Sally Asks About Backing Up The Windows XP Registry
I have Windows XP Home. How easy is it to back up the registry and how do I do it. Is there a program to use? Can I do it myself? Thanks, Sally

Our Answer
You can "do it yourself" by following the steps we've indicated on our Registry Backup Tutorial. Please make sure that you only backup your registry when your computer is functioning normally. Backing up your registry when your computer is running poorly or about to stop running all together only backs up the very things that are causing your computer to run poorly. Keep a good backup of your registry handy and only use it if it's absolutely necessary. A good backup of your registry can save you a lot of time and trouble should you experience catastrophic problems in the future. Merging a backup copy of registry is serious issue and shouldn't be used as a band-aid for minor problems. The method we describe creates a "REG" file. This is the most well known file format used for backing up the registry. The Registration File can be used in two ways. As a text file it can be read and edited using Notepad outside of Registry Editor. Once the changes have been made and saved, right clicking the file and using the [Merge] command adds the changed file back into the registry. If you make additions to the registry using regedit and then merge the previously saved Registration File, anything that you've added via REGEDIT will not be removed, but changes you make to data using regedit that previously existed in the saved Registration File will be overwritten when it is merged. Using our simple tutorial should allow you to backup your registry without using any other programs.

Bonus Tip!

Don't Forget These Shortcuts!

F1 = OPENS THE CURRENT APPLICATION'S HELP FILE
F2 = RENAME A FILE
F3 = OPEN SEARCH
F5 = REFRESH
F7 = SPELL CHECKER (OFFICE APPS, OUTLOOK, OUTLOOK EXPRESS)
F11 = FULL SCREEN
Windows Key + Pause/Break Key opens System Properties
Window Key Opens Start Menu