registry backup

Hello
Do any of you find this to be comparable to ERUNT but for Win 7?


Tweaking.com - Registry Backup v0.9.0 Beta is ready for testing.
Tweaking.com - Registry Backup is a free backup tool that will use the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service to backup your system registry.

Microsoft recommends using the Volume Shadow Copy to backup up the registry. This grabs a complete backup of the registry hives as they are. Some other registry backup programs use the Windows API RegSaveKey instead.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms724917(v=vs.85).aspx

Quote From Microsoft:
"Applications that back up or restore system state including system files and registry hives should use the Volume Shadow Copy Service instead of the registry functions."

"Using RegSaveKey together with RegRestoreKey to copy subtrees in the registry is not recommended. This method does not trigger notifications and can invalidate handles used by other applications."


By using the Volume Shadow Copy instead of the RegSaveKey API this registry backup program is safer to use.

More information on the program will come as the beta gets a good testing from users.
I will have help files, f.a.q and how to videos done with the final release.

If you wish to help beta test feel free to give it a try.

The backup process is extremely safe as it isn't touching any of your system files. It is reading from the volume copy service only.

If you encounter any bugs or have any feedback to make the program better just post in the forums.

http://www.tweaking.com/content/page/registry_backup.html

Shane

 

Let me quote Tim, (Major Attitude) co- owner of MajorGeeks, from his post on MGs Facebook wall.

Cheers..

 

imo backing up the registry, in isolation from the rest of the system, is not for the average user - whatever tool is used. In fact if you aren't tinkering with the registry I can't see any point in it at all.

 

I made the program because the API that Erunt uses is not recommend by Microsoft and they prefer to use the volume shadow copy service.

I also wanted to give more options than Erunt has.

The registry is the hive mind of Windows. One wrong key gets changed and the whole system is down.

They can be changed by a bad program, virus or even having part of the registry on a bad sector on the drive.

A lot of times when a Windows OS goes down it is because something in the registry and not with any of the system files. Also when your settings or services get screwed up. Its a lot of times is because the reg keys for them got changed. Thats why a lot of fixes are registering files, which is rewriting the reg values for them.

Windows has a System File checker that replaces a lot of files when they get changed, but they do nothing to keep an eye on the reg.

So a lot of times just backing up the registry is all that is needed. Especially when your about to install a new program and want to get a quick backup of the reg. Similar to system restore but without needing to copy a ton of files as well.

Point is there is a point to the program. it isn't a total backup, never going to be. It just backs up the most important part of Windows

Also Tim is a good friend and one of my Beta testers for it.

Even though the program is Beta it is very safe to use for making the backups since it doesnt touch any of the system files. It only grabs the files off of a volume snap shot.

So feel free to try it out, I need all the feedback I can get so I can make it better.

Shane

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation Shane, appreciated :cool

We all have our preferred ways of working and my view is simply that if I need to step the system back in time for any reason at all then I would prefer to restore a full image that I know to be in a consistent state, so I take an image of the system partition on a regular basis (my own stuff is never kept on the system partition). If I do encounter a minor issue I do sometimes try system restore before going the whole hog and restoring an image.

I really don't want to diminish your work in any way, it's just that I don't think this approach would be for me.

Persuade me

 

Hey peter, Hmm x64
Found the work around and Britec's Vid, from Post #5 (Did not research as it's late.
http://www.sevenforums.com/backup-restore/227203-erunt-gui-directions.html
The world is indeed small as I had subscribed to his channel. :-D

Hello smc1979, welcome to MGs.

But nothing to beat an Imaged drive, specially if the sys is down.

smc1979, this is just for my info, and I've not used ERUNT or tested it in ages, but I think any new installed program/malicious or otherwise- after the backup, will not get reversed in the hive or keys. I could be blissfully wrong. :-D Only old/backed up reg entries could be restored, me thinks.

Do keep us posted smc1979, on the development of your app, please.
Maybe MJNC, will drop in here with inputs, as he is a regular user of ERUNT.

 

I also run a computer business and fix a lot of computers.

About 90% of Windows problems can all be traced back to the registry. Your backup programs you use including the system restore backup and restore the registry as well.

