Registry Backup Not Listed in Registry Checker Tool

When you use the Registry Checker (Scanreg.exe) tool to restore a backup copy of your registry, the backup from which you want to restore your registry may not be listed.

This behavior can occur if the Registry Checker tool is configured to maintain more than five registry backups.

To work around this behavior, use either of the following methods:

NOTE: Because you can restore registry backups only from a command prompt, these methods assume that you are already at a command prompt.

Method 1

Configure the Registry Checker tool so that only the last five registry backups are stored in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. To do so, follow these steps:

1. At a command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after each line:
   
   cd \windows
   edit scanreg.ini
2. Locate the "MaxBackupCopies=" line.
3. Change the line to read as follows:
   
   MaxBackupCopies=5
4. Press ALT+F, press S (to save), press ALT+F, and then press X (to exit).

Method 2

If you are attempting to restore a later registry backup than the five listed in the Registry Checker tool, rename earlier registry backups until the backup from which you want to restore your registry is one of the five listed. To do so, type the following commands at a command prompt, pressing ENTER after each command

cd\windows\sysbckup
ren rb0<nn>.cab rb0<nn>.xxx

where <nn> is a number between 00 and 99.

NOTE: The lowest numbered registry backup may not be the earliest. To determine the earliest registry backup, check the date of the Rb<nnn>.cab file.

For example, the Windows\Sysbckup folder contains seven registry backups numbered Rb000.cab - Rb006.cab, with Rb000.cab being the earliest registry backup and Rb006.cab being the latest. To cause the Registry Checker tool to list the five latest backups, type the following commands:

ren rb000.cab rb000.xxx
ren rb001.cab rb001.xxx

The "MaxBackupCopies=" line in the Scanreg.ini file determines the number of registry backups maintained in the Windows\Sysbckup folder. If the "MaxBackupCopies=" line is set to six or higher (five is the default), the correct number of registry backups is maintained in the Windows\Sysbckup folder, but the Registry Checker tool can only display the five earliest backups.

For additional information about how to use the Registry Checker tool, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type registry, and then double-click the "Registry Checker" topic.