Importing (some) settings from 98 to fresh install of 98SE

[Michele Dondi]

Hi everybody,

someone may remeber me having huge difficulties upgrading 98 to 98SE:
eventually I managed to do a fresh install of the latter (on another
HD). Since I wanted to upgrade in the first place, now I'd like to
import at least some of the main settings from the old OS to the new
one.

As far as the installed sw is concerned, of course I'll do that
manually, but I'd prefer to automatically import the settings relating
to visual appearance, remote access connections etc.

For one thing I tried to copy the [colors] section of the "old"
win.ini into the new one, but that doesn't work, i.e. nothing changes!

Also, for the remote access stuff, I know I can export (portions of)
the registry into .reg files and later import them in the registry of
the "new" OS: but *what* should I export, exactly?!?

I'd be interested in importing the settings for the various users too,
if it's possible...

Well, any advice is welcome!!


TIA,
Michele
--
#!/usr/bin/perl -lp
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=ucfirst<DATA>)=~s x .*x q^~ZEX69l^^q,^2$;][@,xe.$, zex,s e1e
q 1~BEER XX1^q~4761rA67thb ~eex ,s aba m,P..,,substr$&,$.,age
__END__

[Rick Chauvin]

Michele Dondi wrote:
> Hi everybody,
>
> someone may remeber me having huge difficulties upgrading 98 to 98SE:
> eventually I managed to do a fresh install of the latter (on another
> HD). Since I wanted to upgrade in the first place, now I'd like to
> import at least some of the main settings from the old OS to the new
> one.
>
> As far as the installed sw is concerned, of course I'll do that
> manually, but I'd prefer to automatically import the settings relating
> to visual appearance, remote access connections etc.
>
> For one thing I tried to copy the [colors] section of the "old"
> win.ini into the new one, but that doesn't work, i.e. nothing changes!

I think generally it's best to let the fresh installs handle what it adds
to the win.ini by itself unless you have a specific adj previously manually
made..

> Also, for the remote access stuff, I know I can export (portions of)
> the registry into .reg files and later import them in the registry of
> the "new" OS: but *what* should I export, exactly?!?

When you have some programs that have many varied options that you had
previously painstakingly setup just the way you like, and in those cases
it's helpful time saving to export that reg info to merge it again so you
don't have to spend the time to do it all over. If you are familiar with
the registry then you can just you look under whatever programs listings in
HKLM (sometimes some settings in HKU) where you'll need to be able to
ascertain what logically relates to what you want to use, and simply
highlight that whole folder key or portion/s of the folder key and export
it from the top Registry> Export tab; however many times there is some
things within that file that are unique to each install and so of course
those things will just need to be edited out before merging so as to retain
the current versions listing. I don't mean to make that sound complicated
because it's pretty easy but only for those who have a familiarity with
doing it, and so which can be a timesaver in many instances. Otherwise if
your not familiar then just install it fresh and reset the options manually
again.

Much of everything else is usually best to let the new install do it fresh.


> I'd be interested in importing the settings for the various users too,
> if it's possible...

If you have same scenarios then in some cases some settings can be used,
but many times the time/effort you'd spend differentiating what's what to
use - you could of had a fresh install done by itself already which in
itself would gain/refresh you with that particular know-how experience once
again.

All the best,

Rick

> Well, any advice is welcome!!
>
>
> TIA,
> Michele
> --

[Doug Kanter]

Don't. Just don't.

[dadiOH]

Michele Dondi wrote:
> As far as the installed sw is concerned, of course I'll do that
> manually, but I'd prefer to automatically import the settings
> relating to visual appearance,

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Appearance\Schemes]

--
dadiOH
_____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________

[Michele Dondi]

On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 11:12:17 -0400, "Rick Chauvin"
> wrote:

>> For one thing I tried to copy the [colors] section of the "old"
>> win.ini into the new one, but that doesn't work, i.e. nothing changes!
>
>I think generally it's best to let the fresh installs handle what it adds
>to the win.ini by itself unless you have a specific adj previously manually
>made..

Which is precisely the case: for one thing I had customised the
desktop appearance, but then another poster salready suggested me
where that kind of info actually is (i.e. *not* in win.ini as I had
thought - may be a reminescence from previous versions of the OS...)

>> Also, for the remote access stuff, I know I can export (portions of)
>> the registry into .reg files and later import them in the registry of
>> the "new" OS: but *what* should I export, exactly?!?
>
>When you have some programs that have many varied options that you had
>previously painstakingly setup just the way you like, and in those cases
>it's helpful time saving to export that reg info to merge it again so you
>don't have to spend the time to do it all over. If you are familiar with
>the registry then you can just you look under whatever programs listings in
>HKLM (sometimes some settings in HKU) where you'll need to be able to
>ascertain what logically relates to what you want to use, and simply

Well, that's what I tried, make educated, reasonable, guesses. So I
extracted all the info that I *thought* to be relevant to Remote
Access and imported into the registry of the newly installed 98SE. But
when I tried opening some network program (i.e. IE - pun intended!) it
didn't start the Remoted Access as I would have thought. So it seems
that my guesses were not that correct, after all... and I'm asking
again here to more knowledgeable users!


