regitry backup via CCleaner

[Nic]

Apprently some of the files saved as REG files will merge ,however most still willnot ? Even when I open it in notepad then copy and paste just one of the saved registry entries ,saved to note pad then when I chose "save as"I change it to a REG file ,even when it ask what type of encoding listed as "unicode" it will fail to merge ? At this point Iam lost for a fix all ? Any other ideas ?

Nic

[marmite]

Nic are you still having problems with this PC; in other words do you need to get these entries restored?

[Nic]

Nic are you still having problems with this PC; in other words do you need to get these entries restored?

The registry entries I've tried to merge are not nessasary in fact they are backups of keys removed by CCleaner . Its just the fact that I feel loss of control should I need to restore a registry key . Now the key from the dough knox download does merge and the regitries key are listed as opening with the registry editor however then when I create a REG file following all of the proper methods making sure the header >Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 it only offers me the option to open with notepad not the registry editor also and when I try to browse I cannot locate any referance to the registry ? Also not only will any of CCleaner backups not merge the import file also will not add it to my registry ? At this point I do not have any problems or errors and my system is running well . Iam just concerned now if using the CCleaner Registry Integrity scan and then removing those keys after backing them up ,apprently the backups are no good if I cannot restore them to the registry ? I want to thank you for your ongoing interest in my problem ,your help is greatly appreciated . Iam open to any other suggestions !

Thanks Nic

[marmite]

... Its just the fact that I feel loss of control should I need to restore a registry key.

That's understandable - I would feel the same.

 

... it only offers me the option to open with notepad not the registry editor

Do you have your file extensions hidden? Do the files you're creating definitely have .reg extension?

 

when I try to browse I cannot locate any referance to the registry ?

What do you mean?

 

At this point I do not have any problems or errors and my system is running well . Iam just concerned now if using the CCleaner Registry Integrity scan and then removing those keys after backing them up ,apprently the backups are no good if I cannot restore them to the registry ?

Do you have a key that you have backed up with CCleaner since you applied doug knox's reg association fix?

 

I'm just wondering whether back-ups that you take now will actually restore okay.

[BigD]

There is an alternative approach. I have used the freeware registry back-up tool ERUNT for years in conjunction with Ccleaner. ERUNT is very fast and backs up the entire registry. Ccleaner does a brilliant job of keeping it tidy. As the registry is fully backed up there is no need to do it again with Ccleaner. Only thing to remember is to delete older copies of the registry from time to time as they take up a lot of space.

 

BigD

[marmite]

There is an alternative approach ...

True, though it's using an atom bomb to kill a canary if all you're backing up is one registry key

 

But you're absolutely right BigD in that it should circumvent Nic's problem.

 

The only comment I'd make is that I'm assuming that a full restore has to run at reboot? Which would make it a bit of a pain if you had a dozen keys and you were trying to find the one that was causing you grief. And the full restore process itself must inherently carry more risk than importing a few keys.

[BigD]

I take your points Marmite. I don't want to take the thread off sideways but this may be relevant to Nic's search. Ccleaner's registry clean is really good and safe especially if used regularly so that there are only a few keys to delete at a time. I think I have needed to restore the registry once in the last year and that was due to a messed up software installation not down to Ccleaner. The most important requirement for whatever backup you use is to be confident it will restore when needed.

Yes ERUNT requires a reboot to restore the registry but for me it has been 100% reliable when needed. It just copies back all the old files. Does this inherently carry more risk than editing the registry files in use?

 

BigD

[marmite]

The most important requirement for whatever backup you use is to be confident it will restore when needed.

Absolutely right ... it's good to know you've been through the ERUNT restore and that it works!

 

It just copies back all the old files. Does this inherently carry more risk than editing the registry files in use?

In my opinion yes, because the system is performing that key merge. I think such a small merge is a fairly risk free but replacing all of the registry would carry a greater risk. Though I would say that manual edits must be riskier still.

 

You also have to consider that you potentially have a much smaller window to guarantee a low-impact restore of the whole registry. As soon as you start making changes, installing software, removing software, then that back up becomes more and more obsolete. You would need to identify any problems caused by key removal very quickly to ensure that you had a good chance of putting the old one back with minimum fuss. The restoration of a few keys has a much lower impact on your system; so if you don't notice an issue for some time you have a bit more leeway.

 

As you say if you put it into the context of the problem then it does provide a circumvention, but personally I'd rather get the reg merges working. There's also the other angle that there may be other requirements for merging keys; a tweak or problem resolution for example.

 

At the end of the day though it's not my PC; you may have pointed out a method that the OP is willing to adopt.

[JDPower]

Only thing to remember is to delete older copies of the registry from time to time as they take up a lot of space.

You don't need to delete old backups manually if you are using Erunt's 'backup registry at startup' option, it can be set to delete old backups automatically by adding the "/days:X" switch to the end of the startup shortcut's properties (where X is the number of days backups to keep). eg my erunt startup shortcut is this:

 

"C:\Program Files\ERUNT\AUTOBACK.EXE" %SystemRoot%\ERDNT\AutoBackup\#Date# /noconfirmdelete /noprogresswindow /days:3