Solved ERUNT GUI directions

[seven2]

Hello
My first post and thank you for having me.
I have unsuccesfully installed ERUNT GUI and used Acronis to reverse the damage.
Please direct me if I am in error;
I download ver 1.5 to desktop
Then I have a choice to open or extract. I have used both and got lost with both
Once downloaded can't you just extract all and browse to a folder of your choice
Then click on setup so the program is installed.
Now you can see "options" and choose the number of days etc you wish.
I installed the program but was told I would need to manualy backup altho I chose 7 days and it also said there was no information to be restored.
As you can see I had some issues and Acronis brought me back to readiness.
If you could please suggest I would be grateful.
I have read all the videos and turtorials but they seem to suggest there are many ways to do thd so the options become fuzzy. pperhaps, within reason someone could give me a step by step to install this valuable program.
Thank you
Peter

 

[marsmimar]

Hello Peter and welcome to Seven Forums.

From the ERUNT FAQ section:

Q: Do ERUNT and NTREGOPT run on Windows 7?
A: ERUNT and NTREGOPT in their current versions 1.1j are still compatible with Windows 7, but as in Vista, they will only work correctly if you turn off User Account Control in Windows' Control Panel (move the slider to the lowest position). Also, a problem has been discovered which on many systems causes ERUNT and NTREGOPT to display a "RegSaveKey: 3" error when optimizing / restoring the BCD00000000 hive. The cause is that after a clean install of Windows 7, the BCD part of the registry which contains Windows' boot configuration data resides on a hidden system partition with no drive letter assigned in Explorer. You can simply ignore this error and continue, or as a workaround, open Disk Managemant in Control Panel and right-click on the partition displayed as "System Reserved" to assign a drive letter.

ERUNT and NTREGOPT FAQ

ERUNT is a registry backup and restore tool with potential problems in Windows 7. You can use the built in Windows 7 system restore to create a registry back up.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/4230-registry-backup-restore.html

Also, since you're already doing system images with Acronis, I think I'd forget about using ERUNT unless there's some kind of overwhelmng reason why you have to use it. If something corrupted the registry and you feel the need to restore the registry, I think the chances are pretty good that other programs and/or files may also be corrupted.

 

[seven2]

Erunt gui

Hello
Your post was quite logical, especially for my level.
It was enticing when I watched the GUI videos as there seemed to be no conflicts with it.
Had it worked, it would have been a quick solution to a misstep.
I will take your advice and am thankful for the two mechanisms I have.
Thank you for taking the time.
Peter

 

[fwcetus]

ERUNT itself (not the GUI version add-on) seems to work OK (in Win 7 Pro x64 SP1 for me), as does RegBak (I'm trying them both out for comparison). I'm still monitoring the backups, though, just to see...

I did install (and uninstall) "ERUNT GUI", but it didn't seem to offer me more than ERUNT itself.

I should mention that I have never used either ERUNT or RegBak to ~restore~ a Win 7 system - I'm only making automated (and occasional manual) ~backups~ right now. I hope I never have to find out how well either can restore a bad system. (No, I'm not willing to try it just as an experiment - <g>).

I did name the unnamed-by-default SYSTEM_DRV as "S" (for "System" - <g>), to suppress any error message from a "RegSaveKey: 3" error for the BCD00000000 hive.

I'm also experimenting with a backup batch file (modified from the one in "Windows Annoyances", too.

 

[seven2]

Hi
I am so glad you are interested. I found a site which I copied notes from and hope you will be able to view it. It seems to handle work arounds for Win 7 x 64 logicaly but I am not a tech so do not know about the functionality.
I would really like to have it in my recovery arsenal as the reviews up to and including XP were great for a speedy recovery of the entire registry.
Please let me know what you think of the tutorial/video.
I tried twice before seeing this to no avail and Acronis saved me. I am sorely tempted but am really holding off until i am certain what I do will both back up and recover.I do not find many videos regaring the recovery part which i find an issue to hold be back.

Automatically Backup Your Windows 7 or Vista Registry Daily Using ERUNT by Britec - YouTube

 

[fwcetus]

Hi
I am so glad you are interested. I found a site which I copied notes from and hope you will be able to view it. It seems to handle work arounds for Win 7 x 64 logicaly but I am not a tech so do not know about the functionality.
I would really like to have it in my recovery arsenal as the reviews up to and including XP were great for a speedy recovery of the entire registry.
Please let me know what you think of the tutorial/video.
I tried twice before seeing this to no avail and Acronis saved me. I am sorely tempted but am really holding off until i am certain what I do will both back up and recover.I do not find many videos regaring the recovery part which i find an issue to hold be back.
Automatically Backup Your Windows 7 or Vista Registry Daily Using ERUNT by Britec - YouTube

Yes, I've seen that video before (and it's quite good, methinks), and it is similar to what I do with ERUNT and the Task Scheduler. I also do basically the same thing with RegBak and the Task Scheduler, too. (Remember, I'm trying to compare the two programs with each other - and it's amazing how much of what they do is the same or at least analogous.)

