How To Backup Your Windows Registry
Author: Ricky Lim

To put it simply, a windows registry is basically just a huge
database of records. This database stores every single hardware
& software configuration, settings on your computer. It is
organized in a hierarchical model and can contain hundreds of
thousands of entries.

You usually will not need to fix or clean the windows registry
when your computer is new. However, after a period of time
depending on the usage of your computer, you may need to
perform some registry cleaning to remove unnecessary and
obsolete entries.

The windows registry grows in size primarily because of new
hardware and software programs being installed on the computer.
Even a simple plugin for your internet explorer such as flash or
quicktime is recorded in the windows registry.

There are some software programs and drivers that do not remove
the entries from the windows registry when it is being
uninstalled. As a result, they become obsolete and taking up
memory space on your computer.

The windows registry contains thousands of entries which can be
difficult to understand and sometimes unreadable and I would
recommend not to clean the windows registry manually unless you
know what you are doing.

I recommend using a registry cleaner to do the job such as
error doctor as it do it faster than a human can.

Nevertheless, whether you are cleaning the windows registry
manually or using a software, you must back up the registry
first before cleaning. It is actually a good idea to backup the
windows registry periodically, the same thing you do with your
backup.

To backup your registry in windows XP/2000, click on 'start',
click on 'run' and type in 'regedit'. The windows registry will
open. Then click on 'File' and select 'Export'. Another windows
will open and you can specify the name and the location to save
the registry.

There are 2 important points to note here. Make sure the file
type is set to 'Registration Files (*.reg)'. You do not want to
want to save as txt as you will not be able to import the
registry file in the event that your windows registry is
corrupted.

The second point is to click on the radio button 'All' in the
export range options at the bottom of the windows. You want to
backup the entire registry file, not just part of it.

It is also recommended you backup the registry file to another
computer or to a diskette or CD. Sometimes when the windows
registry is corrupted, you may not be able to boot into windows
at all.

The windows registry is one of the most critical files on your
computer, so make sure you backup a copy and only edit or
remove an entry in the registry if you know what you are doing.


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