Backing Up Software Reg Keys

Hi - I am wondering if there is any way to successfully backup the product
keys for software that I have on my computer? Would it work to back up the
folder corresponding to the software in question in the registry? If that
would work, how would I go about restoring that key if I ever needed to?
Thanks!

niagara94 wrote:
> Hi - I am wondering if there is any way to successfully backup the product
> keys for software that I have on my computer? Would it work to back up the
> folder corresponding to the software in question in the registry? If that
> would work, how would I go about restoring that key if I ever needed to?
> Thanks!

The answer really depends on the software. Some (usually older) programs
have the product key in plain text in the registry or in a text file in
their Program Files folder. Other programs have the product key
encrypted in the registry. Free system inventory programs like Belarc
Advisor , System Information for Windows, Magic Jellybean, and the
Nirsoft keyfinder can find the product keys of the operating system and
some programs.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml - Key Finder
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html - Nirsoft Key Finder

But really the best way to keep all your product keys is written down
somewhere safely off the computer. I have all my product keys in a
spreadsheet, which I then print out.

It's good that you're taking care of this now, while everything works.
Too many people wait until they have a hard drive failure and then
they're stuck.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Total Uninstall 4.41 produces a viewable log of all
changes, including registry keys, added files, changed
files, in a viewable, scrollable structure.
Select any of the registry keys and it shows its content.
It's highly detailed, more than only a techie would need,
but I assume that after an uninstall you could
use it to remove any renegrade stuff that wasn't fully
removed, items that were open, or locked in use,
and the like.
It runs under Vista and XP 64bit versions.

A lot depends on whether you just want to backup
the Registry in case it becomes corrupted, or because
you may want to reverse (uninstall the install) of
an application you installed.

Hi - Thanks for responding. The software I'm talking about are games that I
don't have the product key written down for. Is there any way to get those
keys? Would backing up that folder in the registry work and, if need be down
the road, importing that folder back into the registry in case of a problem?
Thanks for your time.



"Malke" wrote:

> niagara94 wrote:
> > Hi - I am wondering if there is any way to successfully backup the product
> > keys for software that I have on my computer? Would it work to back up the
> > folder corresponding to the software in question in the registry? If that
> > would work, how would I go about restoring that key if I ever needed to?
> > Thanks!
>
> The answer really depends on the software. Some (usually older) programs
> have the product key in plain text in the registry or in a text file in
> their Program Files folder. Other programs have the product key
> encrypted in the registry. Free system inventory programs like Belarc
> Advisor , System Information for Windows, Magic Jellybean, and the
> Nirsoft keyfinder can find the product keys of the operating system and
> some programs.
>
> http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
> http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows
> http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml - Key Finder
> http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html - Nirsoft Key Finder
>
> But really the best way to keep all your product keys is written down
> somewhere safely off the computer. I have all my product keys in a
> spreadsheet, which I then print out.
>
> It's good that you're taking care of this now, while everything works.
> Too many people wait until they have a hard drive failure and then
> they're stuck.
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>

niagara94 wrote:
> Hi - Thanks for responding. The software I'm talking about are games that I
> don't have the product key written down for. Is there any way to get those
> keys? Would backing up that folder in the registry work and, if need be down
> the road, importing that folder back into the registry in case of a problem?
> Thanks for your time.

Once again, it really depends on whether the key is encrypted in the
registry or not. Look at the game's entries - or do a search using the
game's name as the search term - and see what you come up with. Backing
up an encrypted registry key probably will do you no good. If you don't
come up with anything useful from your registry search, contact the
games' tech support people and see what they say.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Ok, thanks!



"Malke" wrote:

> niagara94 wrote:
> > Hi - Thanks for responding. The software I'm talking about are games that I
> > don't have the product key written down for. Is there any way to get those
> > keys? Would backing up that folder in the registry work and, if need be down
> > the road, importing that folder back into the registry in case of a problem?
> > Thanks for your time.
>
> Once again, it really depends on whether the key is encrypted in the
> registry or not. Look at the game's entries - or do a search using the
> game's name as the search term - and see what you come up with. Backing
> up an encrypted registry key probably will do you no good. If you don't
> come up with anything useful from your registry search, contact the
> games' tech support people and see what they say.
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>