Chapter 3: Using Registry Editor

Overview

The user does have to take responsibility for the computer and what happens on it.

--Lou Grinzo
"Zen of Windows 95 Programming"

If you call Microsoft for technical support and ask about editing the registry, they will answer that end users should not edit the registry. Microsoft documents are full of these notices, warning you that improper editing could make your system unbootable.

At the same time, registry tools are present in all Microsoft operating systems (what's more, they're installed by default). Why, then, does Microsoft provide these utilities to the end user? The answer is simple: these utilities are necessary because, in some cases, they are the only way to solve the problem. Try to imagine how the user community would react if the Windows operating systems did not include these utilities. Of course, some users wouldn't notice the lack of tools, but others To understand this, take some time to read "Zen of Windows 95 Programming" by Lou Grinzo. Besides an alternative point of view on the Windows registry, you'll find lots of other interesting facts and ideas presented in Gringo's book. The author also states that he is one of the users who would protest if Microsoft tried to force him to write registry-editing applications himself. He would surely find many supporters for this point of view. All contemporary Windows operating systems, including Windows 9x/ME, Windows NT/2000, Windows XP, and products of the Windows Server 2003 family, contain special utilities for viewing and editing the registry, which are called Registry Editors. Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 actually contain two registry editors. Regedt32.exe is the traditional Windows NT registry-editing program inherited from previous Windows NT versions. It allows you to edit the registry using methods that aren't supported in Windows 9x/ME. Regedit.exe is a newer application that was initially written for Windows 95. This application offers many of the capabilities of Regedt32.exe and has a Windows Explorer user interface (UI). The Windows 2000/XP version of Regedit.exe is similar to applications included in Windows 9x/ME and Windows NT 4.0.

Note 

In comparison to Windows NT/2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 provide an improvement in this area. For the moment, all tasks related to registry administration and editing can be performed with a single utility - Regedit.exe, which now integrates its traditional strong points with the functionality that was earlier available only in Regedt32.exe. Beside this, Regedit.exe now supports extended import and export capabilities. However, Regedit.exe lacks one of the most useful Regedt32.exe functions, namely, read-only mode.

All versions of registry editors supplied with all versions of the Windows operating system are automatically installed during the OS installation. However, neither of these registry tools is included in the Start menu, and Setup doesn't create desktop shortcuts for them. To start these programs, use the Run command from the Start menu.

You can use registry editors for viewing, adding, deleting, and modifying registry elements. This chapter will probably seem boring to those of you with knowledge of earlier versions of Windows NT. However, but few books on Windows NT/2000/XP or Windows Server 2003 in general, and Windows registry in particular, omit a chapter dedicated to this topic. It's also almost impossible to find a book on this topic that doesn't warn that the Registry editor isn't a toy. It is also important to note that neither of the registry editors can be considered as a "program that will simplify your life" (despite the fact that developers have actually made some advances in this direction). On the contrary, most users (especially beginners) will create a number of problems for themselves and make their lives much more complicated. This warning is not here with the purpose of scaring off beginners, since this entire chapter is intended specifically for them.



Windows Server 2003 Registry
Unicode Explained
ISBN: 1931769214
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 129

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