Windows

Registry Backup
and Recovery
1. Why it is important to backup files in the
registry?
2. What are some of the common files that
needs to be backed up?
3. What are the things we need to
consider in windows registry backup
and recovery?
 Importance of Making Registry Backups
• The Windows Registry is one of the most important
components of your Windows computer, because all
configuration information related to hardware and software
installed on your computer is stored within it. Therefore, not a
single operation can be performed on your PC without
consulting the registry.
• Remember, that Registry Editor, the utility included in Windows
systems, does not allow you to undo any action performed on
the registry. Changes made to the registry are permanent. If you
do not have a backup, the only way to restore the registry
would be to manually revert the changes. Keep in mind that
going through the complex registry hive is not child’s play, and
you may end up with more errors than you started with.
 Importance of Making Registry Backups

• The Windows Registry is one of the most important components of your

Windows computer, because all configuration information related to
hardware and software installed on your computer is stored within it.
Therefore, not a single operation can be performed on your PC without
consulting the registry.
• Remember, that Registry Editor, the utility included in Windows systems,
does not allow you to undo any action performed on the registry. Changes
made to the registry are permanent. If you do not have a backup, the only
way to restore the registry would be to manually revert the changes. Keep
in mind that going through the complex registry hive is not child’s play, and
you may end up with more errors than you started with.
• Therefore, make sure that you back up the registry before performing any
of the tasks listed above. Let’s now take a look at some of the methods you
can use to back up the Windows registry.
 Importance of Making Registry Backups
• To ensure that your PC is free from errors, it is
important for you to maintain a healthy registry. It is
also a good idea to make regular registry backups to
ensure that if there is problem in the registry, you can
restore it from a backup taken earlier. You must always
back up your registry before:
– Making any major system or network configuration
changes on your PC.
– Installing or uninstalling a large application.
– Performing direct registry edit using Registry Editor
(regedit).
– Scanning and repairing the registry using a registry
cleaner.
• Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, and 7 include a
new feature called System Restore. This great
feature enables a user to backup and
restore their important system files from an
earlier day. By default, this feature
automatically creates a backup of the system
each day
 System Restore
• System Restore is a disaster recovery tool
included in Windows XP computers. Using
this tool, you can take a snapshot of all
system files and the registry of your system
at that time and store it on the hard disk. If
your system encounters any problems, or if
the registry fails, you can rollback your
registry and the system to the last snapshot
you took.
 System Restore

• System Restore is enabled on your computer by

default. To open the System Restore dialog box,
open the Start menu, point to All Programs, point
to Accessories, point to System Tools and then point
to System Restore. Here, follow the screen
instructions to restore your PC to when it was
working fine. System Restore does not affect user
files, such as your documents, presentations,
favorites, and Internet Explorer history.
Backup and restore the
registry in Windows 7
To backup the Registry on a Windows 7
system, follow these steps:
1.Click Start
2.Type regedit in the search box
3.Click the regedit item appearing in the
list
4.Click Continue, if you’re prompted by
User Account Control
5.Select Computer from the left side.
Make sure it’s selected.
6.Go to File and then Export
7.At the Export Registry File, type a name
for the backup file
8.Choose All under the Export range section
9.Select a location where you want to save
the backup file
10.Click Save

The backup files are saved with this

extension: .reg
To restore a previously created
backup file of the Registry in
Windows 7, follow these
instructions:
• Open the Registry Editor: type regedit at the
search box and click on the regedit item
when it appears in the search results list
• At File, click Import
• At the Import Registry File screen, browse
and select the backup .reg file to be
restored from your Desktop or from where
you saved it
• Click Open
• Once completed, restart the computer to
login back on your Windows 7 computer
 Backup and restore the
registry in Windows 8 or
8.1
To create a backup of the current Registry in a
Windows 8 or 8.1 system, follow these steps:
• Go to Search or press the Windows and C key
to open the Charm Bar
• Type regedit in the search box
• Click regedit from the search results list
• Click Yes, if you’re prompted by User Account
Control
• Select Computer from the left side. Make sure
it’s selected before you proceed to the next
step.
• Go to File and then click on Export
• At the Export Registry File, type a name for the
backup file
• Choose All under the Export range section
• Select a location where you want to save the
backup file
• Click Save

Note: Any backup files of the Registry are saved

with this extension: .reg
 To restore the registry using a
previously created .reg file on a
Windows 8 or 8.10 system, follow
these steps:
• Open the Registry Editor: type regedit at the
search box and click on the regedit item when
it appears in the search results list. To open
the Search Bar, press the Windows and C keys.
• At File, click the Import option
• At the Import Registry File screen, browse and
select the backup file you want to restore
• Click Open
• Once the process is complete, restart your
computer and log back in on your Windows
8/8.1 computer
Backup and restore the
registry in Windows 10
• To create a backup of the current Registry in a
Windows 10 system, follow these steps:
• Type regedit in the search box
• Click regedit from the search results list
• Click Yes, if you’re prompted by User Account
Control
• Select Computer from the left side. Make sure it’s
selected before you proceed to the next step.
• Go to File and then click on Export
• At the Export Registry File, type a name for the
backup file
• Choose All under the Export range section
• Select a location where you want to save the
backup file
• Click Save
• Note: Any backup files of the Registry are
saved with this extension: .reg
To restore the registry using a previously created .reg file on a
Windows 8 or 8.10 system, follow these steps:
• Open the Registry Editor: type regedit at the
search box and click on the regedit item when
it appears in the search results list.
• At File, click the Import option
• At the Import Registry File screen, browse and
select the backup file you want to restore
• Click Open
• Once the process is complete, restart your
computer and log back in on your Windows
10 computer
Backup and restore the
registry in Windows XP
To backup the registry on a Windows XP
computer, follow these steps:
• Click Start
• Click Run
• Type regedit in the search box and
click OK to open the Registry Editor
• On the left pane, click Computer to select it
• From File, in the menu, click Export
• In the Export Registry File window, type a
filename for this backup
• Then choose All under the Export range section
and select a location on your system where you
want to save the backup registry file, then
click Save.
• Add a meaningful name for the backup file to
distinguish different backup files, if you have
multiples ones.
• You can save the file to Desktop.
• The registry backup files are saved with this
extension: .reg
To restore the registry in
Windows XP, follow these
steps:
• Open the Registry Editor:
type regedit at Run and click OK
• Go to the File menu and click Import
• At the Import Registry File window, browse
to locate the backup file (on the Desktop, if
you saved it there)
• Select the file and click Open
• Once the import process is complete,
restart your computer and log in back on
your Windows XP computer
 Backup and restore the
registry in Windows Vista
To backup the Registry in Windows Vista, follow these steps:

• Click Start
• Type regedit in the search box
• Click the regedit item from the search results
list
• Click Continue, if you’re prompted by the UAC
(User Account Control) warning message
• Select Computer from the left side. Make sure
it’s selected.
• Go to File and then click Export
• At the Export Registry File, type a filename for
the backup file and then choose All under
the Export range section
• Select a location where you want to save the
backup file
• Click Save
• Backup files of the Registry are saved with this
extension: .reg
 To restore a previously created .reg file on a Windows Vista, follow
these instructions:

• Open the Registry Editor: type regedit at the

search box and click on the regedit item when it
appears in the search results list
• At File, click Import
• At the Import Registry File screen, browse and
select the backup .reg file that needs to be
restored
• Click Open
• When the process is complete, restart your
Windows Vista system