Most exportable windows registry settings?

I'm looking...

For reinstalling windows, is there a list somewhere of registry
settings that should be saved, so that the installation can be done
more easily? For example... I would like to restore taskbar settings,
program buttons and their locations. But that's not all, there are
lots of other registry settings that can be reapplied in a new
installation. I suppose most of them are located in "current user"?

Any links will be appreciated.
Thanks.

Hi, John.

Have you tried WET? That's Windows Easy Transfer and it has been a part of
the last few generations of Windows. While it was intended for upgrades to
a new Windows system (from Vista to Win7, for example), it works very well
for re-installations of any recent version. And, yes, it does handle
multiple User accounts (with proper credentials, of course). Just press the
Start button and type "transfer" to see the instructions.

You must run WET twice: once from the "old computer" and then again from
the new system. From the old system, WET will export a LOT of user data and
your personal settings to some location that you will specify, such as a USB
thumb drive - or even to a separate partition (one that will survive the
re-installation) on your internal HDD. Or you can use a cable to transfer
the information if you have two computers involved, but the one time I tried
this (10 years ago) it was quite slow.

After installing the new Windows, run WET again and import your settings
from the storage device. WET cannot re-install your applications, but if
you re-install from their original media (or download) before running WET
again, it can go a long way to configuring your new installation to match
your old one, including importing your data. This does not have to be done
in a single session; you can restart WET and puck up where you left off.

Details will vary with each computer environment, but just run WET and
follow its instructions.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2012 (Build 16.4.3505.0912) in Win8 Pro


"John Doe" wrote in message ...

I'm looking...

For reinstalling windows, is there a list somewhere of registry
settings that should be saved, so that the installation can be done
more easily? For example... I would like to restore taskbar settings,
program buttons and their locations. But that's not all, there are
lots of other registry settings that can be reapplied in a new
installation. I suppose most of them are located in "current user"?

Any links will be appreciated.
Thanks.

John Doe wrote:
I'm looking...

For reinstalling windows, is there a list somewhere of registry
settings that should be saved, so that the installation can be done
more easily? For example... I would like to restore taskbar settings,
program buttons and their locations. But that's not all, there are
lots of other registry settings that can be reapplied in a new
installation. I suppose most of them are located in "current user"?

Any links will be appreciated.
Thanks.

Windows Easy Transfer has a "System and Program Settings" item shown
in it. Maybe you can coax the thing to just back up "System"
related stuff ?

http://www.bleepstatic.com/tutorials.../xp-start4.jpg

As an alternative, merging some portion of the Registry itself
doesn't sound like that much fun.

Paul

Paul nospam needed.com wrote:

John Doe wrote:

I'm looking...

For reinstalling windows, is there a list somewhere of registry
settings that should be saved, so that the installation can be done
more easily? For example... I would like to restore taskbar settings,
program buttons and their locations. But that's not all, there are
lots of other registry settings that can be reapplied in a new
installation. I suppose most of them are located in "current user"?

Any links will be appreciated.
Thanks.

Windows Easy Transfer has a "System and Program Settings" item shown
in it. Maybe you can coax the thing to just back up "System"
related stuff ?

Yeah, I have seen it before (like when it first came out).
I will take another look.

http://www.bleepstatic.com/tutorials.../xp-start4.jpg

As an alternative, merging some portion of the Registry itself
doesn't sound like that much fun.

It works fine if you know what you're doing. Besides a good way to backup settings, some
fixes are presented as registry files. But it's best done in small parts. The larger the
registry segment, the more likely you're going to incorrectly change other settings.