Back up the Windows Registry

One of the easiest ways to back up the Windows Registry is to create a restore point using System Restore. To access this in Windows XP, click Start then click All Programs followed by Accessories, System Tools and then System Restore. Click ‘Create a restore point’, click Next and follow the prompts to complete the job. In Windows Vista or 7, click Start then right-click Computer and select Properties. Now click the System Protection link on the left-hand side followed by the System Restore tab. Now click the Create button and follow the prompts to create a restore point.

Over time, though, restore points can be overwritten. So, a more reliable way to take a backup of the Registry is to directly save its content and take a backup of the resultant file. To do this in any version of Windows, click Start followed by Run, type regedit and hit Enter. This launches the Registry Editor – be very careful from here on. In the left-hand navigation tree, scroll to the very top to find the Computer entry. Right-click this and choose Export from the pop-up menu. Type in a name for the file, choose a save location and click Save. Be warned that the file created can be very large – tens or even hundreds of megabytes – and it might take a few minutes to be generated.

Finally, take a backup of the file (it will have a .reg file extension). Either burn it to CD/DVD or otherwise copy it to a location that can be stored away from the PC. To restore the Registry at a later date, double-click this .reg file and follow the instructions.