Managing The Windows 2000 Registry

Chapter 3. In Case of Emergency

By now, you’ve probably gotten the impression that working with the Registry is serious business. How serious it can be may not become apparent until the first time one of your Windows 2000 machines stops working because of a problem with the Registry. This stoppage may be slight--say, Office 2000 stops working--or it may be profound, resulting in the Blue Screen of Death or a lockup before the logon dialog appears.

Either way, this chapter will teach you two things: how to prepare for that eventuality, and how to recover from it smoothly when it does happen. If you’re wondering why this chapter is here instead of further back in the book, the reason is simple. It’s a very good idea for you to know how to restore your Registry before you learn how to edit it.

Don’t Panic!

Scaring people is often a good way to get their attention. For example, you may have had to suffer through intentionally vivid films of auto accidents in drivers’ education class; the rationale behind this kind of shock treatment is to blast the viewer out of his comfortable “it won’t happen to me” mindset. This tactic is often effective, but, when exaggerated, it can backfire.

Instead, ask yourself a question. “Self, what would happen if my Windows 2000 machines were abducted by aliens?” Just think: all your hardware, and the data it contains, gone in a heartbeat. Sure, it’s easy to disregard the risk of hardware failure, fire, theft, or Registry corruption--that won’t happen to ...