Registry Reconstruction

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

My user.dat and system.dat is taking a large amount of space so I did a
registry reconstruction. However after doing the process the bootup failed
evidently becaue the system would not accept the changes in the user.dat
file. It then ran scan registry and automatically "fixed" the registry,
retoring the previous unwanted file versions. I tried using the Scanreg
without success to save the new files. How do I get the system to recognize
the changes? Can I delete the previous restore points before I reboot after
the process? (Where are the backup files located?).

Thanks,
Fm
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

Why would you want to destroy any chance for recovering from a bad Registry,
particularly now that you know that your Registry hacking didn't work. If you
leave no chance for a restoration, what are you going to do next time it fails
to appreciate your work? What, do you think it will "have_to" use your new
Registry if it can't restore a backup? It doesn't work that way.

If your User.dat and System.dat files are that much of your free space, you need
to consider getting another or a larger HD. There certainly isn't *that* much
space that can be recovered from those files. A few MB at most.

What do you mean by "registry reconstruction"? The way to tidy up the Registry
in Win98 is to run SCANREG /OPT /FIX a few times in a Command Prompt Only boot.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User

"FM" <fm@ncinternet.com> wrote in message
news:ewUStvLvFHA.3124@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> My user.dat and system.dat is taking a large amount of space so I did a
> registry reconstruction. However after doing the process the bootup failed
> evidently becaue the system would not accept the changes in the user.dat
> file. It then ran scan registry and automatically "fixed" the registry,
> retoring the previous unwanted file versions. I tried using the Scanreg
> without success to save the new files. How do I get the system to recognize
> the changes? Can I delete the previous restore points before I reboot after
> the process? (Where are the backup files located?).
>
> Thanks,
> Fm
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

For one, 98/SE does not have restore points like XP, it has registry backups
which can be restored. These are 2 totally separate processes.

Messing with the user.dat and system.dat IMO is asking for nothing but
trouble.

In all reality I use Norton Ghost to create an image of the entire system
before doing anything I consider drastic, and I consider installing any app
drastic. If I did not have ghost then:

The first thing I would do is uninstall any applications no longer needed or
used.
Then I would look for any folders/files left behind by the uninstaller and
delete them.
Next would be to reboot and clear out the IE Temp and Temp folders.
Then boot to a command prompt and run: scanreg /opt /fix 3 times to clean it
up of errant entries and spaces.

Next I would boot back to the desktop and run scanregw to create a new
registry backup.
Then I would run regedit and use the find function to search for any errant
leftovers from applications removed and export each key/hive before deleting any
of them.

With much hope and possible luck, I would be able to close the registry
editor, reboot and still have a fully functional system with out errors.

How to Back Up the Registry in Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;256419

HOW TO: Backup, Edit, and Restore the Registry in Windows 95, Windows 98, and
Windows Me
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;322754

How to Manually Restore the Windows 98/Me Registry
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;221512

If you still wish to delete the registry backups, not recommended in any way,
shape or form, they are in c:\windows\sysbckup. The file will be name
rb001-rb005.cab. One may even be named rbbad.cab which IIRC is the last backup
that was restored by scanreg known to be bad.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375




"FM" <fm@ncinternet.com> wrote in message
news:ewUStvLvFHA.3124@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> My user.dat and system.dat is taking a large amount of space so I did a
> registry reconstruction. However after doing the process the bootup failed
> evidently becaue the system would not accept the changes in the user.dat
> file. It then ran scan registry and automatically "fixed" the registry,
> retoring the previous unwanted file versions. I tried using the Scanreg
> without success to save the new files. How do I get the system to recognize
> the changes? Can I delete the previous restore points before I reboot after
> the process? (Where are the backup files located?).
>
> Thanks,
> Fm
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

Exactly *how* did you do this "registry reconstruction"?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"FM" <fm@ncinternet.com> wrote in message
news:ewUStvLvFHA.3124@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> My user.dat and system.dat is taking a large amount of space so I did a
> registry reconstruction. However after doing the process the bootup failed
> evidently becaue the system would not accept the changes in the user.dat
> file. It then ran scan registry and automatically "fixed" the registry,
> retoring the previous unwanted file versions. I tried using the Scanreg
> without success to save the new files. How do I get the system to recognize
> the changes? Can I delete the previous restore points before I reboot after
> the process? (Where are the backup files located?).
>
> Thanks,
> Fm
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

Dear Gary and Glen,

For MS-MVP's I'm supprised you're not familar with the regedit
reconstruction process. Breify stated, done in DOS, Regedit exports the KHLM
and HKU key structures(the system.dat and user.dat) into two temporay files
("Hklm.reg & Hku.reg"), erases the existing registry, then reconstructs it
from the temporay files.
The process encompasses safegards via renaming current files "old" and
saving both the user.dat and system.dat in another location. I'm not trying
to destroy the recover process. I'm trying to use the current "reconstructed
registry" and not have the system restore a registry which existed in the
last 5 backups by the system prior to the reconstruction. Legimate
corrections were made via the regedit process and should be reflected in the
registry. They have not been.

