Backing up the Registry

Backing up your registry from time to time is a pretty good idea. Well, there's an easy way!

For Win 98 & ME...

1. Click Start /Run and type in "regedit" (no quotes).

2. Next, click the Registry menu, Export Registry File ...

3. Select a location from the resulting box and give your backup registry a
name. I use:

like this...Regbackupfile14-11-2006.


That's it! All backed up.

For XP users...

1. Click Start /Run and type in "regedit" (no quotes).

2. Next, click the File menu, Export

3. Select a location from the resulting box and give your backup registry a
name. Something like:

Regbackupfile14-04-2007.

Just a quick note: by default, Windows backs up the registry when you shut down your machine. The above is probably best used for those (like myself) who like to tinker with registry settings.

Now, how to restore the registry you just backed up...

First, if Windows gets an error when loading your registry, it will automatically revert to its backup, so it should never give you any kind of trouble loading.

OK, but what do you do if you've been playing around in your registry and have *really* messed stuff up?

Click the Registry menu (in the Registry Editor) and select Import Registry . Then just point the computer to your back up file.

Oh, one more thing. You can also add the registry to your regular backup routine (you do have a backup routine, don't you?). Your registry is in two hidden files called "User.dat" and "System.dat", located in the Windows folder. Just add those two files to your normal backup.