What the video lacks is how you are to restore the registry hives sometime in the future - it is ~not~ done through ERUNT (~or~ through RegBak). You have to go to the date-stamped ERDNT directory in Windows and run the copy of ERDNT.EXE there to copy the saved hive file back over the current (presumably bad) files (or got to the date-stamped RegBak directory in Windows and run the copy of REGRESS.EXE there to restore the hive files).

I also have experimented a bit with a batch file modified from the one in the book Windows 7 Annoyances - I'll put it in a separate post following this one...

 

[fwcetus]

I also have experimented a bit with a batch file modified from the one in the book Windows 7 Annoyances - I'll put it in a separate post following this one...

@echo off
rem RegBackup.BAT backs up the Registry hives to %SystemRoot%\RegBackup
rem RegBackup.BAT must be run with elevated administrative privileges
rem the following command will usually (but not always) cause the following error -
rem REG SAVE HKLM\COMPONENTS %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\COMPONENTS
rem ERROR: The system was unable to find the specified registry key or value.
cls
echo.
if not exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup md %SystemRoot%\RegBackup
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\COMPONENTS.OLD del %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\COMPONENTS.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\HARDWARE.OLD del %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\HARDWARE.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SAM.OLD del %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SAM.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SECURITY.OLD del %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SECURITY.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SOFTWARE.OLD del %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SOFTWARE.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SYSTEM.OLD del %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SYSTEM.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\NTUSER.DAT.OLD del %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\NTUSER.DAT.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\COMPONENTS.BAK ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\COMPONENTS.BAK COMPONENTS.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\HARDWARE.BAK ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\HARDWARE.BAK HARDWARE.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SAM.BAK ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SAM.BAK SAM.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SECURITY.BAK ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SECURITY.BAK SECURITY.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SOFTWARE.BAK ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SOFTWARE.BAK SOFTWARE.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SYSTEM.BAK ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SYSTEM.BAK SYSTEM.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\NTUSER.DAT.BAK ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\NTUSER.DAT.BAK NTUSER.DAT.OLD
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\COMPONENTS ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\COMPONENTS COMPONENTS.BAK
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\HARDWARE ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\HARDWARE HARDWARE.BAK
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SAM ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SAM SAM.BAK
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SECURITY ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SECURITY SECURITY.BAK
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SOFTWARE ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SOFTWARE SOFTWARE.BAK
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SYSTEM ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SYSTEM SYSTEM.BAK
if exist %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\NTUSER.DAT ren %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\NTUSER.DAT NTUSER.DAT.BAK
echo Backing up the Registry hives . . .
echo.
echo Backing up COMPONENTS . . .
REG SAVE HKLM\COMPONENTS %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\COMPONENTS
echo.
echo Backing up HARDWARE . . .
REG SAVE HKLM\HARDWARE %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\HARDWARE
echo.
echo Backing up SAM . . .
REG SAVE HKLM\SAM %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SAM
echo.
echo Backing up SECURITY . . .
REG SAVE HKLM\SECURITY %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SECURITY
echo.
echo Backing up SOFTWARE . . .
REG SAVE HKLM\SOFTWARE %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SOFTWARE
echo.
echo Backing up SYSTEM . . .
REG SAVE HKLM\SYSTEM %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\SYSTEM
echo.
echo Backing up HKCU . . .
REG SAVE HKCU %SystemRoot%\RegBackup\NTUSER.DAT
echo.

 

[DougCuk]

ERUNT will work with Win7 32 or 64bit - but there are several setup issues.

1. The folder used to store the registry backups must be relocated - as the original location inside the Windows folder is now a UAC write-protected folder.
2. The automated backups must now be configured via the Task Scheduler - the original method via a shortcut in the Startup folder is now blocked for securty reasons.
3. All instances of ERUNT or AUTOBACK must be set to run with full Administrator rights.