To Glen,
I hope I have correctly explained the process? If not I can post the
procedure?


To Gary

I find it hard to understand your admonishment? The reconstruction option is
a Microsoft procedure. Reconstruction and Restoration are not necessary
synonymous. If the registry is in need of reconstruction, rather than
restoration, for what ever reason, it appears that Microsoft understood that
need and created a process to handle it. My basic need here is how to "Save
or backup" a reconstructed registry. Before you belittle those who seek
advise or accuse someone of hacking, I would suggest you get informed of
Microsoft's programs. With all due respect to you and all RVP's who labor
herein, Non Experts are here for help. If that falls outside your realm then
I would suggest your time would be better spent elsewhere, becuse you have
not been helpful.

To Brian,

I thank you for your help. I belive I had already done most of what you
suggested, however I will follow the links and make sure. I'll get back to
you.

Your assistance is apprecated.

Sincerely,

FM
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

FM,

I am perfectly familiar with the procedure you describe (and so is Glen.). I
just wanted to be sure we were talking about the same thing. But it is *not* a
Microsoft recommended procedure for Windows 98, AFAIK. It usually works, and has
worked for me on those few occasions I've used it on Win98 Registries, but it's
fraught with potentials for error. (If you have a link to the documentation
you're using for this procedure, I'd like to have a look.) MS developed "Scanreg
/opt /fix" for Win98 to do essentially the same procedure. However, sometimes
that procedure fails, usually due to System.dat size. Perhaps you ran into a
similar problem. Also, you mentioned "changes" to the Registry, and the usual
term for that is "Registry hacking". I intended no insult.

What you seem to have missed in all this, the point I was trying hard to get
across, is that if Windows is rejecting your new Registry and restoring a
backup, then *something* you did was wrong. That Registry has been deemed by
Windows to be faulty. I can't say how or why this would happen, since I don't
know the precise steps you took. But you *seem* to be suggesting that if only
you can stop Windows from performing that Registry check during startup, it will
load your new Registry and run. It won't do that. It will, instead, just fail to
load. If you have previously deleted all the backups, where does that leave you?

Anyway, it's your machine to do with what you want. Here's the info you're
looking for:

SCANREGW.EXE is an optional Startup item that's launched during startup to check
the integrity of the Registry and to make a new backup if one doesn't already
exist for "today". You can disable SCAN REGISTRY in the Startup tab of MSCONFIG.
I'm not sure that this will stop Windows from using Scanreg /restore if it runs
into a fatal error involving the Registry, but I think that may be the case. It
will be looking for these backups in the Hidden folder called
C:\Windows\SYSBCKUP. They're stored in CAB files with the names RBnnn.CAB, where
nnn is a number, (or RBBAD.CAB, which is a backup that's made before running
Scanreg /opt or Scanreg /fix or before restoring a backup.)

I'm sorry you think I was being rude. I simply found myself astounded by the
things you were suggesting. And I'll say it again--if the Registry size is all
that's bugging you, if your intent is to recover some disk space, then you're
really spending a lot of time and effort just to save a few MB.

Whatever, I can assure you that your own best interests were behind what I
wrote. I hope the above has clarified that for you.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User


