How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Registry Editor

Windows 10, 8.1, or 8
Back up the registry manually, or create a system restore point.

Back up the registry manually

· From the Start menu, type regedit.exe in the search box, and then press Enter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

· In Registry Editor, locate and click the registry key or subkey that you want to back up.

· Click File > Export.

· In the Export Registry File dialog box, select the location to which you want to save the backup copy, and then type a name for the backup file in the File name field.

· Click Save.

Create a restore point

· From the Start menu, type create a restore point.

· Select Create a restore point from the search results.

· Choose Create, and then follow the steps to create a restore point.

After you've backed up the information, restore it based on the method you used.

Restore a manual back up

· From the Start menu, type regedit.exe, and then press Enter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

· In Registry Editor, click File > Import.

· In the Import Registry File dialog box, select the location to which you saved the backup copy, select the backup file, and then click Open.

Restore from a restore point

· From Start, type create a restore point.

· Select Create a restore point from the search results.

· Choose System Restore.

Applies to

Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10