How to Back up the Windows Registry

Don’t Forget to Back up the Registry Before Making Changes

Back up the Windows Registry, earlier than you are making any modifications, is a incredible smart aspect to do.

The settings inside the registry manipulate an awful lot of what is going on in Windows.

so having it operating efficaciously at all times is essential.

It’s too bad Microsoft did not design Registry Editor to activate you to back up earlier than you are making modifications.

They without a doubt should have.

Fortunately, it’s very easy to manually export both the complete registry immediately.

maybe just a selected registry key in case you’re handiest making changes to a few values or keys.

Once backed up, you should experience cozy that almost any trade, goodbye because it changed into made inside the scope of the backup you made.

can without problems be undone.

Follow the easy steps under to again up the Windows Registry:

Note: You can again up the Windows Registry this manner in any version of Windows, together with Windows 10, Windows eight, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Backing up the complete Windows Registry at once usually takes only a couple mins.

even as backing up a particular registry key ought to take a chunk longer depending on how speedy you could discover it

How to Back up the Windows Registry

1.Execute regedit to start Registry Editor.

The quickest way to do this is to launch the command from the Run conversation box.

which you could get admission to thru the Windows Key + R keyboard shortcut.

2.Now that Registry Editor is open, work your manner to the region of the registry that you need to again up.

To returned up the complete registry: Locate Computer by way of scrolling to the very pinnacle of the left facet of the registry (wherein all the “folders” are).

To returned up a particular registry key: Drill down through the folders until you find the important thing you are after.

Not sure what to again up? Choosing to returned up the complete registry is a secure guess. If which registry hive you’ll be operating in, backing up the whole hive is some other proper alternative.

Tip: If you do not without delay see the registry key that you need to again up, just enlarge (open) or fall apart (close) the keys by means of either double-clicking or double-tapping them, or choosing the small > icon. In Windows XP, the + icon is used rather than >.

3. Once located, click on or faucet at the registry key in the left pane so that it becomes highlighted.

4. From the Registry Editor menu, pick File after which Export…

You also can right-click on or tap-and-hold the key after which pick Export.

5. In the Export Registry File window that appears, double-take a look at that the Selected department diagnosed at the bottom is.

in truth, the registry key that you need to returned up.

If you are making a full backup of the registry, the All alternative have to be pre-selected for you. If you are backing up a particular key.

like HKEY_CURRENT_USEREnvironment, you may see that route in the Selected branch section.

6. Once you are certain you will be backing up what you predicted, pick a area to shop the registry backup file to.

Tip: We generally recommend selecting the Desktop or the Documents folder (referred to as My Documents in XP).

Both are smooth to locate if you run into issues later and want to apply this backup to undo your registry changes.

7. In the File name: text discipline, input a call for the backup record. Anything is quality.

Note: This call can be some thing as it’s simply for you to don’t forget what the exported registry file is for.

If you’re backing up the entire Windows Registry, you might name it some thing like Complete Registry Backup.

If the backup is for a selected key only, I’d name the backup the identical call as the key that you plan on modifying.

Attaching the contemporary date at the quit isn’t a horrific idea either.

8. Click the Save button.

If you chose to again up the entire registry, count on this process to take numerous seconds or longer.

A single or small series of registry keys need to export instantly.

9. Once complete, a brand new document with the REG file extension might be created within the vicinity you chose in Step 6 and with the document call you chose in Step 7.

So, continuing the example from a few steps lower back, you’d get a document named Complete Registry Backup-mo-day-yr.Reg.

10. You can now make something modifications you need to make to the Windows registry.

understanding complete nicely that you can undo all of them at any time you need.

Tip: See How to Add, Change, and Delete Registry Keys & Values for masses of hints on making registry editing easy and hassle-unfastened.

See How to Restore the Windows Registry for help restoring the registry again to the point at which you backed it up.

Hopefully, your modifications are a hit and problem-loose, however if now not, getting matters returned to working order is pretty easy.