Registry+Backing+up+and+Restoring

Registry Backing up and Restoring

I cannot stress enough the importance of this tip for preserving your system,.

The Windows registry is the central data store for the Windows operating system.

It contains all the information, and variables that Windows uses to run itself and the programs you install.

Editing the Registry gives access to a wealth of options that may not be offered to you through the user interface.

It also gives you the means to completely mess up your system in the blink of an eye.

While restoring a computer with registry problems is now less complex thanks to the System Restore features built into Windows XP, itʹs still a good idea to make a backup of your Registry before making any changes to it.

First create a folder somewhere that is comparatively safe preferably a second hard drive, and name it with a simple name not a complex one which you may forget.

To back up the Registry, open Regedit and ensure that ʹMy Computerʹ is highlighted, then go to File\Export.

In this window, you need to enter a location to save the exported registry (as a single file) and choose the type of file to create.

Also, check the ʹAllʹ button at the bottom of the screen to backup the entire registry.

There are several possible file types, but I will focus on one only, as the .reg file type is the easiest to use.

A .reg backup will copy over all changes made to existing portions of the Registry when it is restored, while leaving additions to the registry made since the backup untouched.

Select the .reg file type and click ʹSave.ʹ

Restoring the registry from this .reg file is a simple matter of locating the file you created, right clicking it and selecting ʹMerge.