Linux (Gnome) has dconf [0] [1] [2], which is essentially the same thing (but mostly only used by various GUI apps, and not low-level system components like on Windows).
[0]: https://askubuntu.com/a/191013
I also remember people deleting their registry.dat file in Windows 95 because it was too big. If they backed up to tape, they could restore it; if not, Windows 95 was screwed.