By Stephen Bucaro

In Windows 3.x configuration information was stored in human readable text files like win.ini, system.ini, config.sys, and autoexec.bat. But that method of storing configuration was inadequate to store configuration for enormous amount of bloat Microsoft put into Windows 95 and higher.

In Windows 95 and higher, configuration information is stored in "registry". The word "registry" rarely appears without being accompanied by word "warning", and a vague description of how your computer will go up in smoke if you even think about messing with registry.

The registry is bloated and overcomplicated, but since it is central repository for almost all of Windows configuration information, you will probably have to deal with it sooner or later. In fact, if you ever require assistance of a support technician, first thing they will instruct you to do is open registry editor.

It is perfectly safe for you to work with registry, provided that you back it up first (and you know how to restore it). Windows automatically creates a backup of registry every time you start your computer. But when you are making configuration changes, you usually have to reboot your computer several times, possibly writing bad data to backup.

To make your own backup of registry, start your system with your startup floppy disk. (If you can’t find your startup disk, use Add/Remove utility in Control Panel to make a new one. Place a copy of file attrib.exe from c:windowscommand folder on disk.)

When you only install an upgrade, it's typically called a "dirty install" - that is because previous errors remain in system. Even if you just installed Windows 98 new and then immediately upgraded, you will still find that there are probably errors that will come up. The only way to definitely get rid of errors is to format hard drive and install full operating system. This leaves you susceptible to losing a lot of data, even if you fully back up.