On 29-4-2012 4:06, Darren New wrote:
> On 4/28/2012 16:04, andrel wrote:
>> No, you are underestimating the geniuses in redmond.
>> The registry->text and text->registry conversions are slightly
>> unoptimized.
>
> Ah. I see. Why would you do it that way? Why not back up the registry,
> and restore the registry, as a file? Or restore only the parts you need?
> Or at least not store it as plain text?
>
> I assumed if you were worried about the "junk" in the registry that you
> were talking about backing up and restoring the entire registry.

After a full reinstall your registry is emptied from everything you 
installed yourself. At least in some cases. RegEdit has import and 
export menu-items. One would assume these could be used to save and 
restore. Just warning people that these things are left overs from a 
debugging version by MS and not actually usable. (Another minor detail, 
you need a working machine to use these)

>>> The only backup I know of is in C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack
>>
>> Funny, isn't it? There is apparently another one in another directory
>> under
>> another name, that nobody told you about. One that is still there after a
>> reinstall. Pure Genius.
>
> I didn't say there wasn't. I was giving the path to the backup copy of
> the registry to others in the group who seem to have a hard time using
> the included tools to make a backup of the registry. :-)

My brother is the guy that repairs everyone's computer as a hobby. IME 
he is better than any professional I have met. I don't repair, I have 
trouble enough with working ones. I assume there is a reason why he does 
not use the files in the regular backup dir.

> Altho, again, I'm not sure why, if you did a full reinstall, you would
> want the old registry to be restored.

You would want that if your windows system is corrupted either by a bad 
block or a virus but you still want to continue using the same machine 
with your familiar setup. If only to figure out what programs should be 
installed on a new machine, because your current system is provably 
vulnerable.



-- 
tip: do not run in an unknown place when it is too dark to see the 
floor, unless you prefer to not use uppercase.

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