I don't fear the registry and I've used it a lot of times to fix things when it comes to configurations in software. I've also used it to retrieve serial numbers, change drive letter paths with complicated installers.

I would also prefer that basic informations are written into ini-files, like folders.
I often get annoyed when Sonar kills all my folder locations to Standard values only because my network folders are for 3 seconds not immediately accessible . Then it would be very easy to copy a Backup-ini-file via a script.

THambrecht
I would also prefer that basic informations are written into ini-files, like folders.
I often get annoyed when Sonar kills all my folder locations to Standard values only because my network folders are for 3 seconds not immediately accessible . Then it would be very easy to copy a Backup-ini-file via a script.

You can easily create backups for the registry as well. In your case, open RegEdit, go to the key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cakewalk Music Software\SONAR\Platinum\UserPaths,
select it, and export the selection to a reg file. Then, all you have to do is to load that reg file to restore the saved settings.
 
I am no fan of the registry either and avoid it when writing programs, but I don't think it's worth the effort to change this in Sonar. The time for that can be spent better.

Clearly not a very popular opinion but I like the registry! I use a couple of setups and a registry export is by far the quickest way to make multiple system changes.

tenfoot
Clearly not a very popular opinion but I like the registry! I use a couple of setups and a registry export is by far the quickest way to make multiple system changes.

Same here!  BTW does anyone know a reg tweak for VST installers to stop pointing Cakewalk\VstPlugins.  It only happens on one machine.  I hate always having to change the directory when install a 3rd party plugin.
 

I'm not sure how some things can exist without the registry. How about file associations? Certain defaults have to be somewhere. The registry is as good as any place. 

In the old days, everything was ini file based. And it caused a lot of issues for shared things, like John said. I had quite some issues with multiple ini files located in different locations. Depending on the search path, things worked differently. Also, everyone just did their thing in them. No standardization of any kind.
The registry changed that. And while it is not perfect, it has improved quite a bit since Windows 3.1. It now works like a transactional DB, so that in case something goes wrong during a write, the registry is not corrupted. In fact, I have not seen a corrupted registry in years. I also never use any registry cleaners as their track record is not so good...
Since it is a DB, access to the entire registry is quite efficient. Imagine your computer having to go through hundreds or even thousands of xml or ini files?
 
The problem that some people have with the registry according to me is that a lot of applications do not clean up the registry when removing the application. I'm not sure that those "lazy" programmers would clean up the ini files either.
A well-behaved program that uses the registry correctly (as it is designed and documented by microsoft) should never have a problem with it.
Another problem people have with the registry is that they don't find their way in it and that they have no idea what goes into the registry. But then again, would people know if it was all written in xml files?
A good tool to see what happens in the registry with a certain application is process explorer (from Microsoft - sysinternals).
 
If you really have issues with the registry, or want to know more about it: http://www.apress.com/gp/book/9781484209936