Edit registry from System.dat & User.dat files

[techguy13]

Hello

I have the system.dat and user.dat files from a dead windows 98 PC. Is there a way I can use these files to view the registry that was on the dead windows 98 box. I do not have a bootable 98 box and would like to edit the 98 registry from my w2k box. Thanx.

[NooNoo]

edit it from dos
Plan 5: Still in trouble? The DOS version of the Registry Editor, regedit.exe, may be able to save your bacon, whether you're operating under Windows 95 or Windows 98. You can solve some Registry problems by exporting the Registry to a text file and then importing it back again.

To export the user.dat portion to text, type a line similar to the following at the DOS prompt: regedit /l:c:\windows\user.dat /e c:\user.txt (your paths and export file name may differ). Press Enter. The /e switch indicates export, and the /l switch specifies the particular portion of the Registry that you're working with (more on this point later). Now rename the existing user.dat file by typing ren user.dat user.bak and pressing Enter.

Finally, to re-create the user.dat file based on the text file you exported, type regedit /l:c:\windows\user.dat /c c:\user.txt (your paths and export file name may differ) and press Enter.

As I'll explain later, Windows 98 users (but no one else) should substitute /r for /l in this command line. In either version of Windows, you'll need to include the /c switch to re-create the Registry from the text file. Now restart Windows and hope that everything is cool.

If the error persists, try the same thing with the system.dat portion of the Registry. Reboot to the Safe Mode Command Prompt, as before. At the DOS prompt, type regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /e c:\system.txt (your paths and export file name may differ) and press Enter. Now rename the existing system.dat by typing ren system.dat system.bak and pressing Enter. Finally, to re-create the system.dat file based on the text file you exported, type regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /c c:\system.txt (again, your paths and export file name may differ) and press Enter.

http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article.asp?aid=10584

[techguy13]

Thanx NooNoo . Your solution worked. I had to create a Win98 boot disk with regedit and copy the *.dat files to a spare fat32 hdd but I was able to generate a readable .txt file of the registry.

[NooNoo]

good stuff