Using REGEDIT With Safety

We often suggest Registry edits--and we often comment on the problems that can occur if you make a mistake using one of the Registry editors. Let's look at a way to make your Registry edits safer.

If you want to edit a value using RegEdit, the safest thing to do is save the key before you make changes. Let's say that you're going to make a change in
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.
Before you make the change, click the Winlogon key and choose Registry, Export Registry File. Give the file a name you can remember (say, "Winlog") and click Save.
With this key saved, you can later double-click the REG file to restore the original Registry settings.