Utility To Save Settings Or Procedures

Caxtin · Aug 2, 2024

Through the years, I've collected bunch of hacks and settings.
Sometimes, after a 'serious' update, I would have to find the link, watch the procedures again
and redo what I had done previously. Till date, I have a handful of setting I would like to redo.

I would think there'll be a utility to save settings / procedures so as to use a one-key process at will.

Cheers

neves · Aug 2, 2024

Well, you could make a registry back-up and just restore those settings - if you suspect they've been changed by some update:

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Support

Explains how to back up the registry for restoration in case it gets corrupted in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7.

support.microsoft.com

antspants · Aug 2, 2024

Hi Caxtin.

This doesn’t help with all your requirements, but if you use a lot of reg file tweaks for Windows settings, they can be merged/compiled together to make one registry file.
Winaero Tweaker has a function for this, as well as many tweaks.

How to Combine Multiple Registry Files into a Single One

In this article, we will see how to combining various Registry tweaks into a single file and how to make this process faster.

winaero.com

I have personally backed up the entire registry before and tried applying it to a new install, with terrible results. Perhaps I did something wrong or perhaps some registry settings have per install settings for certain registry entries.

antspants · Aug 2, 2024

In regards to settings, I have not used these, but they are related to Windows Backup. A relatively new feature. Again, I have not used it. Read these notices and tutorials.

Overview of Windows Backup app as installed in Windows 10 and Windows 11

Overview Windows Backup is a system component to Back up your Windows PC. This system component provides a solution for users to back up certain files and folders, as well as settings, credentials, and apps to the cloud through a single interface. For example, the Documents folder along with the...

www.elevenforum.com

Turn On or Off Remember Preferences for MSA Across Windows 11 Devices

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off Remember my preferences for your Microsoft account (MSA) across all your Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices you sign in with the same Microsoft account. When Windows backup is turned on, Windows backs up the settings you choose across all your...

www.elevenforum.com

Turn On or Off Remember Apps for Microsoft Account Across Windows 11 Devices

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off Remember my apps for your Microsoft account across all your Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices you sign in with the same Microsoft account. When Windows backup is turned on, Windows backs up the settings you choose across all your Windows 10 and...

www.elevenforum.com

Back up and restore with Windows Backup - Microsoft Support

Learn how to back up and restore apps, settings, files, photos, and Microsoft Edge favorites and preferences on your Windows PC using Windows Backup.

support.microsoft.com

LesFerch · Aug 2, 2024

Caxtin said:
Through the years, I've collected bunch of hacks and settings.
Sometimes, after a 'serious' update, I would have to find the link, watch the procedures again
and redo what I had done previously. Till date, I have a handful of setting I would like to redo.

I would think there'll be a utility to save settings / procedures so as to use a one-key process at will.

You may find that many of those hacks and settings are options in Winaero Tweaker. That tool remembers what you've set, so you can use it to reapply those settings at any time.

My WinSetView tool also remembers what you picked, so everything it set can be reapplied with one click.

Caxtin · Aug 16, 2024

neves said:
Well, you could make a registry back-up and just restore those settings - if you suspect they've been changed by some update:

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Support

Explains how to back up the registry for restoration in case it gets corrupted in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7.

support.microsoft.com

Really good idea. Since I 'play' with my computer a lot, backing up my registry will be a really good idea.

antspants · Aug 16, 2024

Caxtin said:
Really good idea. Since I 'play' with my computer a lot, backing up my registry will be a really good idea.

Yes.

Backing up your entire system is an even better idea

CanOWorms · Aug 16, 2024

Others may have a different experience, but restoring an entire registry has never worked for me (although I haven't tried it for more than a decade), especially since you talk about "hacks" and "settings," so I assume some of these changes you refer to may be things other than registry modifications, like changing a group policy, desktop themes, etc. The best advice is offered by @antspants. Use Winaero and/or be very meticulous about your tweaks and keep backups. I have a whole folder on mine dedicated to just that.

Caxtin · Aug 16, 2024

antspants said:
Yes.

Backing up your entire system is even a better idea

My goal is to backup the whole registry, and still backup the individual app.
The one reason why I kinda feel uncomfortable to restore the whole registry is, I have lots of Autodesk products;
they tend to be too particular about installation, which is why, in the past, I have just backed up and restored registry per application.
I play around with lots of software, which is why I use RollBack RX.

