Backing up your Window's System Registry File
This article is taken from Symantec's web site: http://service4.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/199762382617


How to make a backup of the Windows registry

Situation:
You want to make a backup of the Windows registry before editing the registry.

Solution:
Making a backup of the Windows registry lets you restore the registry if you want to reverse changes that you make. The instructions for making a backup depend on the operating system.

Note that the registry is sometimes too large to fit onto a single floppy disk. This situation is often the case when using Windows 98 and Windows 2000. When the registry is too large for a floppy disk, save the registry to the hard disk. In Windows 2000, the Backup utility allows you to designate other backup media.

NOTE: Symantec provides the following information as a convenience. This information is a suggestion only, and is not intended to replace information from Microsoft.

Windows 95/98/Me
Windows provides two methods for making backups, depending on your Windows version.
  • If you are running Windows 95, use the file RegEdit.exe to create a backup copy of the registry and save the copy to the Windows desktop.
  • If you are running Windows 98 or Windows Me, use either RegEdit.exe or ScanReg to back up the registry.

Windows 98/Me - RegEdit
Note that this method will not work for Windows NT or Windows 2000. Though this method will save a backup, Windows NT/2000 has additional security protection that prevents this backup from being restored. To back up the Windows NT/2000 registry, see the Windows NT or Windows 2000 sections in the later part of this document.

To back up the registry with RegEdit:
    1. Click Start, and then click Run. The Run dialog box appears.
    2. Type regedit and click OK. The Registry Editor opens.
    3. Click the Registry menu and click Export Registry File.
    4. Verify the following items in the Export Registry File dialog box:
    • Save in: Desktop
    • File name: RegistryBackup
    • Save as type: Registration Files
    • Export range: All
    5. Click Save.
    6. Exit the Registry Editor.
    7. Verify that an icon labeled "RegistryBackup.reg" is on the desktop. The icon represents the backup file. Double-clicking the icon restores the backup.

    CAUTION: Do not double-click the RegistryBackup.reg file unless you intend to undo the changes that you made to the registry.

After making changes to the registry
After you make the changes you want to the registry, immediately verify that the results are what you expected.
  • If the results were not what you expected, and you want to restore the registry to its previous state, double-click the RegistryBackup.reg file.
  • If the results are what you want, delete the RegistryBackup.reg file after you finish troubleshooting the initial problem. Do not allow the file to remain on the desktop beyond the test period. Because double-clicking a .reg file imports the file's contents into the registry, deleting RegistryBackup.reg prevents you from inadvertently restoring this version of the registry later, when it may be out of date.


Windows 98/Me - Scanreg
Windows 98 provides an additional means of backing up the registry that is not available in either Windows 95 or Windows NT. This involves running the Scanreg command from MS-DOS mode.

To back up the registry with Scanreg:
    1. Click Start and click Shut Down. The Shut Down Windows screen appears.
    2. Click "Restart in MS-DOS Mode" and click OK. Windows shuts down and restarts to a DOS prompt.
    3. At the DOS prompt, type the following command and press Enter:

    scanreg /backup

    Scanreg will back up your registry and then show a DOS prompt.

After making changes to the registry
After you make the changes you want to the registry, immediately verify that the results are what you expected. If the results are not what you expected, use Scanreg to restore the backup copy of the registry.

To restore the backup of the registry with Scanreg:
    1. Click Start and click Shut Down. The Shut Down Windows screen appears.
    2. Click "Restart in MS-DOS Mode" and click OK. Windows shuts down and restarts to a DOS prompt.
    3. At the DOS prompt, type the following command and press Enter:

    scanreg /restore

    Scanreg checks your registry and displays the list of available backups.

    4. Select the backup at the top of the list. This is the backup you made earlier.
    5. Press R to restore the backup.
    6. When the restoration is complete, type win and press Enter to start Windows.

Windows NT
Windows NT provides a variety of ways to back up the Windows NT registry. For more information about Windows NT backup methods, see articles Q126464 and Q122857 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com/support

You can also use the Rdisk utility to back up the Windows NT registry files onto a floppy disk.

To back up the Windows NT registry files onto a floppy disk:
    1. Click Start and click Run. The Run dialog box appears.
    2. Type

    rdisk /s

    and click OK. The Saving Configuration window appears.
    3. When the process is finished, the Setup window opens. Click Yes to create an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).
    4. Follow the on-screen prompts. When you have finished, label the disk "Emergency Repair Disk" and include the current date.
    5. Locate the three setup disks that came with your copy of Windows NT. Note that if you do not have the three Windows NT Setup disks, you can make your own. For more information, see article Q131735 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, or view the step-by-step instructions at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q131/7/35.asp?LN=EN-US&SD=SO&FR=0.
    6. Store the three setup disks with the Emergency Repair Disk. When used with the setup disks, the ERD can restore the backup even when Windows NT is not bootable.

This process also makes a second backup of the current registry files and saves the second backup in the \Windows\Repair folder on the hard drive. These files are compressed. This backup might not be accessible later if you cannot boot into Windows NT.

After making changes to the registry
After making changes to the registry, immediately verify that the results are what you expected. If the results are not what you expected and you want to restore the registry to its previous state, boot with the first disk of the three Windows NT setup disks. When the computer has booted, click Repair and choose Registry. You will have a choice of which parts of the registry to restore.

Windows 2000
In Windows 2000, the Emergency Repair Disk does not contain a backup of the registry. To backup the registry, use the Windows 2000 Backup utility. The Windows 2000 Backup utility makes a backup of the registry and other system files. See the document Q240363, How to Back Up and Restore the System State.

After making changes to the registry
After making changes to the registry, immediately verify that the results are what you expected.

If the results are not what you expected and you want to restore the registry to its previous state, restore the System State backup.

For more information, see the article Rdisk.exe Is Not Included With Windows 2000 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at: http://support.microsoft.com/support.


Product(s): Windows 9x, Windows NT
Operating Systems(s): All Supported
Document ID: 199762382617
Date Created: 09/29/99
Last Modified: 11/09/2001