Can I copy part of my old registry into my new one?
Posted by scottparat | Filed under registry_repairs
I’ve just swapped my main hard drive from an old IDE to a new SATA. I ghosted all the data from old to new and repaired windows but the repair didn’t work. As such, I’ve had to reinstall Windows on the SATA.
All the old data is on the SATA from ghosting but due to the clean install, Windows now can’t see any of it. I can still access the old IDE drive, so am able to move across any files that might have been wiped during the clean install. I can also copy across my old start menu programs list from the IDE to the SATA.
The questions I want to ask, however, is whether I can also copy across the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE folder of the old Registry and use it to replace the same folder in the new Registry, so that the new Registry effectively mirrors the software settings of the old.
FIrstly, is this possible? Secondly, if I do it will it make my new Windows configuration see all my programs again? Thirdly, if I do it will I risk breaking everything?
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Tags: Firstly, Sata, Windows Configuration
6 Responses to “Can I copy part of my old registry into my new one?”
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July 20th, 2007 at 6:05 am
DO NOT ALTER YOUR REGISTRY.
July 23rd, 2007 at 4:53 am
= Boot from the old drive
= Goto ‘Run’
= Type ‘regedit’ , press [Enter]
= Navigate through the tree view to the top part of the registry keys that you want to save
= Highlight it in the tree view on the left
= Then, select File->Export from the toolbar. This will export that part of the registry to a file.
= Boot from the new drive
= Run ‘regedit’ again.
= This time choose File->Import from the toolbar using the previously exported file.
That’s the rough and ready way to do it. Be careful though. I would suggest backing up the regisrty on both disks (use File->Export from the top of the registry tree) before doing anything serious with them. This is just in case there are conflicting registry keys that disrupt the operation of your system. You can then do a safe boot and re-importing the backed up registry.
July 24th, 2007 at 3:34 am
If you can boot from the old drive, you can use regedit to export portions of the registry. Copy the exported .reg file to a folder you can access from the Windows installation on the SATA drive and use regedit to import the registry keys.
July 26th, 2007 at 2:22 am
It’s possible but it may not necessarily work and you risk breaking everything. You’ve got a nice clean install. If you want to keep your computer in that condition, you’ll transfer the data across and reinstall the programs (or better just the ones that you need). Anyway that’s what I’d do.
July 26th, 2007 at 4:35 am
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > WINDOWS > CURRENTVERSION —- this is the only key that will probably stay the same there are three data strings you might need somewhere in the box on the right “productID”, “productkey”, and “productname” you will need to know the 25 digit # when you reinstall windows and reinstall or download all the software SORRY BUD you’re probably going to have to repurchase all that preinstalled software your PC came with — some of this is possible to recover but it’s easier to redownload if you have to — too much to go into to save AND some programs require an entry from the Downloaded installations folder from windows directory these files are one of a kind certified via cookies and IP address and most files were corrupted via copy from program files folder they lost digital signature if you had a copy of windows media player or Norton mine didn’t work after the copy i did
July 26th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
It’s possible, but only if you’re really confident with registry editing, backup your registry before you attempt messing it about, you can always go back to the original.
I doubt your new configuration will see all the programs you want, some will need to be reloaded, mainly the ones that use product keys (all the Microsoft ones).
You will risk breaking everything, but if you backup the registry you may be able to save the situation.
Good luck, I admire your courage!