In Windows 95, 98, 98SE, and Me, how do I make a backup of the registry?

Note: UITS recommends that you use a current version of Windows on computers connected to the Indiana University network. For more information, see For Windows computers on the IU network, why does UITS recommend Windows 2000, XP Professional, or Vista Enterprise or Ultimate? Security features on the IU network prevent Windows 95, 98, 98SE, and Me computers from authenticating to ADS, printing to some network printers in departments and campus housing, and mapping drives to other computers.

Follow the appropriate instructions below to back up your registry:

Windows 98, 98SE, and Me

1. From the Start menu, select Run... , then type scanregw and click OK.
   
   
2. When you are prompted to back up the registry, click Yes.
   
   
3. When you receive the "backup complete" message, click OK.

When you back up the registry using the scanregw utility, Windows combines several files into a Rb0 x.cab file (where x is a number from 0 to 5). Each time you back up the registry, the oldest Rbo x.cab file gets overwritten. Windows creates these Rb0 x.cab files in the Windows\Sysbckup folder.

The Rb0 x.cab files contain the System.dat, User.dat, System.ini, and Win.ini files, as well as registry configuration information (including user account information, protocol bindings, software program settings, and user preferences).

You can find instructions on restoring a registry from a Rb0 x.cab file in the Knowledge Base document In Windows 95, 98, or Me, how do I restore a registry?

This information is based on the Microsoft knowledge base article 256419.

You can search Microsoft's knowledge base at:

Windows 95

To make a backup copy of the registry in Windows 95, simply copy the files user.dat and system.dat onto a disk or network resource. These files are located in the C:\Windows directory.

Keep in mind that these files are hidden system files. In a typical installation of Windows 95, they will not be visible. To make these files visible and make backup copies, follow these steps:

1. Double-click My Computer, then the [C:] icon. From here, you should see a folder called Windows. Double-click this folder.
   
   
2. You should see a series of icons. If you see no icons, to the left of the window, click Show files.
   
   
3. From the View menu, select Folder Options... . In the window that opens, click the tab marked View.
   
   
4. In the new window, click the radio button marked Show All Files, then click OK.
   
   
5. You will be back at the c:\Windows window. Scroll down and look for a file called system.dat. Copy this file to a disk or to an available network resource.
   
   
6. Look for a file called user.dat. If you do not use multiple profiles on your computer (i.e., if you do not log into the computer when Windows starts up), this file will be in the c:\Windows directory. Copy the file as you did the first file.
   
   If you do log into the computer, the file is kept in the following path: c:\Windows\profiles\username\ Instead of username, you will see the login name you use to get into Windows. Double-click the Profiles folder, then the folder that lists your username. Copy the file as you did the first file.

Also see:

• In Windows, what is the registry?
• In Windows 95, 98, or Me, how do I restore a registry?