, it is not a bug—it is "by design." Starting with Windows 10 version 1803, Microsoft disabled automatic registry backups to reduce the disk footprint of the OS. Here is why your
: If no restore points are available, you may need to use the Reset this PC feature. Choose "Keep my files"
You can force Windows to create actual backups in the RegBack folder via Group Policy or Registry.
If the VSS is corrupted, the system cannot generate the necessary snapshots to populate the RegBack folder dynamically. You will see error messages like: "The Volume Shadow Copy service used by RegIdleBackup is not working." regback copy not working
October 26, 2023 Subject: Troubleshooting the copy regback operation and empty %SystemRoot%\System32\config\RegBack directories.
He pulled the logs—fragmented, timestamped, and terse. The first failure was at 02:03: permission denied. At 02:05, "destination full." At 02:09, "no such file or directory." The machine offered a litany of small betrayals; together they painted a worrying picture.
If your RegBack folder is empty, you must rely on other Windows recovery features: , it is not a bug—it is "by design
Run as Administrator:
By following the solutions in this guide—particularly the reg save command and the EnablePeriodicBackup registry tweak—you can regain control over your Registry backups and ensure that when disaster strikes, you have a working, restorable copy ready.
: By default, Windows no longer populates the RegBack folder to reduce the overall disk footprint of the operating system. If the VSS is corrupted, the system cannot
Since Windows 10 1803,
: Windows no longer populates this folder automatically unless a specific registry key is manually enabled beforehand. Microsoft Learn Alternative Fixes for a No-Boot System If you are trying to fix a corrupted registry and the method isn't working, try these official alternatives:
When regback copy not working shows zero-byte files, don’t panic. Your registry backups aren’t gone—they’re just hidden in VSS. Mount a shadow copy and restore from there. Then, configure the old behavior if you need simpler restores in the future.