making a backup of registry

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Guest

I'm very illiterate when it comes to computers and I just bought my first one with windows xp. I'm reading that there are so many people complaining about Adware/spyware. My computer is also infected by this. I am trying to get rid of it and am finding it difficult to because I'm trying to delete these programs using Norton Antivirus, which is instructing me to make a backup of my registry. First off, I do not know what a registry is. Second, the backup instructions that are given by Norton are inaccurate for xp. So I was wondering what is the registry and how do I make a backup?
 
This will tell you how to back-up the registry:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=322756

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/


jie said:
I'm very illiterate when it comes to computers and I just bought my
Click to expand...
first one with windows xp. I'm reading that there are so many people
complaining about Adware/spyware. My computer is also infected by
this. I am trying to get rid of it and am finding it difficult to
because I'm trying to delete these programs using Norton Antivirus,
which is instructing me to make a backup of my registry. First off,
I do not know what a registry is. Second, the backup instructions
that are given by Norton are inaccurate for xp. So I was wondering
what is the registry and how do I make a backup?
 
jie said:
I'm very illiterate when it comes to computers and I just bought my first one with windows xp. I'm reading that there are so many people complaining about Adware/spyware. My computer is also infected by this. I am trying to get rid of it and am finding it difficult to because I'm trying to delete these programs using Norton Antivirus, which is instructing me to make a backup of my registry. First off, I do not know what a registry is. Second, the backup instructions that are given by Norton are inaccurate for xp. So I was wondering what is the registry and how do I make a backup?
Click to expand...

The Windows Registry is a database of hardware and software components
in your computer and how they interrelate. It is a critical Windows
component and a corrupted registry can make your computer unusable, at
least until the registry is repaired or replaced by a recent backup.

To create a backup of your registry use Start - All Programs -
Accessories - System Tools - System Restore. Select the option to
create a restore point and then click on Next. Follow the
instructions on screen after that. The System Restore point will
include a registry backup. If things go blooey then you can run
System Restore again, choose the "Restore my computer to an earlier
time" option and select the restore point you just created.

Norton Antivirus will not detect or remove most Adware/spyware items
from your machine. There are some free programs that will do this for
you.

1. Download CWShredder (free) from http://www.aumha.org/secure.htm
and run it to remove any CoolWebSearch software from your machine.
2. Download AdAware (free) from http://www.lavasoft.de and install
it. Launch the installed program from the desktop icon and choose the
"Check for updates now" option. Once that is finished use the Start
option to scan your computer for spyware. Anything and everything
that is identified by AdAware is generally safe to remove from your
computer and should be removed.
3. Download Spybot Search & Destroy version 1.3 from
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html and install it. Once it
is installed use the update option to check for updates and then run
it to clean additional spyware from your machine. Note that Spybot is
more agressive than AdAware and it may occasionally want to remove
some good items from your computer so you need to be a bit careful
about what you allow it to remove.

All of the above information plus a good deal more about adwarespyware
can be found on MVP Jim Eshelman's web site at
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm which you probably should read
before proceeding with these items.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
 
Some good advice Ron accept that system restore is in no way a good solution for backup. Restore points can disappear whenever you sneeze let alone when you defrag or run virus checks or system cleanup utilities. NT Backup is the far superior tool and has a system state that you can use. If you have XP Home then NT Backup can be installed from your disk by exploring the disk and then opening the valueadd\msft\ntbackup and double clicking the icon. This will put the backup utility in the start\all programs\accessories\system tools folder. You can't use this to backup to multiple disks though. If you have XP PRO then use the ASR (Automated System Recovery) to create the best recovery tool you could ever have for XP. Unfortunately this only works for PRO. Also noone pointed out that the person is using the wrong tool for spyware\adware removal. Norton should be kept for anti-virus stuff only. Spybot Search and Destroy and Adaware are the best removers. Then programs like SpywareGuard and SpywareBlaster will stop them from coming back. All are free. For advanced users HijackThis is the best for finding and removing BHO's (Browser help objects) some of which are usefull additions to your system like IESpell for spell checking things like these posts.
 
The Unknown P said:
Some good advice Ron accept that system restore is in no way a good solution for backup. Restore points can disappear whenever you sneeze let alone when you defrag or run virus checks or system cleanup utilities.
Click to expand...

I have never encountered this type of problem with System Restore on
Windows XP. I have seen problems with System Restore in Windows Me,
most often caused by Norton System Destroyer, but not in Windwos XP.

You can remove System Restore points in XP by using Disk Cleanup but
that requires a separate deliberate action by the user, and nothing
can protect people from the consequences of their own deliberate
stupidity. People who deliberately choose to delete system restore
points are probably also quite likely to delete NT Backup data or to
forget to run it at all.


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
 
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