How To Go About Editing The Windows Registry
Sometimes you find yourself in the position of needing to manually edit the Windows registry for some reason, if you are in this position, then this article can show you how to do it. However, it is always advised that if you do not know what exactly you are editing, and what affect it will have on your system, you should not manually edit the registry.
The Windows Registry Basics
The Windows registry is at the heart of the Windows operating system. It is a large database which contains information on how your system works and all of the hardware and software installed on it. The registry talks with the Windows operating system every time you ask your computer to do something for you. Without the registry, Windows will not run and your computer will not boot-up.
The registry resides within the operating system and is for the most part hidden away. However, when you need to edit it you can see it by going to Start->Run
-> and typing in "regedit." This command brings up the registry database for you and allows you to make changes.
Because the registry is used by Windows to make you computer run, any changes you make are not always reversible if you do the wrong thing. You will notice that the registry does not give you the option to save or undo your changes, this is because any changes you make take effect immediately. Because of this, it is imperative that before you attempt to change anything that you are sure what the outcome will be.
Backing Up the Windows Registry
The good news is that you can make a backup copy of the registry just incase you ever need to restore it. To do this you will click on File->Export in regedit. This will give you the option to copy your registry. Make sure that you export it with a name you can remember and to a location that you can easily find! Click on the "Save" button and then go to the location you saved the file to and make sure that it is there.
Always backup your registry file before making any changes!
Windows Registry Structure
The registry contains five locations which are called "hives." Within each hive are folders which are called "keys." Within the keys are "sub-keys" which are known as "values." You can easily see that there are thousands of keys, subkeys and values in the registry.
The five hives of the registry are:
* HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER
* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
* HKEY_USERS
* HKEY_CURRET_CONFIG
Windows Registry Navigation
To navigate in the registry you simply click on the hive on the left side of the regedit window. This will open up the directory on the right side of the window; this is the same process as navigating around in the Windows Explorer.
Making Changes to the Registry Values
To make changes to the registry values, simply navigate to the value you want to change by expanding the tree on the left, and make your edits on the right side of the window. It really is that simple!
Restoring the Registry if Something Goes Wrong
If something goes wrong while you are editing the registry, you can restore it using the backup file you made earlier. Thankfully, every time your computer restarts it writes a copy of the registry as a backup. If you have changed the registry and your machine will not boot, then allow it to boot to "Last Known Good Configuration" and it will rewrite its copy of the registry for you. If your system is simply unstable, then you can go back into regedit and click on File->Import and import back in the copy of the registry that you made. This will restore your system to the point before you edited.
As you can see, editing the registry is not for the faint at heart. However, as long as you are reasonably sure of what you are doing, and you backup the registry first, you should be fine.
