OT: Windows Disaster Time

Hmmmmm !

Graham

control.exe doesn't work :-(

Does anyone know if Win2K has something that automatically does the registry backup?

All I can find on boot-up is restore "Last", no other choices.

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.

I have windows 98 (on an old Aptiva 400MHz) and it came bundled with ConfigSave Autocheck. It creates copys of my registry every couple weeks. Sometimes when I have serious problems like yours, I restore a previous registry. and reboot. I think there is something similar built into Win2k which does the same thing.

There is also the Settings - Control Panel - Display that you should look at to see if it is just a setting that needs to be changed.

My gut feeling given your description is that you have got some sort of back door type of virus. If you get it running again, update your virus detector with the latest virus descriptions and run it again.

#I've got a blue screen issue... # #All of a sudden I acquired a "Search results" icon on my desktop. # #Where it came from I have no idea, sometimes my sloppy mouse movements #get things on the desktop that don't belong. # #I right-clicked in an attempt to delete it... no dice, no delete #option. # #So, like a dummy, I drug it onto the toolbar, figuring it to be a copy #of Explorer. # #No dice. # #So I re-booted. # #So I get an error message, "Explorer (no surprise) has committed an #illegal" something or other, then I get a blue screen. # #Turns out the machine still "talks", I'm running this message right #now by loading Agent using Task Manager. # #OS is Win2K. # #Any ideas on how to fix? # #No smart-ass remarks about Linux, PLEASE ;-) # # ...Jim Thompson

#On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 17:18:31 GMT, judgejudy #wrote: # #>I have windows 98 (on an old Aptiva 400MHz) and it came bundled with #>ConfigSave Autocheck. It creates copys of my registry every couple #>weeks. Sometimes when I have serious problems like yours, I restore a #>previous registry. and reboot. I think there is something similar #>built into Win2k which does the same thing. #>

#>There is also the Settings - Control Panel - Display that you should #>look at to see if it is just a setting that needs to be changed. #>

#>My gut feeling given your description is that you have got some sort #>of back door type of virus. If you get it running again, update your #>virus detector with the latest virus descriptions and run it again. #>

#>

#>

#control.exe doesn't work :-( # #Does anyone know if Win2K has something that automatically does the #registry backup? # #All I can find on boot-up is restore "Last", no other choices. # # ...Jim Thompson

From the Book "Windows 98 in a Nutshell" (O'Reilly),

Windows 98 includes a new utility named Registy Checker (scanregw.exe)... which scans the Registry for inconsistencies and can restore the Registry from a know good backup. Should the attempt fail (or should a backup be unavailable), scanregw can also attempt to repair the Registry.

scanregw runs automatically each time Windows 98 starts. If no problem is found on the first time it runs during a given day, a backup of the registry is made. These backups actually include the User.dat and System.dat files, as well as the Win.ini and System.ini configuration files Backups are stored as .cab files in the \\windows\\sysbckup folder. Backups are given the names Rbxxx.ca, where xxx is a unique number assigned by scanreg.

.. . .

Here's the procedure to follow if you think you've screwed up your Registry and want to ge back to the last know good version:

1. Click - Shut Down
2. Click Restart in MS Dos mode -> Yes
3. Type the following a the dos prompt c:\>scanreg / restore Rlxxx.cab

1. Restart your computer.

I don't know if this is similar in Win 2k. If not, I recommend getting the O'Reilly book "Windows 2000 in a Nutshell".

I hope that this will solve your problem.

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 02:01:42 GMT, "Rich Grise, but drunk" Gave us:

Having a mood swing, boy?

End result...

I reinstalled the OS to get a repaired Registry.

The whole hard-drive is still intact.

But a number of programs needed re-installing to get their Registry entries back.

Fortunately everything, so far, has come right back up without damaging any data.

Must be because I backed up everything ;-)

...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |

| 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

(Perhaps unwanted) advice for the future:

You could buy a 120GB hard drive, install it, and get a backup program to do nightly backups to it. I don't trust the windows backup program, which seems to miss it's appointments with regularity. This is what I do, and it's helped me quite often. It is possible to do phased backups, in which you get incrementals on a daily basis, and then a full backup once a week. If you then DVD the result on a weekly basis, you can have a full archive, which is often useful.

Another simple solution is to checkpoint the system using a network backup device (obtainable from Frys for something like $200). These things plug into your ethernet, and present a 'share', which you can use as the destination for a backup. It is nice in case your PC catches fire, or a virus decides to wipe all your disks. Using a password for access makes it relatively impervious to virii and grandchildren as well... ;)

The best thing, however, (since you will clearly will lose money if your house burns down and you lose your files) is to pay a professional to come in and set up a tape or DVD backup, and have them stored offsite. There are services you can hire to do this who will come in and pick up the tape or DVD weekly, and, while not cheap, can save your potatoes ;) You can also do it yourself using a DVD writer, and a cd mailer, however. Places like 'stone mountain' archive media in climate controlled storage facilities.

Finally, there are internet backup services you can subscribe to.

If you have a full, incremental backup, you can simply restore the entire hard drive at the last good checkpoint. THis is far simpler than reinstalling OS + apps.

--
Regards,
  Bob Monsen

If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has
so much as to be out of danger?
                                  Thomas Henry Huxley, 1877