Learn the Basics of Windows Registry Editor
Before working in Registry Editor which is more incredible and powerful tool, you must have sufficient knowledge about the basics of Windows Registry Editor.
Previously, we have been gone through How To Restart Windows' Explorer.Exe Using Taskbar And Start Menu and How to Add Control Panel Shortcut to Windows 10 Right Click Menu
We have also discussed about Everything You Need To Know Windows 11 Release Date, Features And Improvement.
Through your feedback, I felt to write about the very basics of Windows Registry Editor for all Windows Systems.
The Windows Registry is a collection of databases of configuration settings for Microsoft Windows operating systems. What Is the Windows Registry Used For? Registry Hives (Windows 10). The Windows Registry stores much of the information and settings for software programs, hardware devices, user preferences, and operating-system configurations. Windows registry basics. What is the Windows registry? How do I open and edit the Windows registry? Windows registry questions and answers. How to edit the registry from the command line. Do I need a Windows registry cleaner? How to back up and restore the Windows registry. How do I add a Windows registry key?
So, let's start our tutorial about the basics of windows registry editor.
The command prompt is a Registry Editor alternative. So you can imagine the importance of this tool. Whenever you need to tweak up some components of the Window, you must have to make changes in the Registry.
For those who are working in computers must have knowledge about the basics of the registry hacks. Here, in this article, we'll tell you about Windows Registry.
What is Registry Editor?
The Registry Editor is a categorized database that has all the configurations about all components, applications, services, and many more used in Windows.
Here, in the Registry two basic concepts are used:
- Keys: Registry object are originally are folders and their interface also looks like folders.
- Values: the values are the objects such as files in a folder. These values contain the actual settings of the applications and services being used in Windows
If you are a beginner and opening Registry Editor for the first time, you will see a window pane presented at the left side of the main window which contains all the keys being used in Window.
The keys have their values which will be given in the right side pane. It is all about its general window interface.
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Each key which you can see in the above screen shot has its own importance and it contains a different set of information than other keys. So, it depends upon you, which type of key and values you want to edit or change.
Three of five root-level keys linked together to contain a heavy set of the information. When you remove a bulk of information in the Registry, surely you wouldn't find your PC's Windows in stable condition.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
This section is used to take actions on Windows file types and their associations. Normally, this key is used with the abbreviation of HKCR and it is linked with HKLMSoftwareClasses.
This can also be used to tweak the context menu for a specific file type.
II. HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Generally, it is abbreviated as HKCU. It is being used to hold all the settings of the user who is currently logged in and it is linked with HKEY_USERS.
Most of the part of user-level settings is present in its sub-key HKLMSoftware.
III. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
This section is abbreviated as HKLM and it contains all system-wide settings. Whenever you need to check the machine-wide settings, you have to use the HKLM/system key.
IV. HKEY_USERS
This section contains all the settings of all the users of the system. Whenever you need to check the settings of a user on your system, you can use this key. It is also abbreviated as HKCU
V. HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
It contains the information of the current hardware configuration. This key is linked to HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetHardware ProfilesCurrent.
Those who are too much technical with hardware can use this key.
Building new Keys and Values:
Registry Editor Download For Windows 10
In the left-hand pane, when you right-click on any key a set of options will appear in a sub-menu which you can understand with ease. These options are simple and understandable.
When you build up a new key it will appear in the left-hand pane of the Registry Editor window and its values will appear on the right-hand side. Some values that are regularly used are:
· String Value (REG_SZ):
As its name shows that it contains string values that can be fit in a string. Human-understandable strings can also be edited without breaking everything
· Binary Value (REG_BINARY):
Here, it is difficult to edit these keys because there are the values in the form of arbitrary binary data.
· DWORD (32-bit) Value (REG_DWORD):
It contains regular integer values. It can either be 0 or 1, or 0 to 4,294,967,295.
· QWORD (64-bit) Value (REG_QWORD):
It is basically a 64-bit integer value which is commonly not used very often for registry hacks.
· Multi-String Value (REG_MULTI_SZ:
These values work like a text editor window. You can add multi-textual information to it.
· Expandable String Value (REG_EXPAND_SZ):
It contains environment variables which are used for system paths.
Let's learn some other basics of Windows registry editor.
