How To BackUp And Restore Windows Registry

Registry acts like a brain to your computer. It contains all of the configurations and settings used by components, services, applications, and almost everything in Windows.The registry has two basic concepts to be aware of: Keys and Values. Registry Keys are objects that are folders, and in the interface even look exactly like folders. Values are a bit like the files in the folders, and they contain the actual settings.

Whenever you have to make some major changes in the settings of a Windows computer, you need to alter Windows Registry. However, it is very risky to make changes through Registry Editor as one wrong move can make your computer stop working normally. So, it is always recommended to backup the Windows Registry before making any changes.

In this article, we will discuss how to manually backup and restore the Windows Registry.

How To BackUp The Windows Registry:

• Open Registry Editor( Go to Start menu and type Regedit)
• To backup the entire registry, navigate Computer located at the top left-hand side of the registry But if you want to backup a specific key, Drill down to the folder until you find the key you’re looking for.
• Once located, click or tap on the registry key or Computer in the left pane so that it becomes highlighted.
• Now, go to File-> Export.

• You will get a window with the name Export registry file, type the filename and click Save to save it to the desired location.
• A new file with the REG file extension will be created in the location.

• Once it is done, you are free to make any changes you want with no fear of losing configurations or settings stored in Registry.

Must Read: 10 Best Registry Cleaner Software to Optimize Windows PC

How To Restore The Windows Registry

Let’s assume, something went wrong when you were making changes in Registry. Well, you don’t have to worry about anything as long as you have the registry files backed up.

Restoring the registry files is an easy task to do. Follow these steps to restore the Registry files.

• Locate the backup registry file to reverse the changes made.
• Double-click on the REG file to open it.
• This message will prompt in Registry Editor Window:

“Adding information can unintentionally change or delete values and cause components to stop working correctly. If you do not trust the source of this information in , do not add it to the registry. Are you sure you want to continue?”

• Click Yes to continue.
• If the registry key import was successful, you will get the following message:

“The keys and values contained in have been successfully added to the registry.”

• Click OK button.
• Restart the computer to make sure the changes added are implied.

Congratulations, you have successfully added the registry keys from Reg file have been restored or added to the Windows Registry.

In this way, you can take a backup and restore the Windows Registry. Try it and let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below.

Watch this space for more fixes and tips!