Managing Windows Server 2012 Systems : Managing the Registry (part 6) - Backing up and restoring the registry, Maintaining the registry

By now, it should be clear how important the registry is and that it should be protected. I’ll go so far as to say that part of every backup and recovery plan should include the registry. Backing up and restoring the registry normally isn’t done from within Registry Editor, however. It is handled through the Windows Server Backup utility or through your preferred third-party backup software. Either way, you have an effective means to minimize downtime and ensure that the system can be recovered if the registry becomes corrupted.

You can make a backup of the entire registry very easily at the command line. Simply type regedit /e SaveFile , where SaveFile is the complete file path to the save location for the registry data. Following this, you could save a copy of the registry to C:\Backups\Regdata.reg by typing regedit /e c:\backups\regdata.reg. You would then have a complete backup of the registry.

You can also easily make backups of individual root keys. To do this, you use REG SAVE. Type reg save followed by the abbreviated name of the root key you want to save and the file name to use. For example, you could type reg save hkcu c:\backups\hkcu.hiv to save HKEY_CURRENT_USER to a file in the C:\Backups directory. Again, although you can save the logical root keys (HKCC, HKCR, HKCU) in this manner, you can save only subkeys of HKLM and HKU using this technique.

OK, so now you have your fast and easy backups of registry data. What you do not have, however, is a sure way to recover a system in the event the registry becomes corrupted and the system cannot be booted. Partly, this is because you have no way to boot the system to get at the registry data.

You create a system state backup to help you recover the registry and get a system to a bootable state. The system state backup includes essential system files needed to recover the local system as well as registry data. All computers have system state data, which must be backed up in addition to other files to restore a complete working system.

Normally, you back up the system state data when you perform a normal (full) backup of the rest of the data on the system. Thus, if you are performing a full recovery of a server rather than a repair, you use the complete system backup as well as system state data to recover the server completely.

That said, you can create separate system state backups. The fastest and easiest way to do so is to use Wbadmin, the command-line counterpart to Windows Server Backup. You create a system state backup using Wbadmin by entering the following command at an elevated command prompt:

wbadmin start systemstatebackup -backuptarget:StorageDrive

Here StorageDrive is the drive letter for the storage location, such as:

wbadmin start systemstatebackup -backuptarget:d:

The registry is a database, and like any other database it works best when it is optimized. Optimize the registry by reducing the amount of clutter and information it contains. This means uninstalling unnecessary system components, services, and applications. One way to uninstall components, services, and applications is to use the Uninstall Or Change A Program utility in Control Panel. This utility allows you to remove Windows components and their related services safely, as well as applications installed using the Windows Installer. In Control Panel, tap or click the Uninstall A Program link under the Programs heading to access the Uninstall Or Change A Program utility.

Most applications include uninstall utilities that attempt to remove the application, its data, and its registry settings safely and effectively as well. Sometimes, however, applications either do not include an uninstall utility or, for one reason or another, do not fully remove their registry settings. This is where registry maintenance utilities come in handy.

At the Microsoft Download Center on the web, you’ll find a download package for the Microsoft Fix It Portable. This download package includes several files as well as a helper application designed to be installed on removable media so that you can easily use Fix It Portable on any computer that has a problem. Learn more about this program and get the downloadable executable at http://support.microsoft.com/mats/Program_Install_and_Uninstall/. At the Microsoft website, instead of choosing Run Now, click the advanced options and then click the download option to save the executable file. After downloading, run the executable file and follow the prompts to create the Fix It Portable folder. Then copy this folder to the computer with a problem and run the Launch Fix It application.

In addition to being able to clear out registry settings for programs you’ve installed and then uninstalled, you can use this utility to recover the registry to the state it was in prior to a failed or inadvertently terminated application installation. This works as long as the application used the Windows Installer.