About the registry, what do you think about registry cleaners, at least to clean left overs, or, I should not bother about that?

FreeBooter · Aug 16, 2024

If you want to backup applications settings, try portable CloneApp application i have video explain how to use this application on Windows 10 but should work for Windows 11 as well.

In this informative video, i will guide you through the process of backing up and restoring application settings in Windows 10. Learn how to safeguard your important configurations and ensure a seamless transition when upgrading or reinstalling your operating system.

Ghot · Aug 16, 2024

@Caxtin

Backup Windows properly and you will be a happy camper...

Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Backupper and Hasleo Backup Suite - GUIDES

How to use backup software... 1. When everything is working perfectly... make a full Windows backup. 2. Then, if something breaks... restore from the latest backup. 3. Then... try "whatever you were doing" a different way. If it still breaks Windows, then... go to step #2. 4. Repeat...

www.elevenforum.com

CanOWorms · Aug 16, 2024

@Ghot. If I am to understand the OP question, a backup won't really help him if he is trying to restore things screwed up by a Windows update or an errant driver. Microsoft often restores or resets things like the desktop context menu or making Edge the default browser again that won't be fixed by a drive imaging software like Aomei or the one I use, Image for Windows. Those just set Windows back to the working state when the drive image was created. Likewise if his OS is screwed up by some bad driver update, he can roll his OS back to before the driver install but he will no longer have the driver update. The correct way to restore settings is to keep copies and run them again once you have completed your update. As some, above, suggest you can combine all the registry tweaks into one big registry.reg file.

TM21 · Aug 16, 2024

So many problems, and questions in just one post! Incredible!
I too have experienced making necessary/voluntary modifications to Windows, only to have some #$&^ MS Update screw it all up.
That part of the problem is easily fixed, buy just Shutting OFF Windows Updates. That solves SO MANY problems.

Then the next part of the problem is easy, at least for me, I just do weekly backups of C:\ with compression, to a separate Drive.
Using "Ghost", a program I've been using to back up my PC's since 1997.
So if things ever go Terribly Wrong, I have a total backup of my C: partition, that I can quickly restore, and put things RIGHT again.

As for System Restore, it seems to have been improved, over the years, because when I've needed it, in the past couple of years, it has worked!
And it has saved me many hours of needless reconstruction.

Thanks to our friend and moderator, Brink, I have a little script that when run, forces a new Restore Point to be created.
For ease of use, I just put that Script in my Startup folder, so I get a new Restore Point every time I reboot my PC.
I've programmed System Restore, in Windows, to occupy no more than 20% of my available SSD space, so when that limit is reached, the oldest Restore Points start dropping off into the ol' bit bucket.

It just works, flawlessly, and automatically, and has saved me many times. Only a #$^& would ever turn it off.

Microsoft has designed System Restore to be a Life Saver, and it's been exactly that, for me.

Cheers Mates!
TM

glasskuter · Aug 16, 2024

neves said:
Well, you could make a registry back-up and just restore those settings

Respectfully I strongly disagree with this suggestion. It will get you into a world of hurt.

it makes more sense you keep an master list of what changes you make and make the changes one at a time.
OR
If I run a regedit change I do what @antspants suggested, make a master running regedit file that inclused all my changes.
(one .reg file contains all the fixes.)

hdmi · Aug 17, 2024

While it is true that many settings can be retrieved from the registry, not all of them always can be. A lot of applications store at least some of their settings outside the registry, i.e. in one or more files. As a result, monitoring the registry for changes e.g. to be able to identify those specific parts of the registry that contain the relevant settings for a given application (and maybe to extract those specific parts from a registry backup copy next, etc....) does not always produce satisfactory results.

Sometimes it may be fairly easy to identify what files are used by an application to store (some or all of) its settings. Other times, not so much. (Worse, in some cases you might find that you need to re-identify them after an update.)

Another downside of this strategy is that it takes time, effort, knowledge and experience to figure out what are the correct parts that you need to export from the registry. Mistakes can happen, and, even though it is possible to roll back mistakes with RollBack Rx, in a lot of cases you still have to keep testing over and over and over, as an update [of Windows or of the application in question or both] can kick you back to quare one.

