Can a backup registry be opened within Windows?

Sorry if this is the wrong section to post this - couldn't figure anywhere better!

I've just reinstalled my Win 7 primarily to clean it up as it had become SO slow it was driving me crazy - well versed in undertaking the process so no problems there.

However, as always happens I invariably discover I've forgotten to back up one thing or other - nothing vital but just something I'd like to have again & which I can't easily get operational again for one reason or another, or maybe the likes of the MRU's in Word which for some odd reason are held in the Registry rather than within the Office folders etc.

SO what I wondered is - is it possible to open up a backup copy of the Reg within a new installation of Windows - either through a program or sandboxed etc??

I'd just like to be able to hoke about & maybe pull out a few keys that I know from experience are pertinent to what I want to do, while appreciating that if I do so wrongly I'll possibly kill the new install.

Any info appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for the speedy response & info, but that walkthrough requires the Reg to be on a separate drive where I'd hoped to just be able to open the exported Reg file within Windows somehow. I would have hoped by now that someone would have created a means of doing so. If not, I presume I'd have to install an unactivated copy of Windows on a hard drive otherwise to try & gain access - bit too much hassle TBH .

Any other thoughts?

Yes, but surely if I try to open it within Windows it will affect some programs when I then save it again, or does Windows only look to the integrated Registry (if you get my drift) & thus ignore anything I do within a backup copy?

Bit confused - sorry

TikkiRo said:

Yes, but surely if I try to open it within Windows it will affect some programs when I then save it again, or does Windows only look to the integrated Registry (if you get my drift) & thus ignore anything I do within a backup copy?

Bit confused - sorry

Let me see if I can repeat what Ztruker is attempting to convey...
...but with some pictures

Take a look at the picture and info in step 5 of this tutorial:
Password Reset

Then take a look at this image:



If you name the hive that you load "123" (or any other junk title/key) then no active app will be writing to it. You can export the MRU values, edit the reg file to replace "123" with the correct registry path and then import the reg file into your live registry hive.

Or you can manually transfer each value/data of interest :-(


Let us know if the info above is not clear.

[The image above came from this post. If you just cannot stand the thought of loading a backup hive into a active OS registry, then use the methods from that post and tutorial to load your backup hive and your offline/current hive into the temporary Windows repair environment.]

Sorry for late response - been spending ages fixing all the other minor issues the switch to x64 has thrown up!! Thanks for the info - hopefully I'll not need to worry about adding anything else in - but appreciate your comprehensive walk through should I have to do so.