"FM" <fm@ncinternet.com> wrote in message
news:O1wMEbOvFHA.1252@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> Dear Gary and Glen,
>
> For MS-MVP's I'm supprised you're not familar with the regedit
> reconstruction process. Breify stated, done in DOS, Regedit exports the KHLM
> and HKU key structures(the system.dat and user.dat) into two temporay files
> ("Hklm.reg & Hku.reg"), erases the existing registry, then reconstructs it
> from the temporay files.
> The process encompasses safegards via renaming current files "old" and
> saving both the user.dat and system.dat in another location. I'm not trying
> to destroy the recover process. I'm trying to use the current "reconstructed
> registry" and not have the system restore a registry which existed in the
> last 5 backups by the system prior to the reconstruction. Legimate
> corrections were made via the regedit process and should be reflected in the
> registry. They have not been.
>
> To Glen,
> I hope I have correctly explained the process? If not I can post the
> procedure?
>
>
> To Gary
>
> I find it hard to understand your admonishment? The reconstruction option is
> a Microsoft procedure. Reconstruction and Restoration are not necessary
> synonymous. If the registry is in need of reconstruction, rather than
> restoration, for what ever reason, it appears that Microsoft understood that
> need and created a process to handle it. My basic need here is how to "Save
> or backup" a reconstructed registry. Before you belittle those who seek
> advise or accuse someone of hacking, I would suggest you get informed of
> Microsoft's programs. With all due respect to you and all RVP's who labor
> herein, Non Experts are here for help. If that falls outside your realm then
> I would suggest your time would be better spent elsewhere, becuse you have
> not been helpful.
>
> To Brian,
>
> I thank you for your help. I belive I had already done most of what you
> suggested, however I will follow the links and make sure. I'll get back to
> you.
>
> Your assistance is apprecated.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> FM
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

FM wrote:

> Can I delete the previous
> restore points before I reboot after the process? (Where are the
> backup files located?).

Sure, you can dump the reg backups (not "restore points") - the
rbXXX.cab files - from C:\WINDOWS\SYSBCKUP but - as others have said -
it really isn't a good idea. Not unless you plan on
formatting/reinstalling everything.

However, you could *move* them to another folder somewhere...somewhere
where you could easily move them back from DOS when/if the need arises.

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

I am very familiar with the process, and have done it many times in Windows 95. The
procedure has been widely available online for at least 8 years:
http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~flibble/regsmall.html
http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~flibble/regcheat.html

I have never heard of it referred to as "registry reconstruction", hence the
semantic problem we encountered ....the correct term is "registry compaction", as
that is essentially all it does. The method was replaced in Win98 with the
operations available through scanreg from DOS, as Gary mentions. However scanreg
has additional features that compaction does not. The process you describe removes
'dead' matter from the Registry, and therefore decreases the size of the .dat
files....but not by a significant amount in most cases. Scanreg /opt does the same
thing. In addition, scanreg /fix repairs errors in Registry structure, something
not accomplished by manual compaction.

The recommended procedure in Win98/98SE is to boot to DOS mode and run the following
commands:

smartdrv
scanreg /opt /fix

Then run scanreg /opt /fix two or three more times from a DOS boot, to maximize
compaction.

The compaction method you describe will work in Win98/98SE, but has more possibility
for error. Note that if the system.dat file is larger than ~9MB, you may not be
able to complete scanreg /fix....it will hang. From my own experience and from
reports I have seen, doing the manual compaction you describe usually also fails at
that size, if scanreg /fix is failing there. In that case, there is little you can
do re: Registry Optimization if you cannot uninstall enough through Add\Remove to
reduce the Registry size using scanreg /opt.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"FM" <fm@ncinternet.com> wrote in message
news:O1wMEbOvFHA.1252@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> Dear Gary and Glen,
>
> For MS-MVP's I'm supprised you're not familar with the regedit
> reconstruction process. Breify stated, done in DOS, Regedit exports the KHLM
> and HKU key structures(the system.dat and user.dat) into two temporay files
> ("Hklm.reg & Hku.reg"), erases the existing registry, then reconstructs it
> from the temporay files.
> The process encompasses safegards via renaming current files "old" and
> saving both the user.dat and system.dat in another location. I'm not trying
> to destroy the recover process. I'm trying to use the current "reconstructed
> registry" and not have the system restore a registry which existed in the
> last 5 backups by the system prior to the reconstruction. Legimate
> corrections were made via the regedit process and should be reflected in the
> registry. They have not been.
>
> To Glen,
> I hope I have correctly explained the process? If not I can post the
> procedure?
>
>
> To Gary
>
> I find it hard to understand your admonishment? The reconstruction option is
> a Microsoft procedure. Reconstruction and Restoration are not necessary
> synonymous. If the registry is in need of reconstruction, rather than
> restoration, for what ever reason, it appears that Microsoft understood that
> need and created a process to handle it. My basic need here is how to "Save
> or backup" a reconstructed registry. Before you belittle those who seek
> advise or accuse someone of hacking, I would suggest you get informed of
> Microsoft's programs. With all due respect to you and all RVP's who labor
> herein, Non Experts are here for help. If that falls outside your realm then
> I would suggest your time would be better spent elsewhere, becuse you have
> not been helpful.
>
> To Brian,
>
> I thank you for your help. I belive I had already done most of what you
> suggested, however I will follow the links and make sure. I'll get back to
> you.
>
> Your assistance is apprecated.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> FM
>
>