http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/

My wife's computer decided to scramble its registry on Sunday.

It all started with a fragged boot.ini on a computer whose monitor is fixed frequency which means it does NOT display post, or boot but only from Logon onwards....as it has no VGA handling.

By the time I worked out what wasn't starting the system restored the default backup hives [ntuser.dat, etc] restoring the comp to a virginal state....where no proggies were installed, just the OS itself.

What was needed was a suitable Restore point....but clever me had only recently cleared them and the only one available was post 'drama', not pre.

So....I Google for 'solutions' and am told emphatically that the registry Hives are locked solid and cannot be copied to backup.

No good.

But wait.....'Restore' backs them so it must be possible.

Search some more.....

Up comes 'ERUNT' [as linked above]...and lo and behold it IS possible.....not only that it's dead easy...so easy even I could do it.

Bit late, however...as no backups exist on Terry's machine....so every proggy must be reinstalled anyway.

So.....

Word of advice....either keep several Restore points....eg, make one AFTER clearing them, or get hold of this little Proggy......RTFM, and hopefully you won't be wasting your weekend as I am about to....