System Restoring.

LittleKey

I want to return my computer to the way it was when I bought (I think it's called system restore, but I'm not sure.) AKA just windows xp. My problem is, what about cd-keys? Will they work a second time so I can reinstall my games? And even if I back the games up onto a disk, it still has to install, right? So I'm worried that if I do this, my cd-keys won't let me install the games, and I'll basically lose like $250 for the games. I'm talking about bf2, bf2142, and crysis mostly. (Also, my friend said that system restore screws up the computer somehow, but I don't think I believe him. Clarification would be nice.) Thanks.

TychoCelchuuu

If you want to go back to the day you bought the computer, and you're going to reinstall your stuff anyways, just back up your data and reformat. Windows XP will install fine, as will all your other programs. Don't bother backing the games up onto a disc, just install them from the originals.

LittleKey

What if I don't have a cd-key? If I back it up onto a disk, will I still need the cd-key to install it again? Because I can't find my key for bf2142, but I don't want to reformat if I'll lose the game.

xThanatoSx

Not having the CD key might be a bit of an issue in that case.

BF2142 might keep the CD in a readable file in the folder - worth a look. Otherwise, I've got nothing

Primesghost

Doing a "System Restore" where you use a built-in Windows feature to roll the computer back to a previous date is never advisable. It can end up with strange results and mess things up even more. If you're talking about just formatting and reinstalling Windows then you will be fine as long as you have all the CD Keys for your games. Yes BF2142 requires a key and it's on the back cover of the instuction manual for the game usually. No, you can't just back the games up onto a disk or something and then copy them back in after you reload the system. It just doesn't work that way and can cause even more problems. Everyone goes through this at least once with their computer, it takes losing something important at least once to learn that these things need to be saved somewhere safe.

LittleKey

Now my friend (different friend than the one who said restoring was bad) says that I could put all of the info for the game in a folder and transfer it over. He said it should work, but it was risky, too. He also said that I should reformat instead of restore. Is this right?

TychoCelchuuu

You can find your CD Key in your registry. HKEY_CURRENT_USER > The company name (generally) > The game folder > one of the registry entries. Write it down and use it when you reinstall.

Aurin

If you need to move the game from one install to another, it can be done as long as you research all the proper registry keys and back up the main folder. It might not work (BF 2142 is a bitchy game), but it's worth a shot.

LittleKey

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

You can find your CD Key in your registry. HKEY_CURRENT_USER > The company name (generally) > The game folder > one of the registry entries. Write it down and use it when you reinstall.

Thanks a lot, this should work. But where is the registry?

Arikado

Open your start menu, open the RUN thingo and type REGEDIT.

I think that's it.

LittleKey

LittleKey wrote: »

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

You can find your CD Key in your registry. HKEY_CURRENT_USER > The company name (generally) > The game folder > one of the registry entries. Write it down and use it when you reinstall.

Thanks a lot, this should work. But where is the registry?

Now, when you say "one" of the registry entries, which one do you mean? I tested it out with CSS (this not being the comp with bf on it) and there were tons of entries. Not to mention the fact that I'm not very good with this stuff. But I'll post a picture of the bf2142 folder tomorrow afternoon, so I hope you can help me with this.

TychoCelchuuu

It'll be the one that's the same length and composition as a CD Key.

Your signature is too big

urahonky

Yeah TeychoCelchuuu has it right. Go into the registry, click on the folder and it should appear on the right. Normally "CD Key" or "Key", and then the value should be whatever the CD key was. I don't think CSS does that, but I may be mistaken.

Scrublet

Some games can be copied easily as your friend said. Other games won't work. As far as I know the only game that can be problematic during a re-install IF YOU HAVE THE CD-KEY is Bioshock. If you don't have the cd key, you can try searching the registry as suggested, but sometimes these aren't stored in standard cd-key format (I think).