Windows Registry [Archive] - ForumsHQ
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2003 3:05 am
Registry is basically a database which stores all the information as to how windows will operate. It stores all the actions that has to be performed on a particular command. For e.g. ever wondered how a file loads automatically on start-up? Its because the command has been input in the registry to open that particular file on start-up.
It wasn't the same with Win 3.1. All system settings were stored in control.ini, win.ini and system.ini. But now most of the settings are stored in Windows registry, which serves as the replacement. With registry u can change the way your windows looks. For examples u can add a background pic in internet/windows explorer, change the title bar text from 'Microsoft Explorer' to 'Hacked Microsoft', remove that irritating network neighbourhood icon on the desktop, etc..etc..
Its not hard to understand the structure of Registry. To open the Registry click on Start, click on Run, type regedit and press enter (why isn't there a direct link to it? this is because a basic user may confuse it with a useless file and by accident delete some important keys)
You will see 'My Computer' expanded into the following KEYS :
1) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT : This key mainly contains the subkeys of every file extension that has been defined with and the way windows handles shortcuts.
2) HKEY_CURRENT_USER : Contains info on the user
Subkeys : (a) AppEvents : sound settings
(b) Control Panel : control panel settings
(c) Indentities : info on the current user, default user, user login, etc..
(d) InstallLocationsMRU : paths to the default windows installation directory
(e) Keyboard layout : current keyboard layout.
(f) Network : network connection information.
(g) RemoteAccess : dial-up logon info.
(h) Software : software settings for the current user. (like the registration info for a particular software)
3) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE : contains general hardware and software settings for all users
Subkeys : (a) Config : defualt settings for fonts, printers, screen resoultion, etc.
(b) Enum : hardware settings.
(c) Hardware : serial communication port(s) settings.
(d) Network : info on the network to which the user is connected to.
(e) Security : network security settings.
(f) Software : specific information and settings of the installed softwares
which remains the same for all the users.
(g) System : system startup, device driver & o/s settings.
4) HKEY_USERS : desktop and user settings. There are different subkeys for all the users. The subkey is “.default” is there is only a single user.
5) HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG : current hardware configuration
6) HKEY_DYN_DATA : info on the plug-and-play devices installed on the system.
When the user makes any changes in these settings the corresponding keys automatically undergo a change. For e.g. if the user changes the default homepage of internet explorer the changes will be made in the registry so that it remembers what site to open when HOME is clicked.
Any key under the main keys are called subkeys. The settings of every subkey can defined by three valves namely, STRING, BINARY and DWORD. However the values are used and defined according to the context of the settings.
When you right click on the subkeys in the left pane, a menu wil pop-up having the following options :
|a| Expand : click to expand that particular key/subkey.
|b| New : create a new key (a subkey will be created under it) or string, binary or dword value (will be created on the right side).
|c| Find : to find a aprticular key or string value (saves time).
|d| Delete : delete the select key/subkey.
|e| Rename : rename the selected.
|f| Copy Key Name : copies the whole subkey along with its path name
On the right pane when u right click on a string value the following menu pop-ups :
|a| Modify : modifies the value of the selected string
|b| Delete : deletes the selected string
|c| Remanes : renames the string
Well you are now aware of the basic structure of the REGSITRY. But don't start modifying the settings unless you are totally confident of what you are doing!!
The II part is about to show u how easy it is to understand and edit the registry. I advise you to back up your registry before making any changes to it, because it is possible that you may screw up your entire system. Check the Registry Patches explaination below to backup ur registry.
Add sounds manually for your software :
-------------------------------------------------
Ever noticed that some programs have sound associated with a few of their events. Like u listen to "Goodbye and have a nice day" when Windows shuts down, or the sound of a flushing toilet when you empty the Recycle Bin. Well, you can change the sounds of any app. by going to Control Panel and opening 'Sounds'. But you can associate a sound with a software you have made. How?