Michele
--
Liberta' va cercando, ch'e' si' cara,
Come sa chi per lei vita rifiuta.
[Dante Alighieri, Purg. I, 71-72]

I am my own country - United States Confederate of Me!
[Pennywise, "My own country"]

[Rick Chauvin]

Michele Dondi wrote:

>>> For one thing I tried to copy the [colors] section of the "old"
>>> win.ini into the new one, but that doesn't work, i.e. nothing
>>> changes!

[....]

...colors may be listed in win.ini but are also dual governed via registry:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Colors ..also other settings on that
same tab are listed in many different places and so you can't just do what
you did and have it work.

Let me please rephrase my yesterdays reply about this - it's absolutely
best not to swap win.ini files from one to the other.

[....]

>>When you have some programs that have many varied options that you had
>>previously painstakingly setup just the way you like, and in those
>>cases it's helpful time saving to export that reg info to merge it
>>again so you don't have to spend the time to do it all over. If you
>>are familiar with the registry then you can just you look under
>>whatever programs listings in HKLM (sometimes some settings in HKU)
>>where you'll need to be able to ascertain what logically relates to
>>what you want to use, and simply
>
> Well, that's what I tried, make educated, reasonable, guesses. So I
> extracted all the info that I *thought* to be relevant to Remote
> Access and imported into the registry of the newly installed 98SE. But
> when I tried opening some network program (i.e. IE - pun intended!) it
> didn't start the Remoted Access as I would have thought. So it seems
> that my guesses were not that correct, after all... and I'm asking
> again here to more knowledgeable users!

There's too many variables here Michele, and sorry if I was too leniently
open with my answer to you yesterday and only meant it for the experienced
techie who knows the territory understanding the endless variances of what
can and what not to do while having the capability to totally
reverse/forward any changes having a commanding control of their computer.
Although I admire your willingness I must step back and advise you nOt to
continue with what you are doing.

Michele my best advice for you with this is to just follow the normal
routine of proper manual installations and options settings.

Rick


> Michele
> --
> Liberta' va cercando, ch'e' si' cara,
> Come sa chi per lei vita rifiuta.
> [Dante Alighieri, Purg. I, 71-72]
>
> I am my own country - United States Confederate of Me!
> [Pennywise, "My own country"]

[Doug Kanter]

"Michele Dondi" > wrote in message
...

>
> Well, that's what I tried, make educated, reasonable, guesses.

Michele, even for someone who understands the registry completely (if such a
person exists), the kind of thing you're attempting is a recipe for
headaches (at best), and disaster (at worst). Give it up. Just recreate the
settings. It's a good learning experience and it builds character.

[Michele Dondi]

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 09:29:02 -0400, "Rick Chauvin"
> wrote:

>..colors may be listed in win.ini but are also dual governed via registry:
>HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Colors ..also other settings on that
>same tab are listed in many different places and so you can't just do what
>you did and have it work.

This is exactly what I wantend to know. I'd like to know the keys
relating to remote access too!

>Let me please rephrase my yesterdays reply about this - it's absolutely
>best not to swap win.ini files from one to the other.

Well, I wouldn't have done it anyway. I'm not that stupid after all!

>There's too many variables here Michele, and sorry if I was too leniently
>open with my answer to you yesterday and only meant it for the experienced
>techie who knows the territory understanding the endless variances of what
>can and what not to do while having the capability to totally
>reverse/forward any changes having a commanding control of their computer.

Maybe I'm not an "experienced techie who knows etc. etc.", but I know
how to safely restore previous registry settings.

>Michele my best advice for you with this is to just follow the normal
>routine of proper manual installations and options settings.

To some extent I'm and I was already prepared to that. It's a PITA
though... feel like I could become violent when I here another one
(Win* kiddie) talking nonsense about how difficult it is to setup and
maintain a Linux system! <g>


Michele
--
$\=q.,.,$_=q.print' ,\g,,( w,a'c'e'h,,map{$_-=qif/g/;chr
}107..q[..117,q)[map+hex,split//,join' ,2B,, w$ECDF078D3'
F9'5F3014$,$,];];$\.=$/,s,q,32,g,s,g,112,g,y,' , q,,eval;

[Michele Dondi]

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 13:47:52 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
> wrote:

>> Well, that's what I tried, make educated, reasonable, guesses.
>
>Michele, even for someone who understands the registry completely (if such a
>person exists), the kind of thing you're attempting is a recipe for
>headaches (at best), and disaster (at worst). Give it up. Just recreate the
>settings. It's a good learning experience and it builds character.

Well, despite what you may think my OP was less bad informed than I
actually am. I was well aware of what you say and I didn't want a
recipe for "automatically choose those settings that can be safely
imported and import them". I was referring to specified portions of
the registry, e.g. wrt desktop settings and remote access. Many thanks
for answering, anyway.


