Today we are going to talk about using a registry backup as a means of restoring your computer. All Microsoft operating systems use a complex compilation of entries located in a central location to control all the main functions of Windows and your programs. This complex mechanism is called the system registry. The registry is essentially the main “hive” of your system. The heart you might say. I have seen many people keep a backup of their registry just in case there is a huge problem with one of your programs. In theory, this is a good idea but restoring your computer with a registry backup will not always work.
When you install a program, that program adds entries to various parts of the Windows environment. Some entries might go to the Programs folder; some might be added to your user/appdata folder, yet others will be added to the registry. Lets say you install a program called widgets wizard. After the install, you notice that things are just not working the way that they should. You have to make a decision on if the newly installed program is important enough to keep on the computer. If you decide to remove it, you might want to try system restore to return your computer to a working good state. This is probably not your best choice. System Restore is essentially a rollback for your registry. Not all files are affected by a system restore. If you run the restore and it is successful, the registry entries of the installed program might not be there but you might have many renegade files that were left behind after the restore operation. This can sometimes lead to problems. In this case, the best choice is to simply use the add/remove program option in the control panel to get out the bad program.
In another instance, you load an anti-virus program and when it is finished installing, you get a “reboot” request from the program to finish the install. So far so good. You reboot the machine and when the computer restarts all you get is the Windows Welcome logo and it just sits there and spins. Your first feeling is one of your blood draining from your body. You know you have just created a huge problem. In this case, a system restore just might be what the doctor ordered. You can get to system restore in 2 different ways. If you are running either XP, Vista or Windows 7 you can try to do restore from safe mode. Here is how to access it. First, shut down your computer completely. If you cannot use a shutdown command, you can hold the power button in until the system shuts down completely. Once you hit the power button to restart the machine repeatably keep tapping the F8 key on the top of your keyboard. Once you get to Advanced Boot Options, choose Safe Mode and hit Enter. Once the system asks you to log on, attempt to log in and if you can, you can do a system restore from here and you should be able to get up and running. If you cannot and you are running Vista or Windows 7 you have one more option.
This time we are going to try the repair options in Vista and Windows 7. Enter the Advanced Boot Options as described above using the F8 key. This time we are going to click on Repair Your Computer. You will be asked a couple of questions and then you will be presented with several different options including system restore and startup repair. In this instance we are going to use the system restore recovery option. The program will guide you as you click the options. Choose a restore point that is far enough back to get you going as you were before you installed the program. The restore operation will start and may take some time. Remember, you are rolling back your registry to a time prior to when you installed the anti virus program. Once completed the system will reboot and it will either say that system restore completed successfully or that it failed. In this case, we are going to assume it was successful. Your system should now restart and you might have to manually remove any files from the program that system restore did not touch. Your next step is to try a different anti virus program. Do not attempt to install that same program again!
You can manually make a backup of your registry by opening regedit and going to the File tab. Here you will see an option called Export. Export your registry to a known location where you can find id when you need it. To overwrite your registry with the saved file at a later time if problems arise, simply use the import option instead. Although some more experienced users use this method, it is not the recommended way to restore your system after problems arise. If all else fails, call a computer professional for help.
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer
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