We all know how important it is to back up your Windows Registry before you make changes, additions, or removals to and from your operating system. For each system listed in this article, there are several different ways to perform this task. The most popular method, of course, is not to do it at all, leaving it to chance that the automatic OS back up always creates a good copy - good enough to restart your system should something go awry with your changes. Better to learn a few useful, manual procedures for back up and restore than to take this risk.

Windows 95

The procedure for 95 is slightly more creative, and largely more “manual” than the rest! The Registry for 95 consists of two hidden files: SYSTEM.DAT (hardware and resources), and USER.DAT (user preferences) – both stored in the Windows Directory. The Registry’s backup files, stored in the same directory, are SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0. 95 overwrites both files at each backup whether they are good or not.  With 95, making periodic manual backups when your PC is running great is a terrific habit to get into. Doing this will create a pristine registry that can be manually restored if needed. Here’s how:

      To Manually Backup the Windows 95 Registry:

• Open Windows Explorer, click View Menu, choose Options, enable Show All File Types, disable Hide MS-DOS File Extensions
• Click OK
• In the left pane of Explorer, highlight the Windows Directory
• In the right pane click on white space to see menu for creating a new folder
• Follow prompts to create a new folder, choose a name
  (ex. NewBkUp), click OK
• In left pane, locate both the SYSTEM.DAT and the USER.DAT file
• Drag and copy both files from the left pane to the new folder in the right
• pane
• Return to Options in View, disable Show All File Types, click OK

      To Manually Restore Your Backup of the Windows 95 Registry

• Reboot to DOS (Alt+5 at start-up)
• Type cd windows at DOS prompt, press ENTER
• Type attrib h s r system.dat, press ENTER
• Type attrib h s r user.dat, press ENTER (removing attributes for registry files)
• Type copy c:\NewBkUp\system.dat  c:\windows, press ENTER
• Type copy c:\NewBkUp\user.dat  c:\windows, press ENTER (replacing registry with your pristine backup)
• Restart Windows

Windows 98

     To Manually Backup the Registry In Windows 98:

• Click START, Click RUN
• Type SCANREGW.EXE /BACKUP (Note space before slash)
• The Registry Checker checks the registry for errors
• Click YES when prompted to make another back up
• Click OK once the back up has been created

To Manually Restore the Registry in Windows 98:

• Start PC while holding down the Ctrl Key (F8 on some PCs) until the boot menu appears
• Choose COMMAND PROMPT ONLY
• Type SCANREG/RESTORE at the C:
• Press ENTER
• Select the registry to restore from the list of CAB files (the archived registry copies) (NOTE: A good registry has the word “Started” next to the date)
• Press ENTER, wait for notification that registry is restored
• Press ENTER to restart your computer

Windows ME

    To Manually Backup the Registry in Windows ME:

• Click START, Click RUN
• Type SCANREGW.EXE /BACKUP (Note space before slash)
• The Registry Checker scans for errors
• Click YES when asked to make another back up
• Click OK when backup is complete

To Manually Restore the Registry in Windows ME:

• Restart your PC with the ME Start-Up Disk in the floppy drive to receive the Command Prompt (Uh-oh. What Start-Up Disk? Good time to go directly to Ctrl Panel, Add/Remove Programs, click Start-up Disk to follow prompts. You’ll be glad you did!)
• At MS-DOS prompt type cd\windows\command
• Press ENTER
• Type SCANREG/RESTORE at C:
• Press ENTER and wait for notification that registry is restored
• Press ENTER to restart your computer
   

Windows XP

      To Manually Back up the Registry in Windows XP:

·         Click Start, click Run, type: SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe, click OK (NOTE: If  System Restore is disabled in your PC, you will be prompted now to turn it on via the System Properties box)

·         At Welcome to System Restore page, click Create A Restore Point,
click Next

·         At the Create a Restore Point page, Type a Name for the Restore Point,  click Create

·         Wait for Restore Point to create successfully, click Close
 

       To Manually Restore the Registry in Windows XP

• Click Start, click Run, type:

          %SystemRoot%\System32\Restore\Rstrui.exe, click OK.

• At Welcome to System Restore page, click Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time, click Next
• At Select a Restore Point page, click the System Checkpoint
• From the list, click on "Guided Help (Registry Backup)" entry, click Next (NOTE: If message appears listing System Restore configuration changes, click OK)
• At Confirm Restore Point Selection page, click Next
• System Restore now restores previous XP configuration and restarts PC
• Log in at prompt
• At System Restore Confirmation page, click OK

Windows Vista

      To Manually Back Up the Registry in Windows Vista

·         Click START, type systempropertiesprotection in Start Search Box

·         Press ENTER (if you are prompted for Admin password, type password and click ALLOW)

·         Windows will search for available disks and most recent restore points

·         At System Properties dialog box, click System Protection tab, click Create (to create a new restore point)

·         Name the new restore point, click Create

·         Wait for Restore Point to create successfully, Click OK twice
 

      To Manually Restore the Registry in Windows Vista

• Click Start,type:
• systempropertiesprotection in Start Search,
• press ENTER (NOTE: If you are prompted for an administrator password, type  password, click Allow)
• In System Properties dialog box, click System Protection, click System Restore
• At System Restore dialog box, select Choose A Different Restore Point, click Next
• Select Restore Point, click Next.
• Confirm Restore Point, click Finish
• System Restore now restores selected Vista configuration and restarts PC
• Log in at prompt
• At System Restore Confirmation page, click OK
  
  Now by installing a reputable registry cleaner, such as RegCure™ you can put your PC into rehab and have it working just like when it was new.