(Incase u forgot how to open the registry...click on start>run>type regedit and press enter)
In the Registry, open to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. Do you notice some of the softwares you use regularly are listed there like coreldraw, Medai player, etc.. etc.. Now right-click on the 'Apps' key and create a new subkey with the same name of your program. Create new subkeys under your program's subkey for each event, such as Open and Close. (you can add other keys too..just look aroud there to get more ideas). Finally refresh you Registry by pressing F5. You will notice that for a split second the registry blinks, which is the indication that the new settings have been saved
Now close it, and open 'Sounds' in the Control Panel.Your program will show up in the list and you can set the sounds for ur software. (note : the list is in alphabetical order, so dont worry if your apps. name starts with x...it must be at the bottom of the list). Here if you want to add your own sounds, then copy paste the wav file in c:\windows\media folder.
Stop loading of programs on start-up :
---------------------------------------
Don't like those annoying programs which open at startup. Even though, they take up only small amounts of resources they can cause system hangups!! To delete them 1st look in your startup folder which is loacted at start>programs>startup. Don't worry you won't delete your original file. This is just the shortcut file. Then you check the Win.ini file (this is only for the users who understand the structure of Win.ini, don't mess this file u may damage ur windows) to see if you can get rid of the darn thing. Finally use the registry : goto >
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre nt-Version\Run
&
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr ent-Version\Run
here there will be some important values like the systray, explorer,etc..dont modify them. They are needed for windows bootup.
If your annoying program's name is there right-click and delete it. For e.g. you can delete the realtray value, which will stop the loading of real player at startup. But there is a better alternative to this for windows 98 and later users. click on start>run>type msconfig and press enter a windows will pop up. Click on the startup tab and see if your annoying program's name is there. If it is checked then uncheck it..thats it
Internet Explorer settings :
---------------------------
Below are some of the path names in the registry editor along with its use.
1) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Internet Settings
here u can see that security related settings such as proxy, dial-up, etc..have been defined
2) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\AboutURLs
here u can define the urls to open when the user stops the transfer, if the site is not found, etc..
3) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Default HTML Editor\shell\edit\command
when u click on file in internet explorer u will see "edit this file with......". this key defines the path to open that html editor
4) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\PageSetup
defualt margin setup for IE
5) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search
when a correct url is not found IE auatomatically searches for it. here it defines the site path for searching.
6) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
here edit the paths to defualt save directory, homepage, title bar text, etc..
7) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt
when we right-click on page we can see many options...here u can see that list
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs
typed urls as the names suggest..
9) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\International
here the different fonts settings are stored
Remove icons from desktop :
-------------------------------
Network Neighborhood, My Briefcase, My Computer icons on the gesktop sometimes gets very annoying and there is no option for deleting them when u right click on them. So what do u do? In the Registry Editor goto>
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\Desktop\Namespace
Here u will see series of subkeys with some weird names ..ahh so how to identify which to delete!! click on every subkey under namespace. On the right pane names like My documents, Network Neighborhood, etc..will be shown for each key. Each will be different from other. So if the clicked one is Network Neighborhood and u dont want it..just right click on its subkey and delete it. So next time u start ur pc..it will be gone from the desktop!!
Registry Patches :
------------------------------------------------------
Although you can edit the Registry with REGEDIT, you can also make changes by using Registry patches. A Registry patch is a simple text file with a ".reg" extension that contains one or more keys or values. You can create a Registry patch by selecting any subkey and choosing Export from the File menu. The files is saved and can be used a backup . In the same way you can select 'My Computer' and click registry>export> keep the settings to "all" for creating a backup of the whole registry. You can then view the Registry patch file by opening it in Notepad (right-click on it and select Edit / use the drag and drop feature). To restore the registry just double-click it or use the Registry's Import feature.
So u see how easy to edit and see how windows stores its settings!! My basic point is that u can change many of the settings by yourself..but how do u find the values? in subkey are they located? well remember these points :
1) whatever u are looking for, 1st understand its nature. If it is for a particular user then it will located in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER key. If it is for general purpose for all the users then it will in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE..
2) use find as an effect method to find the right path...for e.g. i did not know how to change the homepage thru registry. so i copy pasted the url in the find box and searched for it....but the url was also used in other subkeys...so i didn't get the right path...so i pressed F3, on which it continues its search till another result is found...finally i got it...!!
