Windows 10: Why is my C:\windows\system32\config\regback empty? WINRE backup/restore of Registry?

I was doing some research on this and it seems that Windows 10 since at least 1803 no longer makes backup copies of the Registry hives and places them in C:\windows\system32\config\regback. I also notice that the REG.exe command is available in the windows recovery environment(winre). So my question is this. Since Windows 1809 no longer creates this backup I would like to be able to create a simple batch command file that I can run within the winre and make a complete copy/backup of the total registry, so I would then have a backup to restore from if need be. If you can provide me with the reg save/restore commands, or reg import/export commands to accomplish this goal. Also WHY doesn't windows 10 1803/1809 not perform this backup anymore anyway? bad move Microsoft! System restore is not an option to do full registry backups as System restore has proven, at least to me to be faulty and flaky, but then that's just my 20+ years of windows experience. There used to be a REGBACK.exe in the old Windows NT Resource Kit that worked great but it's not available anymore either. Using REG Export while windows is up does not create a complete total registry backup. Well, any help or assistance with this matter will be greatly appreciated. TIA


Update: Can you do something like this in winre:


REG SAVE HKLM\COMPONENTS D:\RegBack\COMPONENTS
REG SAVE HKLM\SAM D:\Regback\SAM
REG SAVE HKLM\SECURITY D:\Regback\SECURITY
REG SAVE HKLM\SOFTWARE D:\Regback\SOFTWARE
REG SAVE HKLM\SYSTEM D:\Regback\SYSTEM
REG SAVE HKCU D:\Regback\NTUSER.DAT


REG RESTORE HKLM\COMPONENTS D:\RegBack\COMPONENTS
REG RESTORE HKLM\SAM D:\Regback\SAM
REG RESTORE HKLM\SECURITY D:\Regback\SECURITY
REG RESTORE HKLM\SOFTWARE D:\Regback\SOFTWARE
REG RESTORE HKLM\SYSTEM D:\Regback\SYSTEM
REG RESTORE HKCU D:\Regback\NTUSER.DAT


The above points to D: and not C; as in winre X: is the winre drive and D: is my actual C: drive

I would first enter D: at the x:. prompt to change directories

that would put me at D:\Windows\System32 the cd to D:\windows\system32\config

type: Dir and that should show me all the Registry Hives?

I forget where the NTUSER.DAT file is specifically?

:)

 

Bad system config info windows 10 on boot up!!!

Finally found the only solution that works. From:

How To Fix The Bad_System_Config_Info Error In Windows 10

Fix The Windows Registry

Boot from a Windows 10 USB/DVD and launch Command Prompt. It is better to use the DVD for this purpose. After that, follow these instructions:

• Use the following command:
  
  CD C:\Windows\System32\config
  
  (here C is the partition where Windows is installed).
• Enter the following commands one by one to rename these files with the .old postfix:
  
  ren C:\Windows\System32\config\DEFAULT DEFAULT.old
  
  ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SAM SAM.old
  
  ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SECURITY SECURITY.old
  
  ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE SOFTWARE.old
  
  ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM SYSTEM.old
• Enter the following commands one by one to copy registry backup files to your current registry folder. This completes the manual restoration of your computer’s registry.
  • copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\DEFAULT C:\Windows\System32\config\
  • copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SAM C:\Windows\System32\config\
  • copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SECURITY C:\Windows\System32\config\
  • copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\config\
  • copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SOFTWARE C:\Windows\System32\config\

 

Registry

It is not secret at all! You can find it here:

c:\Windows\System32\config\Regback\System

What date does it have? You can find out like so:

• Log on under an admin account.
• Mark the code line below, then press Ctrl+C to copy it.
• Press the Windows key on your keyboard.
• Press Ctrl+V to paste the code line. Do NOT press Enter.
• Right-click the windows up the top, then left-click Run as Administrator.
• Accept the challenge.

Note that Windows can overwrite this backup file at any time. Time is of the essence!

cmd.exe /c dir c:\Windows\System32\config\Regback\System & pause

 

Registry strange behavior in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\...


I agree with @dalchina!


Since Windows 7, Microsoft has added a new registry subkey, named “UserChoice”, to certain file extensions under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts, and the contents of the UserChoice subkey dictate the default application for opening the file type. The contents of the UserChoice subkey are protected from modification by a Deny permission applied to the current user’s account.


If you don't have system restore point to restore changes you have done then follow instructions below to replace registry hives with backup versions.


Windows Vista/ 7/8/8.1/10 keep a regular backup of the registry handy in case you need to overwrite a corrupted registry. By default, the RegIdleBackup task runs every 10 days, so that’s as far back as you would lose if you replaced the current registry with the automatically backed-up files. You can find the backed-up registry files in \Windows\System32\config\RegBack folder.


Please boot your computer with Windows Setup Media and from Windows Recovery Environment start the Command Prompt.

Please type below command into Command Prompt and press Enter key.

Code:

Code:

 Dir C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack

Above command will list files stored within RegBack folder and there file size, make sure files are not zero size if they are do not follow below instructions.





Please replace partition letter C: with Windows installed partition letter. When computer boots into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment the drive letter assign to Windows partition may not be C: drive letter because Windows 7, 8 , 8.1 and 10 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch. The system partition contains boot files WinRE assigns the system partition the C: drive letter and the Windows installed partition will be assign any other drive letter usually D: drive letter is assign to Windows installed partition. The Bcdedit /enum | find "osdevice" command can be use to find out the drive letter of the Windows installed partition the output of the Bcdedit command is similar to this osdevice partition=D:. The drive letter after partition= is the drive letter of the Windows partition.

Please type below commands into Command Prompt and for each command you have typed press Enter key.



Code:

Code:

Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\SAM         SAM.BAK  Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\SYSTEM      SYSTEM.BAK  Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\SECURITY    SECURITY.BAK  Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\DEFAULT     DEFAULT.BAK  Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\SOFTWARE    SOFTWARE.BAK     Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SAM         C:\windows\system32\config  Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SYSTEM      C:\windows\system32\config  Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SECURITY    C:\windows\system32\config  Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\DEFAULT     C:\windows\system32\config  Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SOFTWARE    C:\windows\system32\config

This procedure assumes that Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 is installed to the C:\ partition. Make sure to replace C:\ drive letter to the appropriate Windows OS installed partition drive letter if it is a different location.


Above commands renames the registry files at their existing location, and then copies the registry files from the RegBack folder to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder.