How To Backup Registry...Your Registry

Having a backup registry carries many benefits. So, prior to even thinking about touching your Windows Registry file, make a backup of your original, untouched file and store it in a safe place.

This way whenever something major happens to your computer, you have a backup registry ready to bring your PC back to life.

This can’t be stressed enough, because once you’ve mucked it up, it takes a real professional to repair it for you, and you might wind up having to do a total reformat because you’re computer is too confused to know which end is up.

This is especially true if you are going to attempt manual changes on your own.

Based on the operating system you’re using – XP, NT, Win95, etc. – will require you to back up registry files in different ways.

Below is a basic how-to guide that will allow you to perform the backup effectively. There is a listing for Windows 95 through Windows Vista.

Each backup registry tutorial title will be marked in bold. So all you need to do is scroll down till you see the windows version that you are doing the backup registry option for.

How to Backup Registry in Win95 - Tutorial:

a) Restart (or turn on) the computer, and when you see the "Starting Windows" screen, press F8. Choose "Safe Mode - Command Prompt Only" and then press the Enter key to continue

b) Enter the following commands:

cd windows (press "Enter")

attrib -r -h -s system.dat (press "Enter")

attrib -r -h -s user.dat (press "Enter")

copy system.dat *.bak (press "Enter")

copy user.dat *.bak (press "Enter")

Please note: This tutorial assumes that, prior to conducting the registry backup, your hard disk contains no files named "system.bak" or "user.bak".

If it does, then be sure to rename the extension in the above instructions as necessary.

c) Restart your computer

You are done, and your registry has now been backed up successfully.

Restoring the Registry in Win95 - Tutorial:

a) Restart (or turn on) the computer. When you see the "Starting Windows" screen, press F8.

Choose "Safe Mode - Command Prompt Only" and then press the Enter key to continue.

b) When you reach the command prompt, you will want to enter the following commands exactly as outlined below:

cd windows (press "Enter")

attrib -r -h -s system.dat (press "Enter")

attrib -r -h -s system.da0 (press "Enter")

attrib -r -h -s user.dat (press "Enter")

attrib -r -h -s user.da0 (press "Enter")

ren system.dat system.daa (press "Enter")

ren system.da0 system.da1 (press "Enter")

ren user.dat user.daa (press "Enter")

ren user.da0 user.da1 (press "Enter")

copy system.bak system.dat (press "Enter")

copy user.bak user.dat (press "Enter")

c) Then Restart your computer.

You are done and your registry has been restored successfully. This is all assuming that you've used the same filenames and extensions for both the backup and the restoration of the registry.

How to Backup the Registry in Win98 & ME - Tutorial:

a) Go to "Start", and then "Run". In the text field, type in "scanreg" and press "OK"

b) The program will scan the registry file for errors. After the scan is complete, it will ask if you'd like to make a backup of your current Windows Registry. Click "Yes", and the backup will begin. When it completes the backup, press "OK".

And you're done - the registry has now been backed up successfully.

How to Restore the Registry in Win98 & ME - Tutorial:For Windows 98

a) Restart the computer and hold the "CTRL" key. Choose "Safe Mode - Command Prompt Only" when the option appears. You will arrive at a command-prompt DOS interface.

For Windows ME

a) Restart the computer with the Startup Disk and select the option that says "Start Computer Without CD-ROM Support". You will arrive at a command-prompt DOS interface.

For Both Windows 98 & ME, Continued:

b) In the command prompt interface, type c:windowscommandscanreg /restore (press "Enter")

c) ScanReg will display a list of all previous Windows Registry backups. Use the arrow keys to select the backup you'd like to restore, and then press "Enter".

d) When the restoration process is complete, press "Enter" when prompted to restart the computer. If you have Windows ME, remove the boot (StartUp) disk before restarting.

And you're done - the registry has now been restored successfully.

Note: You may need to be logged in as the administrator in order perform the following tasks.

a) Go to Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools >> Backup.

If the Backup Registry Utility does not exist in your start menu, then ensure that it's installed by inserting your Windows CD and making updates/installations as necessary.

b) When the Backup Registry program launches, ensure that you're in the "wizard" component of the application. Press the button that says "Next" to proceed.

c) When prompted, select "Only back up the System State Data". Follow the prompts and proceed by clicking "Next" until the backup is completed.

Press "Finish" to initiate the Registry Backup. When the backup is complete, close the program.

And you're done - the registry has now been backed up successfully.

How to Restore the Registry in Win2000, Win2003 & WinXP - Tutorial:

a) Open the Backup Registry Utility, as before (instructions listed previously).

b) Again, ensure that you're in "Backup Wizard" mode. You'll be presented with list of all previous registry backups.

Simply select the System-State backup you'd like to restore and press "Next", and then "Finish".

Close the program when the restoration is complete.

And you're done - the registry has now been restored successfully.

How to Backup Registry in Windows Vista - Tutorial:

Note: You may need to be logged in as the administrator in order perform the following tasks.

There are actually two ways to backup the registry in windows vista, one is to create a "System Restore Point", and the other is to export the registry in its current state using RegEdit to a folder on the hard drive - or an external drive.

To do so, you can go to Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> Run >> "RegEdit".

From there, export the desired registry keys or folders to a location on your hard drive, or an external drive. You can later import the data back into the registry in the same way.

The safer way to backup the registry is using System Restore, which is what we'll cover in this tutorial.

a) Go to Start >> Control Panel >> System >> System Protection.

b) Select the hard drives you'd like to create a restore-point for and then click on the "Create" button to create a new restore point.

c) Follow the prompts in order to complete the backup process

How to Restore the Registry in Windows Vista

a) Go to Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools >> System Restore.

b) Click "Next", select the restore point for which you'd like to reset your PC, and then click "Next" again.

c) Follow the prompts in order to complete the restoration process.

Hopefully you got your backup prepped correctly with no hassles at all. If so, now you are better prepared for the random problems that may one day take your computer down.