The more u use it...the more easy will it be for u to understand the registry!!
It wasn't the same with Win 3.1. All system settings were stored in control.ini, win.ini and system.ini. But now most of the settings are stored in Windows registry, which serves as the replacement. With registry u can change the way your windows looks. For examples u can add a background pic in internet/windows explorer, change the title bar text from 'Microsoft Explorer' to 'Hacked Microsoft', remove that irritating network neighbourhood icon on the desktop, etc..etc..
Its not hard to understand the structure of Registry. To open the Registry click on Start, click on Run, type regedit and press enter (why isn't there a direct link to it? this is because a basic user may confuse it with a useless file and by accident delete some important keys)
You will see 'My Computer' expanded into the following KEYS :
1) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT : This key mainly contains the subkeys of every file extension that has been defined with and the way windows handles shortcuts.
2) HKEY_CURRENT_USER : Contains info on the user
Subkeys : (a) AppEvents : sound settings
(b) Control Panel : control panel settings
(c) Indentities : info on the current user, default user, user login, etc..
(d) InstallLocationsMRU : paths to the default windows installation directory
(e) Keyboard layout : current keyboard layout.
(f) Network : network connection information.
(g) RemoteAccess : dial-up logon info.
(h) Software : software settings for the current user. (like the registration info for a particular software)
3) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE : contains general hardware and software settings for all users
Subkeys : (a) Config : defualt settings for fonts, printers, screen resoultion, etc.
(b) Enum : hardware settings.
(c) Hardware : serial communication port(s) settings.
(d) Network : info on the network to which the user is connected to.
(e) Security : network security settings.
(f) Software : specific information and settings of the installed softwares
which remains the same for all the users.
(g) System : system startup, device driver & o/s settings.
4) HKEY_USERS : desktop and user settings. There are different subkeys for all the users. The subkey is “.default” is there is only a single user.
5) HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG : current hardware configuration
6) HKEY_DYN_DATA : info on the plug-and-play devices installed on the system.
When the user makes any changes in these settings the corresponding keys automatically undergo a change. For e.g. if the user changes the default homepage of internet explorer the changes will be made in the registry so that it remembers what site to open when HOME is clicked.
Any key under the main keys are called subkeys. The settings of every subkey can defined by three valves namely, STRING, BINARY and DWORD. However the values are used and defined according to the context of the settings.
When you right click on the subkeys in the left pane, a menu wil pop-up having the following options :
|a| Expand : click to expand that particular key/subkey.
|b| New : create a new key (a subkey will be created under it) or string, binary or dword value (will be created on the right side).
|c| Find : to find a aprticular key or string value (saves time).
|d| Delete : delete the select key/subkey.
|e| Rename : rename the selected.
|f| Copy Key Name : copies the whole subkey along with its path name
On the right pane when u right click on a string value the following menu pop-ups :
|a| Modify : modifies the value of the selected string
|b| Delete : deletes the selected string
|c| Remanes : renames the string
Well you are now aware of the basic structure of the REGSITRY. But don't start modifying the settings unless you are totally confident of what you are doing!!
The II part is about to show u how easy it is to understand and edit the registry. I advise you to back up your registry before making any changes to it, because it is possible that you may screw up your entire system. Check the Registry Patches explaination below to backup ur registry.
Add sounds manually for your software :
-------------------------------------------------
Ever noticed that some programs have sound associated with a few of their events. Like u listen to "Goodbye and have a nice day" when Windows shuts down, or the sound of a flushing toilet when you empty the Recycle Bin. Well, you can change the sounds of any app. by going to Control Panel and opening 'Sounds'. But you can associate a sound with a software you have made. How?