Michele
--
# This prints: Just another Perl hacker,
seek DATA,15,0 and print q... <DATA>;
__END__

[Doug Kanter]

"Michele Dondi" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 13:47:52 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
> > wrote:
>
> >> Well, that's what I tried, make educated, reasonable, guesses.
> >
> >Michele, even for someone who understands the registry completely (if
such a
> >person exists), the kind of thing you're attempting is a recipe for
> >headaches (at best), and disaster (at worst). Give it up. Just recreate
the
> >settings. It's a good learning experience and it builds character.
>
> Well, despite what you may think my OP was less bad informed than I
> actually am. I was well aware of what you say and I didn't want a
> recipe for "automatically choose those settings that can be safely
> imported and import them". I was referring to specified portions of
> the registry, e.g. wrt desktop settings and remote access. Many thanks
> for answering, anyway.

I understand that you wanted to selectively import certain parts of the
registry. Every time I wander through the computer books, I see one or two
titles about the registry. Might be worth the money. And/or, pop open a beer
and go here:
http://www.winguides.com/registry/

[Doug Kanter]

"Doug Kanter" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Michele Dondi" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 13:47:52 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
> > > wrote:
> >
> > >> Well, that's what I tried, make educated, reasonable, guesses.
> > >
> > >Michele, even for someone who understands the registry completely (if
> such a
> > >person exists), the kind of thing you're attempting is a recipe for
> > >headaches (at best), and disaster (at worst). Give it up. Just recreate
> the
> > >settings. It's a good learning experience and it builds character.
> >
> > Well, despite what you may think my OP was less bad informed than I
> > actually am. I was well aware of what you say and I didn't want a
> > recipe for "automatically choose those settings that can be safely
> > imported and import them". I was referring to specified portions of
> > the registry, e.g. wrt desktop settings and remote access. Many thanks
> > for answering, anyway.
>
> I understand that you wanted to selectively import certain parts of the
> registry. Every time I wander through the computer books, I see one or two
> titles about the registry. Might be worth the money. And/or, pop open a
beer
> and go here:
> http://www.winguides.com/registry/
>
>

I meant to say "computer books at Barnes & Noble". :-) Not enough
coffee.....yet.

[Rick Chauvin]

Michele Dondi wrote:
> On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 09:29:02 -0400, "Rick Chauvin"
> wrote:
>
>>..colors may be listed in win.ini but are also dual governed via
>>registry: HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Colors ..also other
>>settings on that same tab are listed in many different places and so
>>you can't just do what you did and have it work.
>
> This is exactly what I wantend to know. I'd like to know the keys
> relating to remote access too!

In the colors case it's easier just to note the numbers of what it is and
do it manually; for instance I just remember my first 3 of the 6 numbers
there which are 141; 125; 90; and use that across all 98/2K/XP. In that
Appearance tab as with any of those preference settings there you want to
carry on it's better to take note of all the settings either by writing
them down or screenshots so that when you set up a new system then in
seconds you can quickly duplicate the changes that was your previous
preference.

>>Let me please rephrase my yesterdays reply about this - it's
>>absolutely best not to swap win.ini files from one to the other.
>
> Well, I wouldn't have done it anyway. I'm not that stupid after all!
>
>>There's too many variables here Michele, and sorry if I was too
>>leniently open with my answer to you yesterday and only meant it for
>>the experienced techie who knows the territory understanding the
>>endless variances of what can and what not to do while having the
>>capability to totally reverse/forward any changes having a commanding
>>control of their computer.
>
> Maybe I'm not an "experienced techie who knows etc. etc.", but I know
> how to safely restore previous registry settings.

It's not just restoring a registry but I was talking about safety backups
of complete partition image backup/restore capability like with using
TrueImage, DriveImage, or BING.


>>Michele my best advice for you with this is to just follow the normal
>>routine of proper manual installations and options settings.
>
> To some extent I'm and I was already prepared to that. It's a PITA
> though... feel like I could become violent when I here another one
> (Win* kiddie) talking nonsense about how difficult it is to setup and
> maintain a Linux system! <g>

In perspective, my first reply meaning to you was coffee talk about and
simply meant that sometimes using little crafted reg files saves of just
the personal acetic options of some of the programs settings can be a big
help not just from FE to SE but also across W2K/WXP as well. I do it all
the time. This is just what I do and is not for everyone; actually it's
best to tell most all people to set up their systems each time manually,
and that is the truth.

If personally you want to find out what registry settings go to what, one
way of many, is to use a test or secured setup and make a change in
whatever area you are working on, and watching it with any complete
registry & file software tracker, and afterwards when you examine the
changes made - you will begin to see the story of the who/what/when/where
of each thing resides and all that it affects..

When it comes to what you refer to as remote access? ..what I assume you
mean as ControlPanel> Network settings> ..it's moreso best that those be
done on an individual basis for sure - just write or screenshot the
settings on your FE to carry over to SE.

Rick

>
>
> Michele