I am a computer support engineer and install ERUNT on all the systems I configure - so have installed on most versions of Windows over the past 8 years.
My install notes for ERUNT are posted on-line at the following location http://www.stargateuk.info/upload/ERUNT_Tweaks_Win7.txt

 

[fwcetus]

@echo off
rem RegBackup.BAT backs up the Registry hives to %SystemRoot%\RegBackup
rem RegBackup.BAT must be run with elevated administrative privileges

Of course, this batch file makes copies of the Registry hives (and up to two archived copies of them, too), but restoring bad hives is a separate process - NTUSER.DAT has be copied back to "C:\Users\[your_user_name]\" (overwriting the current copy of it there), and the other hives have to be copied back to "C:\Windows\System32\config\", overwriting the current copies there.

I am still not sure what to make of the Registry hive "COMPONENTS", which seems to be absent most of the time, but which does show up in "C:\Windows\System32\config\" on rare occasion (and when it does, both ERUNT and RegBak, as well as my batch file, will back it up).

 

[fwcetus]

ERUNT will work with Win7 32 or 64bit - but there are several setup issues.
1. The folder used to store the registry backups must be relocated - as the original location inside the Windows folder is now a UAC write-protected folder.
2. The automated backups must now be configured via the Task Scheduler - the original method via a shortcut in the Startup folder is now blocked for securty reasons.
3. All instances of ERUNT or AUTOBACK must be set to run with full Administrator rights.
I am a computer support engineer and install ERUNT on all the systems I configure - so have installed on most versions of Windows over the past 8 years.
My install notes for ERUNT are posted on-line at the following location http://www.stargateuk.info/upload/ERUNT_Tweaks_Win7.txt

Thank you for chiming in with all that useful information, and with the link to your notes on "customizing" ERUNT's use for Win 7.

I am using it so far, doing some of what you are doing, but I am not sure that I have had to do all of what you said you had to do (I'm experimenting on a Windows 7 Pro x64 laptop).

And, since you've had a lot of experience with Registry hive backups with ERUNT, what do you know of the "COMPONENTS" hive, which occasionally appears and which, when it does, will be backed up by ERUNT?

 

[fwcetus]

Another couple of questions, DougCuk -

1. Do you use the ERUNT GUI version (a GUI shell by Klaus Roemer for the original ERUNT by Lars Hederer), or just ERUNT? (I find ERUNT alone easy enough to use, myself.)

2. Have you ever taken a look at RegBak, which acts very much like ERUNT is most respects (nearly everything it does is identical to ERUNT or at least analogous to ERUNT)? ( Acelogix Software - Regbak )

 

[seven2]

new erunt

Hello
If you visit tweaking.com you will find a thread where the owner, Shane is developing an erunt type program which picks up where XP left off.
It is in Beta stage.
I am only an average user but am anxious to see what becomes of this. He showed me a pik of the program and it looks straight forward. I am hoping experts try it before I get in trouble I can't get out of.
Peter

 

[Bullgoose]

Greetings! I've been using this handy little util for a number of yrs and found it indispensable. Recently, I rebuilt my win7pro system from scratch and eruntgui is one of the first utils I install as I reload all my software. Yesterday, due to some quirks showing up I decided to restore my registry... AND have been unable to do so. I keep getting "access denied" errors. And, yes I'm running in admin level and have ownership of the config folder and UAC is turned off. I've spent a few hrs. researching this with no joy.
TIA (thnx in advance)
Goose

 

[seven2]

Bullgoose
Which of us was your letter directed at? I am curious to know if you ever got to use Tweaking .com. I think it has supplanted the old reliable Erunt. It does the same and more and is reliable.
Restore point does the same as the rest, as you know, but is more comprehensive.
I had to dig deep for that password.
Peter

 

[DougCuk]

You don't really give any info as to what operation is being blocked by the "Access Denied" error.
Also it is not clear if you are running the restore using "Elevated Administrator Rights" or just using an Admin level account (which may be the cause of your problem).

I have not used ERUNTGUI only ERUNT - but I think the basic ERUNT program is still present and the backups contain the same files - but ERUNTGUI acts as a menu system to drive the ERUNT options.

If this is correct you may succeed by running the restore process directly - from the actual backup folder.
Do you know where your backup files are stored? The default would be an ERDNT folder inside the main WINDOWS folder.

The backups are normally stored in individually dated folders - and there should be an ERDNT.EXE and an ERDNT.INI file in each of the backup folders (plus the actual registry files). The basic restore option would be to right click the ERDNT.EXE file and choose "Run As Administrator" - you may get access denied for the BCD boot partition - this is normal and should not be a problem.

If the content of ERDNT.INI (view in notepad) are pointing to incorrect drive letters for some reason this could be an issue - the file can be edited - but only do so if you are sure there are errors. The INI file drives the restore file copy sequence by specifying what registry files are copied and to what locations.

