Hi...I am a freshly installed version of Windows 10 using a new motherboard. I have a hard drive with apps on it that need registry entries from another W10 installation. Does anyone have experience locating the registry entries to transfer the registry values from one W10 registry to another? I have done this in the past to a limited degree. However, some apps have hundreds of entries in the registry and finding them all and exporting them can be a chore. It might be just as easy to re-install the apps but I know some apps now operate like Windows, they record the hardware upon which the app was installed and won't allow it to run on different hardware. One method is to use the free Sysinternals ProcMon app and painstakingly follow the complaints of the installed app as to what it cannot find. There used to be apps that would do the transfer for you. There may still be some around but I don't know where to begin looking. Out of curiosity, however, I'd like to know how such an app can locate all the entries an app made in the registry. I am sure there is a trick to it besides searching the registry for entries with the name of the app in it. The worst situations I have seen is where an app has made many entries in HKLM\Software\Classes, or in some cases, in a hardware section. Some apps put 50 entries or more in the Classes section or in the sections dealing with COM objects in the HKLM\Software\CLSID section. It can be done with patience, exporting them one at a time. Also, some apps make entries in unusual places, like the user folder under C:\Users.
You can migrate a whole user profile using forensit. That's where all customization, and a pp setting reside. Many other apps, then works just as they are (just copy them from the old location). Few ones like ms office, virtualization sw, partitioning sw and so on require a reinstall, just do it. Isn't worth to migrate all the file and registry entries involved, unless you have monitored the old installation with a specific SW like "total uninstall"
Thanks for reply acer-5100. I'll look up forensit. I have done what you suggested, in the past, by just copying a file folder, and as you said, it often works fine, sometimes with minor registry adjustment to change drive references. I'll check out 'total uninstall' as well. Used to have an app in the old days which would monitor an installation and records what went where. The problem I am facing is an app that has many third party plugins associated and re-installing is a major pain.
Just thought of another method, if someone really needs to find the entries made by an app during installation. If you have an app on drive D:\ and you installed it via Drive C:\, where the program files and program data are normally stored, if you run a registry cleaner with the drive D:\ unplugged, it will indicate registry entries entered for the app on drive D:\ that cannot be found,because drive D:\ is unplugged. Of course, there are also entries on drive C:\. One has to be very careful when using a registry cleaner not to delete entries out of hand. Sometimes they belong to a drive or device that may not be plugged in or available. I realize this is more complex than the average person needs but I have found over the years there is often a need to dig deeply into the registry. Not for the faint of heart but I have experienced no serious problems over the years. One needs to be a bit hyper-vigilant, refraining from hitting the <Enter> button too quickly and having the registry backed up.
Plugins are usually matter of files and settings in the user profile. Once you have migrated the user profile (usually) 95% of the work is done in two clicks (and one reboot in win 10). In rare cases there may be something in the /programdata directory. copy the relevant folders there as well
In this case, the surest and fastest way would have been to clone the hard drive and then reinstall Windows, if needed and remove the programs and apps you don't need if necessary. And no one has taken away this opportunity from you either now.
Why? If you clone the HDD, you have just to boot it wait for WU to do its job, then eventually remove sw which is specific of the old PC, Say nvidia/intel crapware, if you are upgrading to AMD.
@kaljukass and @acer-5100 ...I appreciate the input from you guys, it's worth thinking about. The cloning idea is out because I have so many other apps and years worth of detritus in my W7 install. Many of my apps spanned XP to W7 and I would anticipate trouble trying to run them in a W10 environment. The main apps I need to transfer should run OK in W10. I spent several hours the other night going through the registry to see where my main problems might be. Glad I did because each time I work with the registry I become more familiar with it and learn new things. For example, I found the other night that the W7 Control Panel entry Programs and Features works off an uninstall hive in HKLM/Software, both is the main part of the registry and in the wow6432node part. I guess it depends on whether the app is 64-bit or 32-bit. Although both my apps are 64-bit they make lots of entries in the wow6432node as well. The full path to the Uninstall file key is... HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall For wow6432node....look under.... HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node then same key as above...Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall. There is a feature in Programs and Features that gives the option to repair an installation. Seems the installers it uses are in C:\Program Data\Package Cache. There are files in there notated with CLSID identifiers that contain some of the file installers. Since one of my apps is referenced in there, I am thinking a decent partial install may be recoverable once transferred, if I can get it listed in Programs and Features or the W10 equivalent. Hopefully, it will ask if I want to repair the app. BTW...don't mind me, if there's an easy way and a hard way to do something, I'll often find the hard way. One advantage of that method is learning what's under the hood.