This post shows students and new users the steps to back up and restore the Windows registry when using Windows 11. The Windows registry is a database that stores all Windows settings in a hierarchical structure and most of the applications installed on your system. It is very important and you may want to avoid making errors in the Windows registry.
Since we wrote about how to improve and improve Windows performance on this site, and some of their guides show you how to do it in the registry, we want to show you how to back up the Windows registry to protect your system.
An error in the Windows registry can be dangerous and render your system unusable. Therefore, keeping your Windows registry healthy and clean should be your priority.
There may be other tools that can be used to back up and restore the Windows registry. However, the registry export and import feature is a solid option for backing up. There is no substitute for a solid backup plan, so it’s a good idea to protect your system by backing up your registry before making changes to it.
To get started backing up and restoring the registry in Windows 11, follow the steps below.
How to back up the Windows registry
As mentioned above, it is always a good practice to back up the Windows registry before making changes. If you have other tools to back up the registry, use them. However, the Windows registry export and import feature is a great option.
Click on the Start Menu, then search Registry editor. Below Best match, click on the Registry editor app to open.
This should open the Windows registry app.
Then click File ==> Export As shown below.
In the export window, select the location where you want to save the backup, then type a file name for your support. You may want to include today’s date in the file name for easy reference.
At the bottom of the export window, you have two options under Export range.
- All – This will back up the ENTIRE registry.
- Selected Branch – This will only back up the registry key that you had selected and all the subkeys it contains.
When you are ready, click the Save button to save the record.
This could take a minute or two to export the entire log.
How to restore the Windows registry
After exporting the registry, you can always restore it and return it to the state it was in when you exported it. This is useful in cases where you have made mistakes and want to restore the registry to its working state.
To import the registry, open Registry Editor by searching for it in the Start Menu. Then click File ==> Import As shown below.
Next, find the location where you saved the exported file. Select it, then click Opened to import.
You should do that!
Conclusion:
In this tutorial we have seen how to export and import the Windows registry. If you find any errors above or have something to add, use the comment form below.
