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Best USB/Bootable recovery and "utility" tools
Carol Haynes:
Hmmm found this:
These instructions apply only to Windows 7
1. Turn on your computer and press F1 or F2 to go into BIOS settings. On "Booting" section set your computer to boot from your cd/dvd drive. Insert the Windows 7 installation CD or DVD (either full or upgrade version) into the drive and save your new settings and exit BIOS mode. When your computer starts again it will ask you to press any key to reboot from the disk. You will be taken to the Windows 7 screen. Once on this screen, you will be given the choice to install windows or to repair it. Choose repair it. If your problem is not solved try it again and this time when you choose "Repair" you should get some of the following choices: Repair Windows, Repair Using a Mirror copy previously made, Diagnose System hardware, or Display DOS command prompt or something similar.
2. Choose DOS command prompt.
3. Once on the command prompt window, type c: and hit enter.
4. Type the following commands into the DOS command prompt. Each one of these statements copy the original registry files to the current registry directory.
copy C:\windows\system32\config\regback\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy C:\windows\system32\config\regback\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy C:\windows\system32\config\regback\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy C:\windows\system32\config\regback\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy C:\windows\system32\config\regback\default c:\windows\system32\config\default
5. Press the "Y" key after each copied file. This confirms that you want to overwrite the existing registry files.
6. Remove the Windows 7 installation disc (either full or upgrade version) from the drive and reboot the machine.
7. Press F1 or F2 right after restarting your machine to go back to the BIOS settings and set your machine to boot from the "C" drive.
The registry is now restored with original settings.
--- End quote ---
This allows you to restore a recent windows vista/7 registry backup manually (note this could be up to 10 days old).
It is very similar to the method I used in XP but doesn't give access to all the restore points but it might save the day. Apparently these backups are made automatically.
4wd:
Yes - it is under registry tools - called Restore Registry Wizard.-Carol Haynes (March 31, 2012, 07:24 PM)
--- End quote ---
Found it, also found the source code in VB, (attached) - wonder if it's not too hard to update. I would think it's only a discrepancy between the identifier on the files, (the bit between the {}), and the lookup he uses in the registry, (or wherever it hides).
Or maybe just a dirty port to AutoIt.
Hmmm found this:
These instructions apply only to Windows 7
--- End quote ---
This allows you to restore a recent windows vista/7 registry backup manually (note this could be up to 10 days old).
It is very similar to the method I used in XP but doesn't give access to all the restore points but it might save the day. Apparently these backups are made automatically.
-Carol Haynes (March 31, 2012, 08:01 PM)
--- End quote ---
I believe that's the backup that's used if you choose Last Known Good Configuration from the F8 boot menu.
Carol Haynes:
I think the system restore method was rewritten in Vista/7 and it uses Volume Shadow Copy. I don't think the mod of Restore Registry Wizard just means changing paths unfortunately.
One of the big changes is that you can use a Vista/7 recovery CD to use System Restore points - that wasn't possible in XP.
4wd:
I don't think the mod of Restore Registry Wizard just means changing paths unfortunately.-Carol Haynes (March 31, 2012, 08:35 PM)
--- End quote ---
Maybe not but the biggest change seems to be in the folder names, RegResWiz looks specifically for folders in System Volume Information starting with _restore.
Under Win7 they don't, they are just identifiers within brackets, eg. {FD721EA1-0DC0-4191-85F7-4D474E00E2DB}.
Maybe making the program parse the filenames within the folders will make it a little more robust.
Steven Avery:
Hi,
Ended up doing an early image restore. Went fine. Used Macrium, even though I had divided it into two partitions (which is hard for Macrium, it put Humpty back together and then I divided it up later). Other image software can reinstall to a smaller spot, but Macrium is so good, I wanted to give them a chance. Remember, it is an early image, so only about 5 Gigabytes .. oh, those poor pagefiles, always trying to force a couple more gigs of junk.
My c:/ and d:/ (user data) had all been copied over to an external drive en masse before this was done, just to be safe. Using PMan from Parted Magic. Also very simple. For the re-partition I used Mini-Tool Partition Wizard, a very highly regarded freeware program.
Last time I had a similar problem, in 2009, I had to do a full OS restore. And that is a hassle. First you have to have the CDs, then you have to get the Internet up (I had a built-in driver problem.). Or spend $90 to have the guy in the shop do it, presuming your system is all fine with MS with a serial#. Lots of annoying possible little uggies that you only want to experience once, or zero.
The early images I did on that last OS reinstall one were a huge help. For most daily usage I do not believe in images, because if your system is clogged or mal-ed, the image will be clogged. You bomb out every couple of years, then do an OS reinstall at that point. Start clean and lean.
(I am not talking about the techie experimenters here, who have different needs, and for whom an image restore can be a daily need.)
However, for normal personal use:
** I strongly recommend redundant images (e.g. Macrium, DriveImageXL, Paragon, Easeus, two at least, the techie below Windows ones are fine also) after any OS reinstall and with any new system. ***
(Make the recovery CDs, too, since things change there and you know it should match).
The reason for the redundancy is that images are not fool-proof.
One image, or group, right after you have the internet up, drivers, etc.
And another one or two after you have your basic programs reinstalled.
A day or two later, still with a very light system.
Then, you should back up your data, of course, but in anything other than a disk crash or BIOS destruction, you can get the totally current data, at the moment of crash, the way mentioned above. Thus you do not have to "over-backup" anything but critical daily data. I will conjecture that 95% or so of crashes and lockups are OS corruption and/or malware, only a small percent are disk crashes (and for that monitoring, I like Hard Disk Sentinel from Bits, but .. you never know).
============
Oh, my system runs a ton better now. The 50-100 Firefox tabs barely make a dent. Exactly why ? Good question. Much less loading, services and programs. And yes, the registry is "clean". This is my recommended way of registry cleaning :) . Any other reasons ? Not sure. I do have the current versions now, like Firefox 11.
Steven
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