Hello
While reading about how to uninstall MSE if unable to do so with add/remove, I noticed MS said to back up the registry by entering regedit in the search box , right clicking computer then clicking export.
After all the ways I have heard to backup the registry, I can't believe it is this simple. Is it and does it back up the whole registry?
Thank you
Peter
Yes, it is that simple and yes, it exports (backs up) the whole registry. Of course you can also set a Restore Point with System Restore, or use a good registry backup program like ERUNT.
There are some caveats to using regedit for this but off hand I can't remember what. I do remember it had to do with errors when trying to restore the backup.
Ring any bells for anyone?
Edit: Some quick searches indicated you can't restore an entire backup created via regedit. Not sure why. The only way to find out is to try it I guess but I don't feel like nuking my Win 7 system rignt now, even though I have good backups.
There are some caveats to using regedit for this but off hand I can't remember what. I do remember it had to do with errors when trying to restore the backup.
Ring any bells for anyone?
Edit: Some quick searches indicated you can't restore an entire backup created via regedit. Not sure why. The only way to find out is to try it I guess but I don't feel like nuking my Win 7 system rignt now, even though I have good backups.
>>I rememeber reading an article about hives and that article said you cannot backup the entire registry using regedit.
Glad to brought it to my failing attention.
There are some caveats to using regedit for this but off hand I can't remember what.
I am not aware of any. Backing up and restoring the Registry was NEVER a guaranteed fix - regardless if you used Regedit, System Restore, or ERUNT. Got some links? The only problem I can think of is you need to be able to boot into Safe Mode to fully restore (import) the backup and if you cannot boot into Safe Mode, you may be in trouble. But then you boot into the Recovery Console and use Regedit from there - with fingers crossed.
I don't think hives has anything to do with it. The hives are the groups of Registry entries (the keys with all its subkeys and values) and they get backed up (exported and imported) too. The problem is (and was), the hive entries point to sets of supporting files and if those supporting files are missing or corrupt, the Registry restore (import) may not work - even though many of those entries are recreated next time that user logs in.
But that is not a limitation of the Regedit's export/import feature.