This is what should be done, if the whole system got hit hard you need to be able to recover.

But a lot of times, with being a programmer and gamer, I just need to undo what a program or installer has done or broken.

So many times a setting in Windows or a service stops working and every time the fix is in the registry. So besides my normal nightly backups of all my important stuff (After all if your hard drive dies your in for a world of hurt)

I want to be able to make a quick backup of my reg before I install some new things or try to make changes to the system.

I dont want to make a whole system backup just for that, not normally needed, just need the reg.

The registry backup is in NO WAY a replacement for a proper backup. Everyone should have one.

My new tool is simply adding to a users toolbox. It has a silent command to you can run it automatically from the task scheduler.

And it is there as simply an extra free option to keeping your system to a recoverable state.

There is one thing I did that is helpful. When the program makes a backup it creates the whole folder path.

So lets say a user gets hits by a virus that takes out to many Windows services in the reg and makes the system blue screen (I see that a lot)

You can then boot off a cd, say Unbuntu linux or Windows PE.

Browse to the hard drive grab the backup and simply copy and paste it to the root of the C: drive overwriting when asked. A user wont have to worry about where to put the files.

The reg is then restore and the system bootable again

Again this is adding to a persons toolbox, not replacing any other tools.

Been a long time fan of Erunt and currently have it in some of my programs. But it hasnt been updated for a few years and I wanted to backup the entire registry like MS says to, Erunt uses the RegSaveKey API that MS says no to now. And I wanted more options and control.

Shane

 

Almost every virus makes changes in the registry, to over write the exe handle so every program you open will open the virus or to have it self attached to your network and such, such as rootkits.

If you have a backup of the registry before the virus gets its hands on it you can undo what it did, then just hunt down the virus files that are left over and delete them.

Windows 7 has over 1 million reg keys. Easy to get it messed up

Shane

 

Just out of interest, if a bad key did drop the system, how would you boot it and restore your reg backup?

 

Ubuntu has a live cd where you can run Ubuntu right off the cd. Then once booted up you have access to the drive.

When the program makes a backup it creates the whole folder path. Example: "C:\Reg_Backups\MyComputer Name\5.17.2012_12.00.00_PM\c\Windows\System32\config"

Browse to the hard drive (Example: "C:\Reg_Backups\MyComputer Name\5.17.2012_12.00.00_PM\c\") grab the backup and simply copy and paste it to the root of the C: drive overwriting when asked. A user wont have to worry about where to put the files.

Shane

 

Agree. What happens if one was installing legit apps over a period and then gets hit with malicious code. Will your app leave the legit programs in the lurch, specially if they had an uninstaller. That's why I mentioned that Erunt does not touch (I think) newly installed programs after the last the back up.

 

Erunt and my program both backup the entire reg, so it will replace everything.

My new backup has a scheduling option and an option to auto delete old backups. So depending how often you run it you will have a number of backups to choose from

Just like any backup program just have it scheduled.

See the 3rd screen shot here
http://www.tweaking.com/content/page/registry_backup.html

Shane

 

For this, I need an explanation. :confused

 

Hello Shane
The built in scheduler is nice. From what I have seen, not many people create a System Recovery disk in Windows 7 in order to do repairs and system restores if the system does not boot. I like the idea of using a Live CD to recover the registry backup, especially since Microsoft in their infinite wisdom has taken down all of the Windows 7 and Vista System Recovery iso's.

 

A virus is pointless if it isn't running. Then it is just another file, which can be deleted.

To make sure it runs, when it gets on a users system it starts changing all kinds of keys. Some to simply start it up at windows start up and more in depth viruses that will install drivers, rootkits and such.

Again the only way they can do this is with the registry. Without it they are just files

Shane

 

The program actually makes a task in the windows task scheduler where a user can have even more control.

Once the program has a good testing I will make some videos on how to use ti and other little things I did with it and why.

But the backup process is dependent on the volume shadow copy service, just like other backups.

So I will also have repairs and info for the volume shadow copy service as well when I get the help file made.

