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Q323170: HOW TO: Backup, Edit, and Restore the Registry in Windows NT 4.0

Article: Q323170
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbAudITPro kbHOWTOmaster
Last Modified: 12-JUN-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 
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For a Microsoft Windows XP version of this article, see Q322756.

For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see Q322755.

For a Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me version of this article, see Q322754.

IN THIS TASK
------------

- SUMMARY

   - How to Back Up the Registry

   - How to Export Registry Keys
- How to Back Up the Whole Registry

- How to Edit the Registry
- How to Restore the Registry

   - How to Restore Registry Keys
- How to Restore the Whole Registry

- REFERENCES

SUMMARY
=======

This step-by-step article describes how to back up, edit, and restore the
registry in Windows NT 4.0. Microsoft recommends that before you edit the
registry, you back up the registry and understand how to restore it if a problem
occurs.

How to Back Up the Registry
---------------------------

Before you edit the registry, export the keys in the registry that you plan to
edit, or back up the whole registry. If a problem occurs, you can then follow
the steps in the How to Restore the Registry section of this article to restore
the registry to its previous state.

How to Export Registry Keys:

You can follow these steps to export a registry key before you edit it.

NOTE: Do not follow these steps to export a whole registry hive (for example, the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive). If you must back up whole registry hives, back up the
whole registry instead.

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type "regedt32" (without the quotation marks), and then
  click OK.

3. Locate and then click the key that contains the values that you plan to edit.

4. On the Registry menu, click Save Key.

5. In the "Save in" box, select a location in which to save the .reg file, type
  a file name in the "File name" box, and then click Save.

How to Back Up the Whole Registry:

To back up the whole registry, use the Windows NT Backup tool (Ntbackup.exe) and
use the option to back up the registry. Or, run the "rdisk /s" command. For
additional information about using the Rdisk tool to update your repair
information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:

  Q156328 Description of Windows NT Emergency Repair Disk

NOTE: You must have a supported tape drive to use Windows NT Backup to back up
the registry. If you do not have a supported tape drive, use Rdisk. When you run
the "rdisk /s" command to update your repair information, compressed copies of
the registry files are placed in the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder. If you cannot
start Windows NT after you edit the registry, you can manually replace the
registry files by expanding the copies in the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder.

How to Edit the Registry
------------------------

To edit the registry, Microsoft recommends that you follow the steps in the
Microsoft documentation only. If possible, use the Windows user interface
instead of directly editing the registry.

Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require
that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that
problems that result from incorrectly using Registry Editor can be solved. Use
Registry Editor at your own risk.

For more information about editing the registry, follow these steps in Registry
Editor (Regedt32.exe):

1. On the Help menu, click Contents.

2. Click the Contents tab.

3. Double-click the topic that you want to read.

How to Restore the Registry
---------------------------

How to Restore Registry Keys:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. Type "regedt32" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.

3. On the Registry menu, click Restore.

4. Select the .reg file that you saved in the How to Backup the Registry section
  of this article, and then click Open.

5. Click Yes to continue.

How to Restore the Whole Registry:

To restore the whole registry, restore a registry backup by using the Windows NT
Backup utility.

NOTE: If you ran the "rdisk /s" command to update the repair information,
updated, compressed copies of the registry files are located in the
%SystemRoot%\Repair folder. If you cannot start Windows NT after you edit the
registry, you can manually replace the registry files in the
%SystemRoot%\System32\Config folder by expanding the compressed copies in the
%SystemRoot%\Repair folder. You must start MS-DOS (if the drive uses the FAT
file system) or perform a parallel installation of Windows NT (if the drive uses
the NTFS file system) to do this.


REFERENCES
==========

  Q265422 How RDISK.EXE Updates Repair Information

  Q122857 RDISK /S and RDISK /S- Options in Windows NT


Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbAudITPro kbHOWTOmaster 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTSEntSearch kbWinNTSEnt400 kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbNTTermServ400 kbNTTermServSearch
Version           : :4.0
Issue type        : kbhowto

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