At the heart of the Windows operating system is
the Registry; damage it and the chances are the
Windows Operating system will stop working. It is
for this reason that registry editing should only be
undertaken by those who are familiar with the way it
works and who are competent enough to make any
necessary changes.
While it is possible to follow step by step
instructions in order to edit the registry, the
first precaution necessary, prior to even attempting
to make such alterations, is to ensure that you have
a current backup of the registry, either as a full
backup or a backup of the respective registry hive.
Should disaster strike and a registry edit go wrong
you will, at least, have a working backup with which
to replace the damaged registry hive.
To backup the registry proceed as follows:
- Click the Start button then, in the Start
menu search box type: regedit and press OK.
- The regedit application will appear at the
top of the Start Menu Search list.
- Click on this application to open the
registry editor.
- Click the File option on the main toolbar
and, from the drop down menu, select Export.
- In the Export Registry File dialog box
select All.
- Now name the file.
- Finally click the Save button.
- To return the registry back to its original
state should something go wrong simply click on
the File option on the main registry editor
toolbar and then select Import.