Read registry files in Windows "config" directory from a backup?

Solution 1:

MiTeC's Windows Registry Recovery can read the files and even export them into REGEDIT4 format like a normal registry backup.

MiTeC Windows Registry File Viewer is a viewer for Windows registry hives of all (e.g. NTUSER.DAT, SYSTEM.1ST, SAM, etc. - not .reg files). It displays the file content in a tree view, similar to the standard RegEdit display and includes features like registry searching, dumping and exporting to REGEDIT4 format. The program also allows you to explore the NT/2k/XP security records. In order to view most of the supported files, you need to create a copy of them first, as they cannot be used while they are used by the NT/2000/XP system.

Windows Registry Recovery is freeware.