Pathname rules for Windows registry backups

The Windows registry can be backed up for disaster recover or individual HKEYs can be backed up. Consider the following items when configuring a Windows registry backup.

Disaster recovery

To ensure a successful recovery in case of a disk failure, always back up the entire registry. That is, back up the directory that contains the entire registry.

On most Windows systems, this directory is located at:

%systemroot%\system32\config

Where %systemroot% is the directory where Windows is installed.

Note:

To recover the registry, do not include individual registry files or HKEY entries in the selection list that's used to back up the entire registry. If you use a NetBackup exclude list for a client, do not exclude any registry files from your backups.

To restore the registry in the case of a disk failure, see the disaster recovery chapter in the NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide.

Individual HKEYs

Do not back up individual HKEYs for disaster recovery. You cannot perform a disaster recovery by restoring HKEYs. Do not include HKEY entries in the same policy backup selection list that is used to back up the entire registry. However, to restore individual keys within the registry, create a separate policy, and then specify the specific HKEYs in the backup selection list for that policy.

The following is an example HKEY entry for a policy backup selection list:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE:\

Backups and restores are slower than if the entire registry was backed up.

Pathname rules for Windows registry backups

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