| The
Windows registry is a hierarchical database that contains virtually all
information about your PC’s configuration. Under previous versions of
Windows, these settings were contained in files like config.sys,
autoexec.bat, win.ini, system.ini, control.ini, and so on. The structure of
the registry is similar to the INI file structure. However, it goes beyond
the concept of INI files, as it offers a hierarchical structure similar to
the folders and files on your hard disk. In fact, you access the elements of
the registry the same way you access folders and files.
Here, I examine only the Win
95/98 registry, though the NT registry is also quite similar.
The registry editor
The registry editor—regedit.exe—is a utility that allows you to see,
search, modify, and save the Windows registry database. It doesn’t
validate the values you’re writing, but allows any operation. So you have
to pay close attention while using it to modify your registry.
To launch the registry
editor, run regedit.exe (under Win NT, run regedt32.exe with administrator
privileges).
The registry editor is
divided into two panes. The one on the left shows you a hierarchical
structure of the database (the screen looks like Windows Explorer), and the
one on the right shows the values.
The registry is organized
into keys and sub keys. Each key contains a value entry, and has a name, a
type or class, and the value itself. The name is a string that identifies
the key. The length and the format of the value depends on the data type.
The registry is divided into
five principal keys—there’s no way to add or delete keys at this level.
Only two of these keys are effectively saved on the hard disk—HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
and HKEY_USERS. The others are just branches of the main keys or are
dynamically created by Windows.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
This key contains hardware, applications, and services information. A lot of
hardware information is updated automatically when the computer boots. The
data stored in this key is shared with any user. This handle has many sub
keys.
Config: Contains
configuration data for different hardware configurations.
Enum: This
is the device data. For each device in your computer, you can find
information such as the device type, the hardware manufacturer, device
drivers, and the configuration.
Hardware:
Contains a list of serial ports, processors, and floating-point
processors.
Network:
Contains network information.
Security:
Shows you network security information.
Software: This key
contains data about installed software.
System Contains data that
checks which device drivers are used by Windows and how they’re
configured.
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