] [/Help] [/?] [/Comment] [/Dossetup] [/Setup] [/Win] [/Fixbad] [/Fix]
Scanregw [RegistryFile] [/Backup] [/Nop] [/Restore] [/Help] [/?] [/Autorun] [/Scanonly] [/Autoscan] [/Sagerun] [/Fix] [/Comment]
Scanreg is the MS-Dos mode command and ScanRegW is the Windows mode command. Running Scanreg in Windows starts ScanregW. Scanreg works happily on Windows 95 systems.
Scanreg
<nothing> Checks the registry and asks do you want to back it up.
RegistryFile The registry file to check.
/Dir Shows a UI with a test and cancel button.
/Backup Backs up the registry
/Nop Shows a UI without user input.
/Opt Optimises the registry by compacting it
/Autorun Windows Registry Checker automatically scans the system registry for invalid entries and empty data blocks when it is started. If invalid registry entries are detected, Windows Registry Checker automatically estores a previous day's backup. This is equivalent to running "scanreg /autorun" (without quotation marks) from a command prompt. If no backups are available, Windows Registry checker tries to make repairs to the registry. This is equivalent to running "scanreg /fix" (without quotation marks) from a command prompt. If the registry contains more than 500K of empty data blocks, Windows registry Checker automatically optimizes it.
/Restore Restores previously backed up
/Help Shows a subset of the command line switches
/? Shows a subset of the command line switches
"/Comment=Text" Adds a comment to a backup. This doesn't cause a backup to be created, but if one is created by another command line switch or the user choosing to backup then this comment will be added.
/Dossetup Unknown, probably used when Windows Setup starts in Dos mode.
/Setup Unknown, probably used when Windows Setup starts in Windows mode.
/Win Shows a UI, tests the registry and shows options to backup or restore the registry.
/Fix Repairs the registry and compacts the registry by completely rebuilding it.
Scanregw
<nothing> Checks the registry and asks do you want to back it up.
RegistryFile The registry file to check.
/Backup Backs up the registry
/Nop Does nothing
/Restore Displays a message saying to run Scanreg in Dos mode.
/Help Does nothing
/? Generates an error
/Scanonly Scans the registry for errors and displays an error message if any are found.
/Autoscan Automatically scans the registry and backs it up without displaying any prompts if there is no backup for that date.
/Autorun See Scanreg
/Autoscan Automatically scans the registry and backs it up without displaying any prompts if there is no backup for that date.
/Sagerun Unknown. Usually this switch is used for running programs from Task Scheduler. However Scanregw doesn't appear to look for any settings in the registry.
/Fix Displays a message saying to run Scanreg in Dos mode.
/Sagerun Unknown. Usually this switch is used for running programs from Task Scheduler. However Scanregw doesn't appear to look for any settings in the registry. ScanregW doesn't support Sageset which is how Task Scheduler programs set their Sagerun settings.
"/Comment=Text" Adds a comment to a backup. This doesn't cause a backup to be created, but if one is created by another command line switch or the user choosing to backup then this comment will be added.
Sample Scanreg.ini
;Scanreg.ini for making system backups.
;Registry backup is skipped altogether if this is set to 0
Backup=1
;Registry automatic optimization is skipped if this is set to 0
Optimize=1
ScanregVersion=0.0001
MaxBackupCopies=5
;Backup directory where the cabs are stored is
;\sysbckup by default. Value below overrides it.
;It must be a full path. ex. c:\tmp\backup
BackupDirectory=c:\windows\sysbckup
;Additional system files to backup into cab as follows:
;Filenames are separated by ','
;dir code can be:
; 10 : windir (ex. c:\windows)
; 11 : system dir (ex. c:\windows\system)
; 30 : boot dir (ex. c:\)
; 31 : boot host dir (ex. c:\)
;Files=[dir code,]file1,file2,file3
;Files=[dir code,]file1,file2,file3
Files=30,config.sys,autoexec.bat
Files=10,protocol.ini,telephon.ini,control.ini
Files=31,msdos.sys
Ini Entries
These are the settings that can be in the ini file.
ScanregVersion The Version of scanreg.
Optimize A value of 1 (default) optimises the registry if there is more than 500K blank space.
MaxBackupCopies A value of 5 (default) saves the last 5 registry backups in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. This value can be between 0 and 99.
Warning
Scanreg will only list the earlist 5 backups when restoring. Use Extract in the Windows\Command directory to extract the files manually.
BackupDirectory Default is Windows\Sysbckup.
PickyRegScan Unknown, perhaps an extra through scan.
Backup A value of 1 (default) causes a backup copy of your registry to be made the first time you start your computer on any given day (determined by the system clock).
BackupCurrentBeforeRestore* Default Unknown
MaxBootedBackupCopies* Default Unknown
Files See Sample ini file above.
LogFileName* Default Unknown
* Ignored by Scanregw
If scanregw find an error in the registry then it tell you it will reboot the computer to start Scanreg to restore or fix the registry. Scanreg is then started by Win.com with the /autorun parameter.
According to the Win98 Resource Kit Scanregw sets a flag in the registry. I've been unable to identify this flag. Scanreg does write to the first 32 bytes of user.dat, perhaps it's a flag that isn't in the registry structure. I've been ubable to duplicate it, so perhaps not.
reghakr
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