Backing up the Windows Registry before you make any changes is a super-smart thing to do. The registry settings control much of what happens in Windows, so it’s essential to have it working correctly at all times.

It’s so bad Microsoft didn’t design Registry Editor to prompt you to back up before making changes – they really should be.

Luckily, it’s easy to manually export either the entire registry at once or even just a specific registry key if you’re only making changes to a few values or permits.

Once backed up, you will feel comfortable changing almost any change. As long as it was made within the backup, you can easily undo it.

Cách sao lưu Registry trong Windows trước khi thay đổi

Follow the steps below to back up the Windows Registry:

Note: You can back up the Windows Registry this way in any Windows version, including Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Backup time: Backing up the entire Windows Registry at one time only takes a few minutes, while backing up a particular registry might take longer depending on how fast you can find it.

Instructions on how to back up Windows Registry

  1. Open regedit to start Registry Editor.
  2. When Registry Editor is open, make your way to the Registry area you want to back up. To back up the entire registry: Identify the Computer by scrolling to the very left end of the registry (where all the “folders” are located).To back up a specific registry key: Train through the folders until you find the following resolution.
  3. Not sure what to back up? Choosing to back up the entire registry is a safe bet. If you know which registry organization you’ll be working with, a full hive backup is a good option.

    Tip: If you don’t immediately see the registry key you want to back up, expand (open) or collapse (close) the keys by double-clicking or double-clicking them or selecting the > small icon. In Windows XP, the + symbol is used instead of >.

  4. Once found, click or tap the registry key in the left pane to make it stand out.
  5. From the Registry Editor menu, choose File and then Export.
  6. In the Export Registry File window, check that the Selected branch has the registry key that you want to backup or Khong. Neu, you are done backing up the entire Registry. Option All is selected before for you. If you are backing up a specific key, like HKEY_CURRENT_USER Environment, you should see that path in the Selected branch section.
  7. When you’re sure you’ll back up what you expect, choose a location to save the registry backup file.
    Tip:     I usually recommend choosing a Desktop or Documents folder (called My Documents in XP). Both are easy to find if you run into the following problems and need to use this backup to undo your registry changes.
  8. In the File Name: text field, enter a name for the backup file.
    Note:     This name can be anything because it’s just for you to remember what the exported log file is for. If you are backing up the entire Windows Registry, you can name it Full Registry Backup. If the backup is for a particular key, I’ll call the jam with the same name as the key you plan to edit. Attaching the current date at the end isn’t a bad idea either.
  9. Click the Save button. If you choose to back up your entire registry, wait for the process to take a few seconds or longer. A small collection of registry keys must be exported immediately.
  10. Once done, a new file with the REG file extension will be created in the location you selected in Step 6 and with the filename you chose in Step 7. So continuing the example from a few steps back, you will get a file called Complete Registry Backup.reg.
  11. Now you can make whatever changes you need to make to the Windows Registry, with full understanding that you can undo them all any time you want.