(Incase u forgot how to open the registry...click on start>run>type regedit and press enter)
In the Registry, open to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. Do you notice some of the softwares you use regularly are listed there like coreldraw, Medai player, etc.. etc.. Now right-click on the 'Apps' key and create a new subkey with the same name of your program. Create new subkeys under your program's subkey for each event, such as Open and Close. (you can add other keys too..just look aroud there to get more ideas). Finally refresh you Registry by pressing F5. You will notice that for a split second the registry blinks, which is the indication that the new settings have been saved
Now close it, and open 'Sounds' in the Control Panel.Your program will show up in the list and you can set the sounds for ur software. (note : the list is in alphabetical order, so dont worry if your apps. name starts with x...it must be at the bottom of the list). Here if you want to add your own sounds, then copy paste the wav file in c:\windows\media folder.
Stop loading of programs on start-up :
---------------------------------------
Don't like those annoying programs which open at startup. Even though, they take up only small amounts of resources they can cause system hangups!! To delete them 1st look in your startup folder which is loacted at start>programs>startup. Don't worry you won't delete your original file. This is just the shortcut file. Then you check the Win.ini file (this is only for the users who understand the structure of Win.ini, don't mess this file u may damage ur windows) to see if you can get rid of the darn thing. Finally use the registry : goto >
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre nt-Version\Run
&
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr ent-Version\Run
here there will be some important values like the systray, explorer,etc..dont modify them. They are needed for windows bootup.
If your annoying program's name is there right-click and delete it. For e.g. you can delete the realtray value, which will stop the loading of real player at startup. But there is a better alternative to this for windows 98 and later users. click on start>run>type msconfig and press enter a windows will pop up. Click on the startup tab and see if your annoying program's name is there. If it is checked then uncheck it..thats it
Internet Explorer settings :
---------------------------
Below are some of the path names in the registry editor along with its use.
1) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Internet Settings
here u can see that security related settings such as proxy, dial-up, etc..have been defined
2) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\AboutURLs
here u can define the urls to open when the user stops the transfer, if the site is not found, etc..
3) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Default HTML Editor\shell\edit\command
when u click on file in internet explorer u will see "edit this file with......". this key defines the path to open that html editor
4) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\PageSetup
defualt margin setup for IE
5) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search
when a correct url is not found IE auatomatically searches for it. here it defines the site path for searching.
6) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
here edit the paths to defualt save directory, homepage, title bar text, etc..
7) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt
when we right-click on page we can see many options...here u can see that list
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs
typed urls as the names suggest..
9) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\International
here the different fonts settings are stored
Remove icons from desktop :
-------------------------------
Network Neighborhood, My Briefcase, My Computer icons on the gesktop sometimes gets very annoying and there is no option for deleting them when u right click on them. So what do u do? In the Registry Editor goto>
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\Desktop\Namespace
Here u will see series of subkeys with some weird names ..ahh so how to identify which to delete!! click on every subkey under namespace. On the right pane names like My documents, Network Neighborhood, etc..will be shown for each key. Each will be different from other. So if the clicked one is Network Neighborhood and u dont want it..just right click on its subkey and delete it. So next time u start ur pc..it will be gone from the desktop!!
Registry Patches :
------------------------------------------------------
Although you can edit the Registry with REGEDIT, you can also make changes by using Registry patches. A Registry patch is a simple text file with a ".reg" extension that contains one or more keys or values. You can create a Registry patch by selecting any subkey and choosing Export from the File menu. The files is saved and can be used a backup . In the same way you can select 'My Computer' and click registry>export> keep the settings to "all" for creating a backup of the whole registry. You can then view the Registry patch file by opening it in Notepad (right-click on it and select Edit / use the drag and drop feature). To restore the registry just double-click it or use the Registry's Import feature.
So u see how easy to edit and see how windows stores its settings!! My basic point is that u can change many of the settings by yourself..but how do u find the values? in subkey are they located? well remember these points :
1) whatever u are looking for, 1st understand its nature. If it is for a particular user then it will located in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER key. If it is for general purpose for all the users then it will in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE..
2) use find as an effect method to find the right path...for e.g. i did not know how to change the homepage thru registry. so i copy pasted the url in the find box and searched for it....but the url was also used in other subkeys...so i didn't get the right path...so i pressed F3, on which it continues its search till another result is found...finally i got it...!!
The more u use it...the more easy will it be for u to understand the registry!!