Windows 10 Registry Settings Missing after Windows Upgrade

Bhushan Cellica

New Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
We upgrade OS to Windows 10 recently and found that some third party applications not working properly.
As those applications support team, Registry settings are deleted after Windows OS Upgrade process.

This case happens to me previously also, when I had upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 OS.

I want to know more about, which registry key path upgrade process keep as it is and which registry key path deleted.

Please guide me in this case.
 
Hi Bhushan,
as long as the apps are compatible it's usually just a case of reinstalling the app again. There are apps which can import your old registry settings but to be honest why would want to do that? I think the chances of borking the registry are too great and it's best left well alone. This of course is simply my opinion and our other members will likely comment.
 
Thanks for reply.

I do not want to any change in registry.
I want to know about, which registry key path upgrade process keep as it is and which registry key path deleted.

So that I can communicate this information with my Third Party application vendor, so they can use proper registry settings which does not lost in Windows Upgrade process.

I have lots of information in my application which does not recover in such case.
Therefore i am giving focus to collect this information, to avoid it next time.
 
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The Windows upgrade process should not affect the SOFTWARE registry keys at all. That is what all software vendors should be using. If the vendor is using something different than there is certainly a chance of registry data being removed in a Windows upgrade. Many installed applications will have a repair feature from with in Control Panel > Programs and Features that will re-add any missing files or registry settings. The other consideration is if the application is storing any files in C:\Windows then there is a chance they are also not being moved over.
 
Did you run the Microsoft Windows10 COMPATIBILITY TEST prior to your Win10 upgrade? If you did, it would report any application that is not compatible at the Registry level and would not run correctly or at all in Win10 post-upgrade. If the application passed and was not reported by the Win10 COMPATIBILITY TEST, then Microsoft tells you that application conforms to both OS, library, and Registry guidelines to run in Win10 mode.

You can also contact your 3rd party developer and ask them if they have re-written their application to be compatible with Win10 or not. If they have, and it doesn't work, you may have a hardware problem with that computer you are testing the application on. I would suggest you run MEMTEST & SEATOOLS on that computer to rule that out. You mention that you have upgraded this computer that you are testing the application with from earlier versions of windows back to Win7. That means that this computer is about 7 years old, and is quite prone to hardware failure. If hardware testing passes, and the problem persists, I would try on at least 2 other working Win10 computers. If the problem persists on multiple Win10 computers, that would suggest your 3rd party software developer didn't do their job properly! Software developers have access to special tools to correct this problem, and if they are an MSDN developer subscriber they can get access to those special programming tools to help debug their application and correct the problem.

Also, did your 3rd party developer remember to submit the Win10 version of his application to Microsoft for WHQL testing? If not, it's not Microsoft certified to be compatible with Win10, only certified as compatible by the developer. That's why it's important for you or him to run the Win10 COMPATIBILITY TEST. If the developer has a boxed retail version of the product with a Disc or USB stick in the box, and it's got a MS Certified Win10 sticker on the outside, it's been tested by Microsoft, or if the sticker is on their website; such as a "Microsoft Platinum Partner" or some such.

<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>
 
Thanks all for reply.

@Neemobeer
That Third Party application does not have repair option.

@BIGBEARJEDI
I have not tried Windows 10 Compatibility Test before upgrade.
I have tried this scenario on different Test machines as, Install App on Windows 8 OS and then upgrade it to Windows 10. Same issue occurs on those test machine also.

As I go through Registry, I have found that application setting at following registry path,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Version\<XYZ>

I think any settings under "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\" registry path could not be persist in Windows Upgrade case, is it true ?
If yes then I can suggest that Application Vendor to make provision for another safe registry path which could not remove in Windows Upgrade case.
 
Yeah, they need to be moved out the Microsoft\Windows and just in HKLM\Software\<VendorKey>, or if you know the exact path, just export the registry settings and keep them in a backup and if there is a upgrade you can just import the settings again.
 
Thanks Neemobeer !!

It will be better option to take backup of that registry and use it in upgrade case.
Also I will suggest Application Vendor to move registry settings "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\" path to avoid this upgrade case in future.
 
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