The Favorites Menu:
In the Favorites Menu of the Registry Editor, there are many useful and interesting features in it that is normally used to check a registry location regularly. Here, the interesting thing is that you can export the list of favorites. The list of favorites can be used on another computer without having to browse down for the keys. Just add them to the favorites menu.
If you want to bookmark something you can use this one. When you are looking for multiple locations, you can easily get back to the location you were at.
How to Export Registry File?
Exporting a registry keys is very simple and easy. Just right-click on the key and choose Export. In case, when you start changing your system's settings via registry, it becomes important to export files.
Once you got your exported keys, double-click on it to enter the information back to the registry. If you choose edit you can have a look at the contents in Notepad.
The format of these files is very simple and understandable. Value names are appeared at left and actual values in right-side.
How to set Permissions?
In the registry hacks, some values need permissions to be changed because of default settings. You can make it possible to change this scheme or edit registry values by right-clicking and choosing Permissions. Now you are able to adjust them according to your need.
Edit of these keys need a bulk of data to be changed. So, it is better to leave them without diving in their values.
Loading Registry Hives:
If you want to load a registry from an offline system, you must use File > Load Hive feature. You need to load Registry Hives when you troubleshoot on another computer to check that what is going on in Registry for a system which isn't booting. So, you have to boot the system from a rescue disk, a live Window CD, then copy the registry files onto your thumb derives.
Windows Registry Basics Online
Now, open copied registry files on another computer and look for using Registry Hive option.
Where these Registry Files Stored?
Most of these files are stored in the WindowsSystem32Config folder
In the above screen shot you can see SAM, SECURITY, SOFTWARE, and SYSTEM files which are the same as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
All the data of the current user of the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER is stored in a usual folder with hidden file named as NTUSER.DAT.
one of the most important task in the basics of Windows Registry Editor is taking backup of the registry
Backup of the Registry:
When you hack the registry, it is become important to have its backup too. The whole registry file cannot be exported or it wouldn't work. The files cannot be accessed on the hard derive because they are locked.
So the best option to get a backup of your registry files, Create a system store point.
Important Things to Note:
The registry hacks is more technical then usual hacks. Many people don't believe in the registry hacks but it doesn't mean that these hacks don't work. When you remove bulk of values and information from the registry, your system may not get stable condition for use.
Well, this is all about the basics of Windows Registry Editor.
Hopefully, the article has developed a registry master skill in you after reading, you can share with us via comments section.
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More often than not we buy new computers with particular applications or usage scenario in mind, never once thinking about the Windows registry. Say for example, if my old PC is not good enough to support all the features of blockbuster design software, I would be thinking about going for a brand new exquisite computer available on the market that could provide me the additional capacity and power to run that software. Basically people want to make their computer run faster and to handle their programs efficiently.
Initially after buying the new PC, most people would be feeling so happy about having it as it is so much better and faster than the old one. But after few months or so, the great feeling might start to diminish! A gradual loss of performance of the PC will become noticeable more often than not. And it is not an easy thing to figure out what is going wrong with it and measure the amount of losses in terms of performance.
I am pretty sure most of you if you are a moderate to frequent PC user have noticed such thing in the past as I mentioned above, unless you are one of those extremely lucky one whose computer's performance doesn't degrade. There are quite a few reasons behind performance degradation and one of them is the problems associated with your computer's registry!
What is a Computer Registry?
Your computer's registry is a flat database that keeps references of configurations settings and options of all the hardware, software, device drivers, security feature and so on installed into it. As we are continuously installing/upgrading programs and adding new devices, simultaneously we are creating an overwhelming numbers of new entries in the computer's registry. Many programs developed by small vendors are designed such an away that when you delete or remove it from the system after you are done with it, it will try its best to leave its footmark somewhere. Somehow it might manage to leave some references inside the registry as it is often the case.
In reality, even though you have deleted a program's main files, few left over references would unnecessarily create problems for you. They will be called upon by the window each time you turn on your PC, in turn consuming resources and degrading your PC's performance. These are not virus or malware by any means, with these leftover references some software developers often try to figure out things like which machines or users had installed their software in the past using some techniques of their own. From your part what you got to do is remove those references from your computer's registry.
