REGISTRY Backup Techniques FOR FAT & NTFS FILE SYSTEMS IN WINDOWS:

Registry backup can be done with several methods such as Windows XP Backup program or utilities, DOS commands, or the Registry Editor, but to back up one should first understand what type of file systems the computer uses.

XP supports two different type of file systems. Viz. FAT (File Allocation Table) and NTFS (NT File System).

FAT is identical to the file system used with both DOS and Windows 95/98/Me.

Again there are several flavors of the FAT file system: FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32. Windows XP fully supports FAT32 and FAT16 and allows compatibility with Windows 98's large disk support. Windows NT 4 does not support FAT32 except in a limited, read-only manner. Windows NT 4 can not be install onto a FAT32 drive. FAT12 is antiquated and is unlikely to be found on Windows NT systems.

NTFS (NT File System), is unique to Windows XP. Though it to read an NTFS drive from DOS or Windows 95 using shareware utilities, it is  not possible to write to an NTFS drive unless you are using Windows XP. However, System Internals has two utilities that allow to write to an NTFS volume from DOS or Windows 95/98/Me. Reference CLICK HERE 

Backup Utility—Backing Up to Tape or Other Media

In XP, Backup (NTBackup.exe), is compatible backup programs that allow backing up the system registry to tape, diskettes, other hard drives, CD-R, CD-RW.  The process is straightforward and can be done as part of a regular backup, or whenever desired.

It can be done by using Automated System Recovery Wizard on System State. This creates the sets of backup viz.:

·         A full backup of the system drive which includes everything that is on the drive. These files are Backup saving the registry to the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder.

·         A backup of the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder, after Backup removed the original backed-up registry components. The two files contained in this folder are asr.sif and asrpnp.sif.

·         When Backup stores the System State, it saves the following three items:
# Boot files: the files used to boot Windows
# COM+ Class Registration database: the COM+ classes' registration
# Registry: the set of files that comprise the configuration of Windows

Registry Backup Using copy or xcopy

The process of Registry Backup by using Copy or xcopy is as follw:

           

·         Run the Backup program and create an ASR disk (if you do not have a current ASR disk).

·         Copy the backup of the registry found in the %SystemRoot%\Repair directory to another location.

·         Then (this step is optional, xcopy the current registry files in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config directory by using the /c option to tell xcopy to ignore errors. (This is necessary because as the current registry is in use and the xcopy command cannot copy files that are open and will generate an error without the /c option.)

FOR FAT FILE SYSTEM:

·         If the system is using FAT file system, simply boot  in DOS mode.
This will give DOS command prompt allowing to read/write to the hard drive quite easily (of course, accessing output media requires DOS or Windows 95/98/Me support).

·         Create a bootable FAT-compatible disk, by using the Windows 95/98/Me or DOS FORMAT command with  /s system option.

·         Then copy xcopy's files (xcopy*.*) to the diskette, The disk created will then be booted in Windows XP computer, allowing unrestricted accesses to all FAT-formatted drives installed on the computer.

·         When using Zip, CD-R, or CD-RW drives, it is necessary to add DOS drivers for these drives to the boot diskette.

Note that for Windows NT after booting into command prompt, the Registry can be just copied to a safe location, such as another hard drive, a set of diskette, Zip drive,  CD-R/CD-RW drive, or other supported media.

FOR  NTFS FILE SYSTEM:

As the NTFS file system is secure file system, it is not be easily accessed using other operating systems not compatible with NTFS, such as DOS or Windows 95/98/Me.

Files on an NTFS drive may only be written by Windows XP and not by other operating systems. though some utilities allow NTFS to be accessed from Windows 95/98/Me but the mode of access is typically read-only; there is no chance of  restore. Some utilities or drivers do offer write access to NTFS file systems, however it is recommended to installed second copy of Windows XP to be able to access the registry files on an NTFS drive, as Windows XP support multiple boot configuration quite effectively .

USING REGEDIT  TO BACKUP:

Follow the steps listed:

·         Click Start then Run

·         In the Box provided type regedit and press enter.

·         Mini window i.e. my Computer is highlighted with the entire registry.

·         Select the Registry menu item to Export Registry File.

·         Regedit displays the export Registry File dialog box. Using the toolbar save the Registry to some other location apart from C:\>

·         Give the name to the file exported and click save.

·         Exit RegEdit.

Note that the Regedit writes the registry file out in Unicode format and this format is not understand by  Editors and utilities as a result will have difficulty working with this file. This code has to be converted as follow

* “file in unicade.reg”>”file in text.txt”

 Example : “file in (save file name).reg”>”file in (new file name).reg”

To restore the registry file created with Regedit, double-click the file created and this file will be reloaded as the current registry automatically.