Making a back up of the registry.

[Anthony A]

According to a couple of tutorials I have read, during the installation process you are given the option of backing up/ making a copy of the registry. Couple questions about this precess.

1) If I choose not to make a back up during installation can I go back later a do it from within Spybot?

2) Obviously the back up of the registry is in case you mess up the registry and need to repair it. How do you get to the copy Spybot made and use it? Thank you

[Zenobia]

Yes,if you choose not to make a registry backup during installation,you could go back later and run the wizard,to make the backup from within Spybot.

You can run the wizard by opening Spybot,then click mode up top,then advanced mode.On the left,click Settings->then settings.In the main window on the right,click Wizard,to bring up the Wizard you saw when you first installed Spybot,and you should see the option to backup the registry.As you know,if you skipped backing up the registry when you installed,to skip the next options,just click next.
To return Spybot from Advanced Mode,click mode up top,then Default Mode.

To see where the .reg backups are located,please read this-
http://forums.spybot.info/showpost.php?p=1049&postcount=2

The directory they are created in depends on the OS you have as follows:
Windows 95 or 98:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Backups
Windows ME:
C:\Windows\All Users\Application Data\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Backups
Windows NT, 2000 or XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Backups
*note-If you can't find some folders in the path,they are most likely hidden by default by Windows,so you'd have to unhide hidden files and folders.

[Anthony A]

Yes,if you choose not to make a registry backup during installation,you could go back later and run the wizard,to make the backup from within Spybot.

You can run the wizard by opening Spybot,then click mode up top,then advanced mode.On the left,click Settings->then settings.In the main window on the right,click Wizard,to bring up the Wizard you saw when you first installed Spybot,and you should see the option to backup the registry.As you know,if you skipped backing up the registry when you installed,to skip the next options,just click next.
To return Spybot from Advanced Mode,click mode up top,then Default Mode.

To see where the .reg backups are located,please read this-
http://forums.spybot.info/showpost.php?p=1049&postcount=2

*note-If you can't find some folders in the path,they are most likely hidden by default by Windows,so you'd have to unhide hidden files and folders.

Thank you very much. One more question related to this topic. If the need to repair the registry should occur is their a option or wizard within Spybot to do this or is the registry backup there so you have a copy too use with another program?

Also I seem to be having a problem with the search feature on this forum. I searched for "backing up the registry" and "registry backup" and a few other variations but I seem to get a lot of results and most didn't have anything to do with the registry. Is there any tips on using search to make it more efficient. I did not see that thread you linked when I searched and it is exactly what I was looking for it answered my question perfectly.

[Zenobia]

No,there's no option or wizard to repair the registry within Spybot.The registry backup isn't there to use with another program,it's just a backup.The two backups are .reg files,that would need to be doubleclicked to be merged.
md usa spybot fan:
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=5772


There is no facility that I am aware of within Spybot to restore from these backups. Since they are .reg files, to use them all you would have to do is double on the file(s) and Registry Editor should start. If you then clicked "Yes" the content of the file would be added/merged into the registry. You then click "OK" to close the program.

These backups are relatively large portions of the systems Registry and I personally would hesitate to use those backups to restore the Registry (at least in their entirety) because once you've run your system for any period of time they would be outdated and could possibly do has much harm as good.

Incidentally, those backups can be taken at any time by going into Spybot > Mode > Advanced mode > Settings > Settings. Click on the "Wizard" button at the top of the settings screen then click "Create registry backup". Once the registry backup is complete, click "Next" repetitively until you get to step 7 of 7. Then click "Start using the program". Since you are already running Spybot the wizard terminates.

I find it easier to search this forum using Google,though sometimes the threads found are a little older.Like this:
Your query here site:forums.spybot.info
Google search of these forums,using registry backup for search:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=registry+backup+site%3Aforums.spybot.info&btnG=Google+Search

You could also click Advanced Search and select to just search the Spybot forum section, http://forums.spybot.info/search.php that returned this result:
http://forums.spybot.info/search.php?searchid=85715
(That cuts out results from Malware Removal.)