Windows 8 In Depth

New Registry Features

Windows Vista introduced some new features to the Registry: virtualization and 64/32–bit reflection. These features are also present, although somewhat changed, in Windows 8 and Windows 7, and this section gives you a brief tour. The features are called Registry virtualization, redirection, and reflection. This topic is somewhat gnarly and obscure, so on your first read, you might want to skip ahead to the section titled “Backing Up and Restoring the Registry.”