I do all my backups with the basic ERUNT using the setup documented here
http://www.stargateuk.info/upload/ERUNT_Tweaks_Win7.txt
- works ok for me on Win7

 

[fwcetus]

I second basically all of what DougCuk has said. I use ERUNT for daily backups (keeping the backups for the latest 7 days), and, on a couple of occasions, I've used ERDNT to restore a previous day's Registry quite effectively.

The only thing I also do is to make redundant daily backups analogously using RegBak, set up much like ERUNT, just in case ERDNT couldn't do a restore for me, but I've never had to use it, since ERUNT and ERDNT have successfully saved my bacon whenever I've needed them to do so.

This is on both a desktop and a laptop, both running Win 7 Pro x64 SP1.

 

[seven2]

Erunt

I mistakenly thought that Erunt no longer worked after XP.
I am running Win 8.1.
I used both RegBak and Erunt with XP and thought it was the end of it after upgrading to 7 then 8 and 8.1.
It seems VSS is quite effective in backing up the registry.

 

[DougCuk]

I have done ERUNT registry backups on Vista, Win7 and win8 - and restores on the first two.
I see no reason why a restore should not also work on Win8 as it is basically just Win7 with a new GUI
As stated in my previous posts you do need to use the tweaks I have compiled to make ERUNT work on Vista, Win7 (and Win8) - documented here: http://www.stargateuk.info/upload/ERUNT_Tweaks_Win7.txt

However it should be noted that ERUNT uses Registry API calls to backup the registry files and Microsoft state that this can cause problems if you have open applications. I always close all applications before running a registry backup and have therefore never seen any problems.

The Registry Backup utility from Tweaking.com avoids this issue by using the Windows Volume Shadow Copy service to backup the registry files - which is the Microsoft approved method for post-XP systems.
I have done limited tests using the Tweaking.com Registry Backup utility - so far only in manual (non-automated) mode - and it works well. It is more sophisticated than ERUNT as it can backup all the user accounts and not just those that are open. Tweaking.com Registry Backup

One issue that you need to be cautious about is restoring the COMPONENTS registry file (only present on post-XP Windows versions) as it can cause serious conflicts with the SxS Component Store (In simple terms the hidden multiple DLL version archive) see my question and the responses posted in this link
Restoring a Backup of the COMPONENTS Hive - What are the issues? - Sysnative Forums

I also posted about this issue on the Tweaking .com forum - with limited feedback from the author
Tweaking.com Forum Post

ERUNT only includes the COMPONENTS registry file in the backup if it was open (loaded in memory) at the time the backup was taken. This occurs whenever the Windows Update Service checks for updates and the COMPONENTS registry remains open until Windows gets around to unloading it.

In the version I tested the Tweaking.com utility always included the COMPONENTS registry. I have not yet checked to see what if any controls exist in the latest version regarding the inclusion or exclusion of the COMPONENTS registry.

Restoring an earlier version of the COMPONENTS registry onto a Windows system that has more recent SxS Component Store updates results in a mismatch that can break the Windows Update system and/or any recently installed applications that added updates to the SxS archive.

The best advise appears to be to keep the SxS Component Store and the COMPONENTS registry as a matched pair and restore the rest of the registry - only restore the COMPONENTS registry if absolutely required. You may then have to run complex repairs on the Component Store to fix the mismatched data before Windows Update will function again. Only Windows System Restore can revert you cleanly to an earlier matched pair of the Components system.

 

[seven2]

registry

Your article was a good clarification re: RegBak and Erunt. Thank you for the information.
Regardless of what method I use I think t is always wise to create a restore point which you pointed out.
I am not techy enough to wander into Erunt since the XP days so rely solely upon my restore pints and my images of course. Without Macrium I would have been toast many times over.

 

[fwcetus]

DougCuk, I've waded through the forum links you've provided regarding COMPONENTS, and it does seem as if COMPONENTS is only semi-documented and/or semi-understood.

The big question I have is -- Should a backup that included the COMPONENTS hive be better or worse than one that did not include the COMPONENTS hive?

I have noticed that, with both ERUNT and RegBak, in Windows 7, if a backup is made shortly after booting up, the backup will likely include the COMPONENTS hive, while if a backup is made, say, an hour or two later, the COMPONENTS hive will generally be missing from the backup. [I do recognize that this statement may not always be true.]

So, would a restore of a backup made shortly after booting (including COMPONENTS) be better than, or worse than, a restore of a backup made later on (which does not include COMPONENTS)? Thoughts?

"Inquiring minds want to know..."