ERECOV.TXT - Set Me Up SystemSaver emergency recovery procedure


Set Me Up SystemSaver (SMUSS) is a run-time system enhancement that will enable you to restore system 
configuration in event of fatal system failure.  Every time SMUSS is run, it copies system configuration 
files to a backup directory, and then removes the oldest backups.  There is no limit to how many backups 
you can keep, but we recommend anything from 4 to 9.  Every backup will be saved into a new folder (with 
a new, incremental number) , and all the configuration files will be categorized in sub-folders.

It is recommended that you select the backup frequency setting to `Once a Day' - a backup will be 
automatically taken once a day, the first time you log on.  If  your system suddenly fails, you can overwrite 
current configuration files with the ones from previous day you were using you computer, a day before that 
or even from before that (depending from how many backups upi decide to keep).  In most of the cases 
when the system unexpectedly fails to operate, the SMUSS backup will make your system operational 
again.  (but it will not for make your computer operational again if you have for example deleted your 
entire Windows directory, deleted the entire start menu or have a hardware failure)

SMUSS saves the following system configuration components:

- DOS files  (files live in c:\ root directory) - store critical information such as CD-ROM drivers, DOS 
anti-virus loaders, soundcard settings Windows startup modes

- Registry (usually c:\windows) - USER.DAT stores all user / applications settings and SYSTEM.DAT 
system hardware / software configuration.   If you have a problem. Most likely it will be resolved by 
restoring the Registry

- INI files (usually c:\windows) - some older applications store settings in INI files - if an application 
has got an INI file, it's name will usually resemble the application's name
- 
- Password lists (usually c:\windows) store encrypted passwords

You must decide what is wrong before you attempt to restore one or all backup parts


Restoring from a backup
To restore a file, simply overwrite the file you suspect is damaged with the backup one ( obviously create a 
temporary backup of the file you are about to delete just in case, so that you cab revert the operation) .  If 
you are recovering from command prompt, remember to set the file's attributes to normal by using the 
ATTRIB program.  If you are recovering in Windows, remember to enable `View all files' in Explorer 
Options.  Here is an example on how to restore Windows registry from a command prompt.

ATTRIB c:\windows\user.dat -r -s -h                       (set the file attributes to normal)
REN   c:\windows\user.dat c:\windows\user.bck       (rename the user registry file)
COPY c:\smusafe\122\registry\user.dat c:\windows         (copy the file from SMUSS backup)

Repeat the same steps for file system.dat





 


 



