Computer Backup and Restore XP Vista

What is the registry:

The registry is a list of all the software installed on your computer. Whenever you run a program Windows looks at the registry, to see what data needs to be loaded into memory.

It also stores all the computer user profiles as well as the hardware profiles.

Clearly your computer would not run very well without the registry as a matter of fact you couldn't even boot it up.

Why backup your registry:

The registry can get damaged, which means it will either make your computer run slowly or it will cause a crash, when you try to run some of your programs. If this happens you have 3 options: you can reinstall Windows and all your programs, you can rollback to an older version of your registry or you can use a registry cleaner to fix your registry.

How does the registry get damaged:

Sometimes programmers don't do a good job of coding the software that adds and removes entries to the registry. So over time as you install and uninstall programs the registry becomes larger and contains a lot of irrelevant data. This makes running programs slower and slower. In this case you will need to use a registry cleaner. Rolling back to a previous version of the Windows registry won't help.

If your computer gets infected with a virus or spyware, they can intentionally damage your registry. Even after you removed the malicious software, your registry would still be damaged.

When to backup your registry:

I would do it every two months, as well as before you install anything. Especially if what you are installing is a large program or something that's a little dodgy.

Import the registry:

Safest:

1. Under the Start menu select Run
2. Open Regedit and select OK
3. In regedit go to the File Menu and select Import
4. The import window will open.
5. In this window navigate to your registry backup file and click on it.
6. Select Open

Backup the Registry:

1. Under the Start menu select Run

In vista, you’ll need to hit winkey+R to open the Run box.

2. Open Regedit and select OK
3. In regedit go to the File Menu and select Export
4. The export window will open.
5. Under export range select All
6. Under file name, put an appropriate name.
7. Save as file type Registration Files (*.reg)
8. Click save