Ultimate Guide: How to Recover Deleted Files From Registry Editor

About Registry Files and What Will Happen If They Are Deleted

Registry files (.reg) are critical system configuration files used by Windows to store settings for programs (installation paths, licenses, preferences), system behavior (startup apps, user profiles, security policies) and hardware (driver configurations, device settings). They can be edited via Registry Editor (regedit) or imported/exported as .reg files for backup or transfer.

What Happens If Registry Files Are Deleted?

Deleting registry files—whether by accident, malware infection, or improper system maintenance—can trigger a cascade of serious system issues that range from minor inconveniences to complete system failure.

• Software Crashes: Programs may fail to launch or malfunction.
• System Instability: Blue screens (BSOD), boot failures, or random crashes.
• Lost Customizations: Resets to default settings (e.g., wallpapers, file associations).
• Hardware Issues: Drivers may stop working (e.g., audio, graphics).
• Security Risks: Broken permissions or disabled security policies.

How to Recover Deleted Files from Registry Editor?

If you’ve accidentally deleted registry files or your system is malfunctioning due to registry corruption, here are 3 effective recovery methods, along with their best use cases and step-by-step instructions.

Method 1: Import a .REG Backup ( If You Have a Manual Backup)

If you previously exported registry keys as a “.reg” file, and only specific registry entries are deleted or missing (not entire registry corruption), you can import the backup file to recover deleted registry files.

1. Locate Your Backup File: Find the ".reg" file you saved (e.g., "registry_backup.reg").

2. Merge the Backup: Double-click the “.reg” file > Click "Yes" to confirm. Alternatively, you can open “Registry Editor (regedit)" > "File" > “Import” > Select the".reg" file.

3. Restart Your PC: To make the changes take effect, please reboot your computer.

Method 2: Restore from System Restore (Major Corruption or Boot Failures)

When your Windows won’t boot properlydue to the deleted registry files, or many registry entries are missing or corrupted, you can use the System Restore setting to recover lost registry files or entries.

Prerequisite: You had System Restore enabled before the issue occurred.

1. Boot into Advanced Startup: If Windows crashes at startup, force-restart 3 times to trigger "Automatic Repair". Alternatively, boot from a "Windows installation USB" > "Repair your computer” > “Troubleshoot”.

2. Open System Restore: Go to “Troubleshoot” > "Advanced Options" > “System Restore”.

3. Select a Restore Point and Complete the Restoration: Follow prompts to choose a restore point before the registry was damaged to restore Windows to the earlier state. After reboot, check if registry issues are resolved.

Method 3: Use Third-Party Registry Recovery Software (Best for Partial Corruption or No Backup)

What if no System Restore points or “.reg” backups exist? Don’t worry since some third-party file recovery program can help like MyRecover. This tool can help recover data from both bootable and unbootable systems. It covers all data loss scenarios including: emptied Recycle Bin, accidental deletion (Delete/Shift+Delete), disk formatting errors, file system corruption, system crashes, virus attacks, etc.

What’s more, MyRecover supports all Windows operating systems (Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7 and Server 2025, 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, etc)and file systems(NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ReFS). So you can use it to recover deleted files from Registry Editor in Windows 11, Windows 10 or other systems.

Step 1. Download and install the software.

Step 2. Launch the software. Select the C drive, which is the default location of registry files, and click on "Scan".

Step 3. It will start a quick scan for recently deleted files. If this scan mode does not find the deleted registry files, use "Deep Scan" instead.

Step 4. Once the scanning is completed, you can browse through all found and recoverable files. Locate the registry files (use the search box at the top to quickly find .reg files) and click on "Recover".

Step 5. Choose another different drive to save the recovered registry files (do not choose C drive and prevent data overwriting).

A progress bar will display process, and please wait patiently for the process. After completion, you can navigate to your selected recovery location to check file integrity.

Now, you can refer to the content in the method 1 to manually import the recovered registry file to the editor. If your system cannot boot up due to the damaged or deleted registry files, you can first create a bootable media on another working computer, insert the media into the target computer with deleted registry files, boot from it and perform the data recovery process as above (once startup, you will direct to the main interface of MyRecover.)

Conclusion

By following these methods, you can restore deleted registry files and fix system errors in Windows 10/11. If the damage is too severe, aWindows reinstall may be your last resort.

In addition to registry files, the aforementioned MyRecover solution supports recovery of multiple other data types, like document recovery (Word, Excel, PDF, etc.), media file restoration (photos, videos, audio, music, etc), email recovery, compressed/archive file retrieval and so on. To use such amazing software on unlimited devices, please try the Technician Edition.