Registry Backups

[SARGE]

I know the backups are held for 5 days by default. Is there a way to save them longer?

[racerbrownn]

you can export them to a file anywhere you want and named anything you want. i make a habit of doing it before i make a big software change so i can restore weeks later if things go to sh*t. start button/run/type regedit and i believe its under the file tab or something like that.

[HAL9000]

Yup, File, then export. It's handy when doing any major changes to a system. I've had situations where the SCANREG/RESTORE has failed on all 5 backup copies, having the exported copy doesn't fail.

[galaxian]

If you want to save them longer, you can either do
1. Copy one of the cab files to another directory. You can then recopy it back and use Scanreg /restore.
2. Modify the scanreg.ini file
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q183603

BUT, remember that if you restore an "old" registry, your windows version will no longer know about anything installed after that date, any settings that your running software has made (like your virus updates), etc. etc.
To move the registry back in time more than a few days has to be a very carefully thought out decision.

[Chris in U.K.]

Or..

If (like me) you prefer to do things manually, look in the windows directory and copy user.dat and system.dat to a convenient location. If the worst happens, you can copy the copies back into the windows directory in DOS mode.

Chris.

[SARGE]

Thanks for input. I know about the regedit backup export, but one of the boys has a problem he didn't tell me about until too late (a day or two). I'll inform them about backups before making changes on pc.

[patyson]

Open your C:\Windows\Scanreg.ini file. The Scanreg.ini file contains the entries that determine how the Registry Checker tool makes backup copies of your registry. Edit the x values of the settings below.

Backup=x, a value of 1 causes a backup copy of your registry to be made the first time you start your computer on any given day (determined by the system clock). A value of 0 disables the backing up of the registry.

Optimise=x, a value of 1 automatically optimises your current registry if it contains 500KB+ of unused space. A value of 0 does not automatically optimise your current registry by removing unused space.

MaxBackupCopies=x, use this value to set the maximum amount of registry backups, e.g. a value of 5 saves the last 5 registry backups in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. This value can be between 0 and 99.

NOTE: When you restore a registry backup using Registry Checker for MS- DOS (scanreg), only the five earliest backups are displayed.

BackupDirectory=x, by default this entry does not contain a value, and registry backups are automatically saved in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. If for some reason you wish to change where the backup is stored then use this to do so. E.g. If you want to change it to you C:\Backup directory then you would have BackupDirectory=C:\Backup. I’d suggest just leaving the backup directory in its default location.

NOTE – This next Scanreg.ini setting is recommended for advanced users only. & Must be manually added into the Scanreg.ini if you intend to use it.