What is a .REG file?

The windows registry is a vast database structured in hierarchal order. More precisely, it is a system of branches intricately organised in a manner similar to the folders in a hard drive. But, regardless of its complexity, the registry’s purpose is to put a human face to the massive code of the windows operating system.

A registry’s branch is called a key. The keys contain values and perhaps other keys (sub-keys) which, in turn, also contain values. Ultimately the actual information is stored in the values. There are three principal types of values: strings, binary and Dword. While, many of the registry’s settings can be modified easily using the control panel in Windows, a significant amount of changes are beyond reach unless the user edits the registry directly.

In order to do so, Windows includes a powerful program called REGEDIT (that is, the Microsoft Registry Editor) and this allows the registry to be viewed and edited. The REGEDIT is an executable file (.EXE) that creates .REG files to import and export to the registry’s keys and values. So, the .REG files, also known as registration entries or registration patches are, in essence, human readable text files that contain one or more registry keys and values.

Through a two-pane window that resembles the windows explorer, the REGEDIT, enables a user to visualise the registry and to create a .REG file just by selecting any branch and clicking export. The registration patch will include all the values and keys in the branch. Note, due to the nature of the registry, the hard part is not creating the patch but knowing which keys or values to choose in the first place. Editing the registry offers innumerable possibilities but it also permits a user to seriously mess up a system, sometimes beyond repair. Therefore, back up is vital.

Back up of the entire registry is possible, a user needs only to: select the complete registry, click export, find a location where to store the back up file and click save. The .REG file created is a back up of the whole windows registry.

There is software that does this for you, such as Registry Booster 2011, however the above has been put into simple terms so anyone can keep their PC running smoothly and efficiently.