It's amazing how many Windows problems are caused by a faulty registry,

from Windows protection errors on startup to Windows hanging on shutdown.

Severe problems resulting from severe registry damage may require a fresh
install of Windows. But for most annoyances and anomalies caused by
registry corruption, a quick rebuild will get you back to a smooth working
system.

But what is the registry?

The registry is a database—an amalgam of two special files, SYSTEM.DAT and

USER.DAT. These files are written to and edited much like any other database
files, and just about any installation program will write to or edit them,
although sometimes not as cleanly as we’d like. The "garbage in, garbage
out" principle applies here, as well—except in the case of the registry, the
"garbage out" seems to manifest itself as one or more Windows problems.

Third-party registry utilities

Before I begin describing the rebuilding process in detail, let me state that I
know all about REGCLEAN and other Windows utilities that are supposed to
cure registry ills. However, these programs work only if you can boot into
Windows. Even then, Windows is using the very registry we're trying to clean.
To me, this is like working on your car's engine while you're driving. Instead,
we're going to clear things up another way. We're going to do it from DOS.

Warning: The following article involves editing your system registry. Using
the Windows Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems requiring
the reinstallation of your operating system. TechRepublic does not and will
not support problems that arise from editing your registry. Use the Registry
Editor and the following directions at your own risk.

Using REGEDIT in DOS

The utility we're going to use is REGEDIT.EXE—the same REGEDIT that we

use in Windows also runs as a DOS program. REGEDIT.EXE supports
command line arguments that allow us to do a complete registry rebuild,
while leaving the "dirt" and empty spaces behind. We'll eliminate the need to
repetitively type commands by creating four batch files that you can carry
with you and run from a floppy.

For the sake of simplicity, we'll assume that SYSTEM.DAT, USER.DAT, and
REGEDIT.EXE reside in the C:\WINDOWS directory.
Step one: Remove the ReadOnly and Hidden attributes from SYSTEM.DAT and
USER.DAT

The first step in rebuilding the Windows registry from DOS is to remove the
ReadOnly, Hidden, and System attributes from the SYSTEM.DAT and
USER.DAT files. A batch file that allows you to toggle the attributes off and on
at will (REGATT.BAT) looks like this:

@echo off

if not "%1"=="-" if not "%1"=="+" goto INSTRUCT

attrib %1r %1h %1s c:\windows\system.dat

attrib %1r %1h %1s c:\windows\user.dat

goto ENDIT

:INSTRUCT

echo.

echo You must specify a - or + parameter, as in "%0 +" or "%0 -"

:ENDIT

echo.

To use it, enter the command REGATT - or REGATT + to remove or add the
file attributes, respectively.

Here's how REGATT.BAT works:

* @echo off: Prevents the lines that follow from being displayed on the
screen while the commands are being executed. The "@" prevents "echo off"
from displaying.

* if not "%1"=="-" if not "%1"=="+" goto INSTRUCT: This makes the batch
file look for one parameter and limits the parameter choices to either "-" or
"+." If neither is found, the script jumps to the INSTRUCT portion of the batch
file. Note the use of the double "equals" signs (==).

* attrib %1r %1h %1s c:\windows\system.dat: Runs the "attrib" command

on SYSTEM.DAT with either "-r -h -s" or "+r +h +s," depending on the
parameter.

* attrib %1r %1h %1s c:\windows\user.dat: Runs the "attrib" command on

USER.DAT the same as it does for SYSTEM.DAT.

* goto ENDIT: Jumps over the INSTRUCT statement since all went well.

* :INSTRUCT: Label that identifies this portion of the batch file.

* echo.–: Prints a blank line on the screen. Note that there is no space
between "echo" and "."

* echo You must specify a - or + parameter, as in "%0 +" or "%0 -":

Instructions for using the batch file. The %0 is a variable that is automatically
replaced by DOS with the name of the batch file you typed on the command
line. If you typed regatt in lower case, the line will read "You must specify a -
or + parameter, as in regatt + or regatt -." If you change the name of the
batch file to "wom.bat" and type WOM in upper case, it will read "You must
specify a - or + parameter, as in WOM + or WOM -" without further editing.
Neat, huh?

* :ENDIT: Label that identifies this portion of the batch file.

* echo.: Prints a blank line on the screen before returning to the prompt.

Step two: Create a backup of SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DATThe rebuilding

process effectively destroys the current registry. If the rebuild fails (I've seen
it happen when the DAT files are badly corrupted), there will be no registry.
Having a corrupted registry to restore is better than having no registry at all.

To make a backup, we simply copy the "unattribbed" SYSTEM.DAT and

USER.DAT files with REGBACK.BAT:

@echo off

if "%1"=="" goto INSTRUCT

copy c:\windows\system.dat c:\windows\system.%1

copy c:\windows\user.dat c:\windows\user.%1

goto ENDIT

:INSTRUCT
echo.

echo You must enter a 1 to 3 character file extension, as in "%0 sav"

:ENDIT

echo.

