Editing registry after a litestep crash Thread last updated on 2003-06-19 21:22:12

Posted by member 43528 on 2003-06-19 08:17:40

Howdy hey,

Ok, I've used Litestep on a windows98 and a windows ME system, but i just upgraded to WIN XP SP1 and am wondering how to reset my shell (through DOS) to explorer in the event i horribly mess up litestep and need to get into windows and fix some things.

I appreciate the help!

Posted by member 1316 on 2003-06-19 08:21:41 link

uh, through dos?? I don't think it's possible. you need to make a few registry changes, and unless someone knows something I don't, you can't access the registry through dos.

Posted by member 43528 on 2003-06-19 08:35:48 link

more to the tune of when i used windows ME, i could run 'edit' from DOS to change the 'shell' line in system.ini if things got real bad.

with windows XP im wondering if there is a fix such as that.

sorry if im being confusing...

Posted by member 1316 on 2003-06-19 09:08:35 link

well, again, as far as I know, there isn't. however, you can install litestep to only run for the user that's logged on during setup. so, you can just log on as the admin, and change what you need to change.

Posted by member 36955 on 2003-06-19 09:52:40 link

you can press ctrl+alt+f1 where there is an option to uninstall litestep and an option to run programs (like regedit) if you need to change things manually

Posted by member 43306 on 2003-06-19 11:25:05 link

winXP doesn't have DOS, the closest it has the command prompt, but that can only be run from windows, hence all the compatability issues with older products

Posted by member 7 on 2003-06-19 13:22:08 link

You should always be able to get to the task manager.

Posted by member 1316 on 2003-06-19 13:44:50 link

unless if windows won't even load. and if that's the case, you're screwed anyways, and need to re-install. or use the recovery console...

Posted by member 2112 on 2003-06-19 19:48:53 link

I've never tried this but I would think that you could export the keys from your registery that LS changes before it changes them. Or use notepad to modify the exported files to what you want the to be. If things go bad you should be able to import the keys from the recover console. This was possible from DOS mode in win9x so I imagine the feature would exist in XP.

Do a search on MS Technet for backup and restoring the registery for detailed instructions and commands.

Posted by member 6021 on 2003-06-19 20:12:42 link

In the event something goes terribly wrong (which it won't if you use the installer) just boot to the recovery console and straighten out the mess. If you're really worried about it, set up a user account and call it LiteStep (for example) and set LS as the shell for the current user only. Then if you ever need to get into explorer, just log into the old account. I do that all the time. It makes life easier when working on visual styles, etc.

Posted by member 43528 on 2003-06-19 21:22:12 link

hey everyone, i just wanna say thanks. i just finished installing LS and everything is up and running beautifully!!