Help File
The windows registry controls the performance of your entire windows environment. That means, screen backgrounds, sounds, internet dial up service, how the programs interact and how windows addresses your hardware devices. Whenever a new program is installed, new keys or "strings" are added to the registry (and sometimes other files) which determine how the program will work. If for some reason, the installation fails, or you decide later, that you do not want the program, it may help to restore the registry to it's original condition. Unfortunately, most uninstallers do not remove all the registry keys, so you may have unwanted values left behind. Some utilities such as Network Associates Nuts & Bolts and Symantec's Norton Utilities, have a backup/restore registry function, but if you have neither of these, you can still backup your windows registry. Here's how
Go to a "MSDOS prompt". To find that, go "start", "programs", then "msdos prompt". This should give a window with a "c:\windows>" symbol.
Type "attrib -h -r -s user.dat" (without the commas) and hit "enter".
then type "attrib -h -r -s system.dat" and hit "enter"
now type "copy user.dat user.bak" and hit "enter". The response is "one file copied."
then type "copy system.dat system.bak" and hit "enter".
Now type "attrib +h +r +s user.dat" and "enter"
then "attrib +h +r +s system.dat" and "enter".
This action will create two files in the windows directory called "user.bak" and "system.bak" which are copies of the windows registry. Should your windows somehow fail, using these files to restore the registry could save you reloading windows.
You may also need to copy a few other files which support the windows registry. The action to backup the files follows the same pattern illustrated above.
"win.ini" copy win.ini win.bak
"protocol.ini" copy protocol.ini protocol.bak
"system.ini" copy system.ini system1.bak
"control.ini" copy control.ini control.bak
There are two other files in the root directory or "c:\". To get there, type "cd.." and hit "enter". The response should be "c:\".
Now, copy these files
"autoexec.bat" copy autoexec.bat autoexec.bak
"config.sys" copy config.sys config.bak
Once you have made copies of these files, you should be able to restore you system in the event of a windows failure. Remember the registry will change every time a new piece of software or hardware is added to (or removed from) your machine. If you are unsure about whether that new game you downloaded will work well with your version of windows, back up your registry before installing it. To close the Msdos window type "exit". Print this page for future reference.