WARNING: Entering the Windows registry is not for beginners as deleting or editing one wrong entry can render your computer useless. Your computer relies on these files to run, therefore you must enter the registry at your own risk.
Backing Up Your PC Windows Registry
Before you jump into editing your registry and get rid of unnecessary programs, you got to make sure you have backed up your registry. A single tiny mistake while you perform this may become a big pain later on, but if you are careful, it is really an easy thing to do. If you have the backup however, you can always go back to the earlier state. Actually a more efficient process would be to create a backup of your registry periodically, let's say after every three months and name them accordingly with date. This way you will have maximum protection. Do not mix this registry backup, with your computer's files backup, that is a different thing altogether.
Windows Registry Key
Steps to Backup Your Windows Registry
1. Go to the windows' start menu and in windows 7 PC's search box, type regedit as shown in image 1 below. In windows XP, you type the same command on the 'run' dialog box at start menu.
2. You will reach the registry database as shown in image 2 below. You can see there are five layers of the registry; HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE, HKEY_USERS and HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG. These five layers are like file folders containing subfolders, configuration information and keys depending on their functions. HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE contains most of the information about your system, software and security, and often this is the location where you would be doing most of your registry edits.
3. Click on the file menu on top left corner and select export from the menu as shown in fig 3. What we are trying to do is export the entire Windows registry to a file as a backup that could be restored later on.
You will be asked to provide a file name to this registry backup. Name it as you prefer like 'myregistry' for example and save it in a particular folder that you could easily remember. Often there is a case that you are backing up and creating the file today and will need to use it after six months or so. After six months you might have all sorts of problem locating this file. Better to write down a note somewhere if you prefer. After you have successfully given a name and location, it will create the file and remain saved. Now you can tweak your registry to some extent if you need. Do not go and hit the 'delete' button unnecessarily while your registry is 'ON', until you are quite sure what you are up to.
Restore Your Registry From Backup
At a later time if you need to restore your registry from the file you just created, you will need to go to the same file menu like we did for exporting the registry above. From the menu you will choose the 'import' option this time. Once you click the 'import' option the system will ask you for the name and location of your backup registry file. Here you will need to locate the correct file as we discussed (like 'myregistry.dat') and hit enter. That will restore your registry to the state when the backup file was created.
Editing the Windows Registry
WARNING: Entering the Windows registry is not for beginners as deleting or editing one wrong entry can render your computer useless. Your computer relies on these files to run, therefore you must enter the registry at your own risk.
1. Now to do some registry edits click on HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE tab as shown in image 4 below.
2. You will get to the next screen that should look like image 5 below. Here you can see a list of all the software applicationsinstalled in your PC. In fact there could be one or more that you have gotten rid of long time ago but still they have made their place permanent in the registry. Each time your system starts, these references baffles your PCs operating system and it keeps looking for these program files which are not there. If there are bunch of them present, enough to slow down the speed and performance of your PC.
What Is Registry Editor In Windows
3. It is about time for you to say goodbye to some of these references once you know which one are good and which ones are bad. Like in the above image say for example I have deleted 'caliber' a few days ago and still it is showing in the Windows registry, I am going to select it and hit the delete button right away. After this I will exit the registry from the file menu to make sure the changes come into effect. Make sure however, though that you first remove a program from the control panel (add/remove) program and then go to registry for the reference removal.
Fix Windows Registry
Finding Registry Entries That are Obsolete
You can also do other type of registry edits from here. For example, if you constantly get an error message while booting your windows that says 'a1.vxd' file is missing or corrupt, you can get into the registry -> go to the edit menu at the top and select the 'find' option. Here in the find dialog box enter 'a1.vxd' and do a search. This will find all references of 'a1.vxd' inside the registry. Hit the delete button when a reference is found pointed to specifically at 'a1.vxd' file. There could be more than one reference of the same file. You can do 'find next' to make sure all of them are identified correctly and deleted. Minecraft launcher team extreme. Be aware not to delete a wrong reference that is not at all pointing to 'a1.vxd' file though –as that will mean calling for troubles beyond belief. Exit out of the registry and reboot the PC. The error related to 'a1.vxd' should not appear this time.
Editing your computer's registry is not a complex thing at all, you just need to be careful with every operation you perform.
