Another question about recovery console

[vista7]

I checked thru some of the recovery console options, and I have not seen a scanreg or scanreg/restore type of option.
What is the best way to restore a backup copy of the registry from command console?

[K A Hall]

Not as easy as in Win98, but it can be done.
Here it is taken straight from TechNet. Good thing to, I was not about to type it out....heh!
As you can see, having a recent ERD is very important.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/default.asp

Using the Recovery Console to Restore the Registry:

If you know your registry is damaged, or some of your registry files are corrupted or have been deleted, you might be able to use the Recovery Console to restore your registry. However, this procedure can only work if you regularly create an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) and you choose the option to back up your registry to the repair directory.

When you create an ERD and you choose this option, the current version of your registry files are copied from the %systemroot%\System32\Config folder to the %systemroot%\Repair\RegBack folder. Since both of these folders are accessible through the Recovery Console, you can use the copy command to restore the files.



To restore the Registry by using the Recovery Console

Warning Only use this procedure if you are certain which registry file needs to be restored, and you are certain that the restoration will not cause other damage to your computer. Restoring registry files improperly can prevent your system from starting and can cause you to lose data.

Start the Recovery Console and log on to the Windows 2000 installation containing the registry that you want to restore.
To copy the files you want from %systemroot%\Repair\RegBack to %systemroot%\System32\Config, type:
cd repair\regback

and:

copy file_name drive_letter:\system_root\system32\config

where file_name is the registry file you want to restore, drive_letter is the drive letter where your system is installed (for example, C), and system_root is the system installation folder (for example, Winnt).

Note As a precaution, first rename the existing file in the Config folder that you intend to restore from backup. If a problem arises from the restoration attempt, you can restore the renamed file to return your system to its original condition.

To restore your entire registry, you need to copy the files Default, Sam, Security, Software, and System.

To exit the Recovery Console, type:
exit

[mosquito]

You can use this script to automate the creation of an emergency repair disk in Win2K.

Save the code as erdisk.js or something

var shell = new ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell");
shell.Popup("Please insert blank floppy disk in the drive A:", 15);

shell.Run("ntbackup.exe");
WScript.Sleep("500");

shell.Sendkeys("%m"); //selects the Emergency repair, % is Alt

shell.Sendkeys("~"); //presses Enter (could have used {ENTER} instead of ~)

WScript.Sleep("15000"); //pauses for 15 seconds so as to not Enter the Cancel!!! You may need to change this.

shell.Sendkeys("%{F4}"); //tries to close but fails and selects the OK button. 

shell.Sendkeys("~"); //presses Enter (could have used {ENTER} instead of ~) after it has completed

shell.Sendkeys("%{F4}"); //closes NTBACKUP

WScript.Quit();

In windows NT you could use RDISK /S, but this option is no longer valid in win2K because the creation of the ERdisk is integrated in ntbackup now (I still don't know why they did that.)