When possible, choosing to combine long-term support (LTS) with this strategy can certainly help to mitigate such risks [of becoming too heavily impractical to keep track of where all the relevant settings are stored] and buy more time to do the testing. Similarly, choosing to use the portable edition of an application when possible can help to eliminate the need to unravel all the various registry locations, as doing this allows differential backup copies to be made [of the whole portable installation folder or of the relevant contents stored therein] so, potentially this can help to simplify the process further.

To do the testing, I guess that a lot of people would want to run a VM, but it also is possible to run Sandboxie-Plus instead. Sandboxie-Plus still has its own unique set of limitations of course, but then, the same can also be said about a VM, and, Sandboxie-Plus has certain advantages, like, e.g., not having to install an OS into your VM (as a sandbox uses a whole different kind of approach).

Even so, there can be situations where all of the above fails. That's why I depend on (UI) Automation techniques at least for some of this stuff. There exists a free version of Microsoft Power Automate Desktop (PAD), but I also write my own scripts/programs to automate several things some of which also include the ability to export/import certain, specific, settings of Windows and Windows software, and that cannot easily be achieved another way.

neves · Aug 18, 2024

glasskuter said:
Respectfully I strongly disagree with this suggestion. It will get you into a world of hurt.

it makes more sense you keep an master list of what changes you make and make the changes one at a time.
OR
If I run a regedit change I do what @antspants suggested, make a master running regedit file that inclused all my changes.
(one .reg file contains all the fixes.)

What do you mean?!

antspants mentioned about issues on a "new install" - while applying the registry backup from an old install. In that given context - it's possible to run into issues - while adding/including settings from missing software which had kernel level access/functionality (like a given security app or some other type of software using kernel level drivers/services) at a registry level. But using a registry back-up/recovery of same Windows - where the software in question is still present - i don't really see what could go wrong (unless he's backing-up the registry after installing the same type of software - and restoring it after being uninstalled and completely removed from registry - which makes no sense whatsoever... that's like doing the opposite of what's recommended). As for windows tweaks - don't really see how applying and reverting them can break the system.

glasskuter · Aug 18, 2024

@neves The OP wanted to know how to backup all his tweaks into one reg file so he could reapply in the future. Maybe I misread your post. I read it to mean backing up the entire registry for use in the future which one can not do even if no software was added or changed. The registry is changing all the time since a lot of things change the registry besides adding/removing software. Sorry if I misunderstood your answer.

neves · Aug 19, 2024

glasskuter said:
@neves The OP wanted to know how to backup all his tweaks into one reg file so he could reapply in the future. Maybe I misread your post. I read it to mean backing up the entire registry for use in the future which one can not do even if no software was added or changed. The registry is changing all the time since a lot of things change the registry besides adding/removing software. Sorry if I misunderstood your answer.

Been dabbling with Registry tweaks since Windows 2k - and even back then - you had the option to create an Repair Diskette which included a Registry Back-up - in case the Registry itself end-up being damaged (quite easy to do back then - especially if using "a registry cleaner"). Registry back-ups are the oldest form of saving settings. At this point "recommending a registry back-up" - while tweaking Windows (be it as a safety measure - prior to making changes - or a way to save a profile in case a future update will revert this settings) - is more like common sense (the usual - something one would recommend - as if on auto-pilot).

Yes, and No. There's specific registry entries - which have an active side - be it as part of an automated schedule or having a trigger. If anything, if you want to change those settings - you either change their automated schedule or the triggers. Power Plans - are the best example in this regard and same goes fore power/heat throttling safety features. Same way - all the active changes involving the TEMP folders - have their registry entry. Yet, there's also more or less permanent settings (or at least - they're not defined to change on their own). As it's also the case with - the huge collection of registry tweaks gathered by Brink. And more than likely - same goes for the Windows tweaks used by the OP. A Windows update - can revert them, but other than that - they're sort of set in stone (there's no schedule or trigger that can change them). Thus, a registry back-up is one way this tweaks can be preserved (simplest way - compared to a Windows Back-up).

As mentioned in the other post - when it comes to registry back-ups - software with kernel level access is what you should be careful with (especially apps used for Overclocking & Voltage Regulation - be it undervolting or increasing voltage - helps to have those installed before applying a back-up).

Utility To Save Settings Or Procedures

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