Most of the lines in REGBACK.BAT are similar to those in REGATT.BAT. The

three unique lines are:

* if "%1"=="" goto INSTRUCT: This jumps to the INSTRUCT section if no

parameter is given after the "regback" command. Without a parameter, the
value of %1 is null, so the statement translates to if ""=="" goto INSTRUCT
and, since double-quotes indeed equal double-quotes, the script jumps to
give the user instructions.

* copy c:\windows\system.dat c:\windows\system.%1: Copies SYSTEM.DAT

to SYSTEM.parameter. Be sure to limit your parameter to three allowable DOS
characters.

* copy c:\windows\user.dat c:\windows\user.%1: Copies USER.DAT to

USER.parameter as above.

Step three: Rebuilding the registryDO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUN THESE

COMMANDS UNLESS YOU HAVE MADE BACKUP COPIES OF SYSTEM.DAT AND
USER.DAT! Remember, you will destroy the existing copy of the registry in
the rebuilding stage. If the rebuild fails, so will you. Be sure you have your
own backup.

REGREBLD.BAT looks like this:

@echo off

echo.

echo Exporting registry contents. Please wait...

regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /r:c:\windows\

user.dat /e c:\windows\newreg.reg
echo Rebuilding the Windows registry. Do not interrupt!

regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /r:c:\windows\

user.dat /c c:\windows\newreg.reg

echo.

del c:\windows\newreg.reg

echo.

REGREBLD.BAT takes no parameters. Here's what the crucial lines do:

* echo Exporting registry contents. Please wait...: The REGEDIT "export"

command displays no information while it's executing. This is a courtesy line
to let you know that something is happening.

* regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /r:c:\windows\user.dat /e

c:\windows\newreg.reg: Exports the contents of the current registry to a file
we'll call "newreg.reg." The "/l:" and "/r:" switches point to the exact paths of
SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT, respectively. The "/e" switch is for "export" and
"c:\windows\newreg.reg" is the name of the target file that is created during
the process.

* echo Rebuilding the Windows registry. Do not interrupt!: Another

courtesy statement. Unlike the "export" command, the REGEDIT "create"
command displays a progress counter. However, it doesn't state what it's
creating, only that it’s importing.

* regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /r:c:\windows\user.dat /c

c:\windows\newreg.reg: Creates a new registry from the contents of
"c:\windows\newreg.reg." The key here is the "/c" switch, for "create." As
soon as it is encountered, the current SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT are
destroyed as new files are created from the data in newreg.reg. If this
process is interrupted, the new registry will be incomplete and, therefore,
useless.

* echo.: The progress counter that is displayed by REGEDIT does not have
a carriage return. This statement forces one at the completion of the "create"
process.

* del c:\windows\newreg.reg: Deletes the now unnecessary newreg.reg

data file. You can remove this line if you want to look at the contents of
newreg.reg before you delete it manually.

The full export/create routine can be quite time-consuming, depending on the

size and state of the current registry. I've seen it take anywhere from five
minutes to over an hour to rebuild the registry on desktop PCs. I don't
recommend using it on laptops. If the rebuilding is successful (and most of
the time it is), you won't need the next step.

Step four: Restoring a failed rebuild

Step four involves returning the registry to its previous state in the event a
failed rebuild leaves you without working SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT files.
We'll call this batch file REGRET.BAT. Remember the extension you used
when creating your backups? You'll need it here:

@echo off

if "%1"=="" goto INSTRUCT

if not exist c:\windows\system.%1 goto NOFILE

if not exist c:\windows\user.%1 goto NOFILE

attrib -r -h -s c:\windows\system.dat

attrib -r -h -s c:\windows\user.dat

del c:\windows\system.dat

del c:\windows\user.dat

copy c:\windows\system.%1 c:\windows\system.dat

copy c:\windows\user.%1 c:\windows\user.dat

goto ENDIT

:NOFILE

echo.

echo Cannot locate one or more of your "%1" backup files!

echo Please verify your file extension and try again.

goto ENDIT

:INSTRUCT

echo.

echo You must give a valid backup file extension, as in "%0 ext"

:ENDIT

echo.

REGRET.BAT runs by entering “regret ext” at the prompt, where “ext” is the
extension you used when creating your backups. If the ext files aren’t found,
REGRET tells you. All of the REGRET commands are similar to ones we've
used in the previous batch files. Note that after we delete the failed
SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT files, we copy the backups to the DATs as
opposed to renaming the backups. I never feel comfortable deleting critical
backup files until I'm absolutely sure they won't be needed again. Delete
them manually when you are comfortable.

Use what you’ve learned

Now that you have your batch files, go ahead and try them on a sick system.
Boot the PC to a true DOS "Safe mode command prompt only" and run the
files from a floppy. If you make the floppy bootable, be sure that you have an
AUTOEXEC.BAT that contains a path statement pointing to
C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND. A successful rebuilding of the registry
will solve many of your "mysterious" Windows problems, including many
Windows protection errors.

What do you think of the method for rebuilding a registry described here? Do
you know of a better way to solve this problem? We want to know.