Shane

 

Here is a good example where having a backup of the reg file comes in handy

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=259051

Shane

 

>>Hi sikvik
I clicked your link which brought me to another forum; I usually try all the resources I can to resolve an issue.
I found the following in my inbox; were you referring to the 'x64' or the other foum;sorry but i missed the intent. Cheers
Peter
[Hey peter, Hmm x64
Found the work around and Britec's Vid, from Post #5 (Did not research as it's late.]
http://www.sevenforums.com/backup-re...irections.html
The world is indeed small as I had subscribed to his channel.

 

Thanks sikvik.
Your confidence rolleyes in me is inspiring. :-D

I'm glad to see a thoughtful and perhaps unbiased discussion of registry backups and it's proper usage.

As smc1979 described so well, this is a special limited type of system backup
that is meant to be used in special circumstances.

This raises a critical point that should always be considered Before restoring a registry backup.

Any legitimate changes or additions that were made to the registry after the registry backup was made,
will not be present in the registry after that backup is restored.

This, of course, includes changes made during an install or update process.

For example, if you have installed Microsoft Critical Updates since the registry backup was made, you may notice the update
process begin again if Automatic Updates is ON, or if it is set to Notify when updates are available, you will see the Update
notice again, even though those updates were already installed.

This is a minor inconvenience and I have done this several times after restoring a backup made with ERUNT.
The process will not take nearly as long since all of the files have already been downloaded or changed.

You may also notice that other security items need to be updated again, such as anti-virus definitions.
If you use Spybot Search and Destroy Immunization, that should also be checked, since it puts entries into the registry.

Perfect illustration.
I do that sometimes before installing something new, or even before a software update.

I have never had a problem using an ERUNT backup, as long as I used it properly.

One thing I like about the ERUNT Autobackup is that it does Not require or depend on scheduling.
It does not matter what time of day it is, it will always make a backup at the first boot or Restart of that day.

What will your backup scheduler do if the computer was not On during the last scheduled backup time?

Another thing I like about ERUNT Autobackup is that you can specify exactly how many backups you want to store.

I once had a serious problem that could not be fixed.
By using ERUNT backups, I was able to find out When the problem was created and then How to fix it.
STOP error BSOD during Safe Mode boot??

 

My program uses the Windows task scheduler. So you have total control

oh and 0.9.5 is out.

Shane

 

Tweaking.com - Registry Backup v0.9.7 Beta Released

v0.9.7
Installed version of the program will default the backup location to C:\RegBackup\. The portable version will stay the same of the current folder the program is being ran from as the default location.
The program now makes a restore batch file with the backups to use from the Windows recovery console. This will make it easier for normal users to do a restore if the system isn't bootable.
Program will now change the font color in the list if a backup fails for a that reg file.
Added a "View Logs" button to the backup window after a backup is ran.
Program now adds the reg keys needed for the recovery console to allow access to now Windows folders. This is needed for a restore from the recovery console.
The program now sets the schedule for system logon instead of at midnight for the default. The user can of course change this to what ever they like.
Various code tweaks.

Some key points that make it better than erunt

When you have to restore from the recovery console erunt makes a batch file that you run that has some simple copy commands. My reg backup now does this as well so you can restore just like erunt.

But on that I made an improvement. When restoring from the recovery console erunt only restores the system registry and none of the profiles. Mine replaces everything.

2nd improvement. In the Vista and Windows 7 repair options it maps the Windows drive as D: instead of C:. Because of this the restore from erunt will fail. I have made the batch file for these version detect what drive letter Windows is on and restore it properly. So my version support the repair options of the new versions of Windows.

Of course the program still has the restore option built into the program that you would run normally and even in safe mode. Again this can both backup and restore all profiles not just the loaded ones like erunt.

Lastly is the way the backups are stored. If needed if a recovery console or repair options are not available you will be able to do a extremely easy copy and paste from any other environment. Such as loading the drive in another system or loading another OS such as the ones that run off cds.

So my new program has the same 3 made restore options as erunt, but Improved them to be easier and work better with the new versions of windows.

And when it is out of beta I will have both guides and video showing how to do each one.

Shane

 

Tweaking.com - Registry Backup v1.0.0 Released

 

Hi
Up and running for both pcs for a couple of days and it already saved the day.
I tried scheduling but now let it backup at logon and dump backups after 2 weeks.
Thanx