Mobile/PDA About Us Advertise here
User User name Password  
  Not registered yet? Register here.
Lost your password? Click here. 		 
  Home   News   Guides   Downloads   Glossary   Hardware   Profiles   Forums   v4  
 Advertise at AfterDawn.com     Link to us!     Private messages     Compose a private message     List of all updated threads     Threads without replies     Search messages
Thursday 28.11.2024 / 22:08
Search AfterDawn Forums:        In English   Suomeksi   På svenska
afterdawn.com > forums > software, operating systems and more > windows - general discussion > way to lock down xp from system changes?
Show topics
 
Forums
Forums
Way to lock down XP from system changes?
  Jump to:
 
Posted Message
M374llic4
Newbie
_ 		4. November 2008 @ 13:25 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Hello,
I usually do the same things on my PC day in and day out. Play wow, porn, pics, music, videos and the like. Not much more then that. Don't make many system wide changes, such as settings, configs, registry. Only when necessary to install or fix something.

Is there any software that can lock down the registry and system files/folders from changes to keep my XP running in tip top shape, then I can just unlock it when I want to install something, or make a change, then lock it again, so it wont be susceptible to the normal gradual slowdown and BS that comes along with having an XP install for years at a time from spyware and such messing things up?

If anyone knows of anything, let me know

Thanks,
Dan
[ + quote]
Advertisement
_ 		__
mistycat
AfterDawn Addict
_ 		4. November 2008 @ 17:01 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Not sure but maybe returnil, free version or payware: http://www.returnilvirtualsystem.com/
[ + quote]
jony218
Suspended due to non-functional email address
_ 		5. November 2008 @ 00:59 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
You can make a baseline image of your c: partition and save it on a different partition or external drive. If your c: drive gets damaged or corrupted you can just restore it to a baseline configuration. From my expierence restoring an image backup back to the same hard drive/partition is a routine and safe task for me. But it works best when your c: partition is small, If your c: partition is 200gb, than it would take too long to backup and restore, if it's in the 20gb size, than it can take 10 minutes to backup and about 15 minutes to restore.

There are 2 free image backup software paragon drivebackup express and macrium reflect. I've actually tested macrium on my computer and it worked excellent, it was faster than true image 10 (which I used before).

You can also use the free "returnil" when you need to test something right away that doesn't require a reboot, I always use it when I surf the internet. When you enable it, it put's your computer in virtual mode in realtime. Nothing is written to the real c: partition. The virtual c: partition acts like a normal partition, you can edit the registry, install programs etc. As soon as you reboot everything that happen when returnil was engaged dissappears. "Returnil" would be more useful if your c: partition is too large to use the image backup and restore method.

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Returnil_Virtu...tion_d5702.html
[ + quote]
varnull
Suspended permanently
_ 		5. November 2008 @ 01:14 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
want a real hackers way??.. go into the windows directory and find system and system32 and set every file to read only... then do the same for the directorys... Nothing can install, and nothing can update. the core system will then be locked down solid.. You can do the same thing to other "essential" system files.. I guess you want to lock it down, not reinstall it all the time or run it in some cockeyed VM arrangement..... have fun breaking it now..

try reading some books ;) http://www.netbks.com/operating-system/m...-guide_133.html

always a great idea to learn about obsolete and discontinued software past it's sell by date.
[ + quote]

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 5. November 2008 @ 01:22
cdavfrew
Senior Member
_ 		5. November 2008 @ 05:26 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Yes, returnil is a great program that reverses all changes made to your PC with each reboot.

However, a guest account can be useful, if you set the account's priveleges to not be able to modify anything. You can use the guest account to surf the net and not have your computer changed, and if you need to change something, use the administrator's account.

Best Regards :D
[ + quote]
Life is but a dream; you dont feel any pain unless you want to or you fall off the bed.
Success is relative; the more success the more relatives.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kickboxing.
To be or not to be; thats a dumb question.

Advertisement
_ 		__
 
_
silk42
Senior Member
_ 		7. November 2008 @ 13:43 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Microsoft created a tool called SteadyState Disk and System Protection that is designed to be used in schools and libraries for doing exactly what you're talking about. I think it will work for you as well. Plus... it's free. You can read about it and download it from the following link.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/whatis/diskandsystemprotection.mspx
[ + quote]
afterdawn.com > forums > software, operating systems and more > windows - general discussion > way to lock down xp from system changes?
 

Digital video: AfterDawn.com | AfterDawn Forums
Music: MP3Lizard.com
Gaming: Blasteroids.com | Blasteroids Forums | Compare game prices
Software: Software downloads
Blogs: User profile pages
RSS feeds: AfterDawn.com News | Software updates | AfterDawn Forums
International: AfterDawn in Finnish | AfterDawn in Swedish | AfterDawn in Norwegian | download.fi
Navigate: Search | Site map
About us: About AfterDawn Ltd | Advertise on our sites | Rules, Restrictions, Legal disclaimer & Privacy policy
Contact us: Send feedback | Contact our media sales team
 
  © 1999-2024 by AfterDawn Ltd.

  IDG TechNetwork