HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Configuration Manager
Microsoft changed this behavior to reduce the overall disk footprint of Windows. Instead of the RegBack folder, they recommend using System Restore points to recover a corrupted registry Microsoft Learn How to re-enable RegBack
Restart your computer or run the backup task manually (see Method 3). regback copy not working
cd \windows\system32\config ren SYSTEM SYSTEM.old ren SOFTWARE SOFTWARE.old copy RegBack\SYSTEM . copy RegBack\SOFTWARE . Use code with caution. Restart the computer. Method 3: Use System Restore (Alternative to RegBack)
Type the following command to repair system files and press : sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\windows copy RegBack\SOFTWARE
Once you have solved the "regback copy not working" issue, maintain it with these practices:
A critical issue has been observed in Windows 10 (specifically versions 1803 and later) and Windows Server 2019/2022 where the traditional method of backing up the registry hive using the regback command (or relying on the RegBack folder) fails. Upon inspection, the %SystemRoot%\System32\config\RegBack directory returns a size of 0 bytes for all hive files. This paper outlines the root cause, diagnostics, and remediation steps to restore registry backup functionality. Method 3: Use System Restore (Alternative to RegBack)
Method 3: Extract Registry Hives from System Volume Information
Starting with Windows 10 build 1709 (Fall Creators Update), Microsoft changed the default behavior of the Registry backup mechanism. To save disk space and reduce background I/O,
Note: Even after this change, you may still see 0 KB files until the task runs in the Task Scheduler . What to Do if RegBack is Already Empty
This disables the VSS optimization, using more disk space.