In my articles, tips, and notes, I often refer the reader to the Windows Registry Editor. Many of them involve intensive work with registry keys and values. I suddenly realized that not all of my readers got their hands on working with this program, and some of them had never launched the Registry Editor at all. Therefore, I decided to write a small guide to this program.
Table of contents:
What is Registry Editor
The Registry Editor was historically created as a tool for users who need to change Windows settings that don't appear in the user interface. The main function of this program is to view and change settings in the system registry, that is, in a set of special binary files that contain information about both the Windows configuration and almost all the programs that are installed on your computer. Windows OS and many programs (with the exception of those that are so-called "portable", portable, in other words - do not require installation) store their settings in the registry.
How to start the Registry Editor
Method 1
Regardless of the version of Windows installed on your computer, this method will work:
Method 2
The Registry Editor executable is located in C:\Windows, which means that you can open this folder in Explorer and run the regedit.exe file with a mouse click.
Alternatively, you can create a shortcut to Regedit.exe and place it in the start menu/list Windows applications 8.x, to a folder
%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
This will make the Registry Editor visible in Windows search results and will also allow you to launch the application with a single click.
General view of the Registry Editor
The registry editor looks like this:
As you can see in the picture above, it consists of two panels:
- the left one displays a hierarchical representation of the data structure, it is called sections (or keys);
- the right panel displays options. They are pairs name = data and are stored inside the keys.
What does Registry Editor show?
As I mentioned above, the editor shows us sections and options.
Sections are a virtual representation of data from several files that form registry database. You can see exactly which files represent the registry on your computer if you go to this section:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\hivelist
Here you can find a list of files on your hard drive that store registry data. The data inside them, as mentioned above, has a hierarchical structure, and the registry editor shows them in the form of a "tree". The roots of the tree (master keys) in the general case represent a specific file, to the data of which access is granted.
However, there are also virtual keys that appear in the registry editor as ordinary files, but in reality are a representation of several files or even separate registry branches. They exist, as a rule, for backward compatibility. For example, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG is a virtual view, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is also a virtual view that combines the current user's registry keys and system keys.
Please note that some registry files do not appear in the Registry Editor window. For example, you will never see what is stored inside a SAM (Security Accounts Manager) file. In the registry editor, it is represented by the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM\SAM branch and is supposedly empty there. This is done for security reasons.
Registry settings used by Windows and many third-party applications to store various configuration settings and some user data. Parameter values come in a variety of types, but are generally text/string values, numeric values, or binary values.
How to create a new registry key
To create a new key, right-click on the parent partition in the left pane and select Create -> Section from the context menu.
You must give the newly created section a name according to the requirements of the program for which you are creating it.
How to create a new setting
To create a new parameter, you must right-click
- on the current section on the left
or - in the empty space in the right pane.
Select the appropriate type for the new parameter and enter its name. Double click on the parameter name to set its value.
How to become the owner of a section and get full access to it
Just as the concepts of "permissions" and "ownership" apply to files and folders in file system NTFS, they also exist for registry keys. From the era of Windows Vista to the present day, most of the registry keys that store OS settings are protected by access control so that they cannot be easily removed or changed by the user. Sometimes you may need to change the data in such partitions, and for this you need to be able to change the owner of the partition and gain full access to it. To do this is quite simple.
How to restore TrustedInstaller as partition owner
Almost all system registry keys in Windows Vista, 7 and 8 have the TrustedInstaller account as their owner. After editing permissions on a partition, you must return ownership for this account, otherwise the operating system may not work correctly. To restore the TrustedInstaller property in Windows Vista, 7 and 8, type NT Service\TrustedInstaller in the "Enter the names of the objects to select" box. Click OK.
How to change permissions on a registry key
After changing the owner of a registry key, you almost always have to change the access rights, without this you will not be able to change the parameter values. To do this, you must switch to the Permissions tab in the Advanced Security Options dialog box.
Subsections may have so-called inherited permissions from its parent section. Alternatively, subkeys can also have explicit permissions other than the parent key.
In the first case, that is, if the permissions are inherited from the parent key, you must disable inheritance and copy the parent partition's permissions to the current key in order to be able to change them. To do this in Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP, uncheck "Add permissions inherited from parent objects" and click the "Add" button in the confirmation dialog box.
After disabling inheritance, select the appropriate user account and click Change to change access rights.
Windows 8 has a dedicated button to disable inheritance:
Permissions can be set in two ways: after disabling inheritance, you can set them only on the current partition, or you can set permissions on the current key and then apply them to all of its subkeys. To do this, check the box Replace all permission entries of a child object with those inherited from this object. This action will push the permissions you set down the key hierarchy for all subkeys.
Registry Editor command line switches
Jump to the desired registry key with one click
Option number 1
Some time ago, I created a RegOwnershipEx utility that allows you to get full access to a registry key with one click. In addition, it allows you to go to the desired registry key. I recommend that you take a look at it. 
RegOwnershipEx allows the following:
- become the owner and get full access to the selected registry key. There is a registry browser window for easy key selection.
- favorites - for quick access to your favorite registry keys. It is integrated with the "Favorites" menu of the Registry Editor.
- restore the permissions and ownership that you changed earlier. those. The program allows you to return the rights to their original state.
- function "open in regedit" - you can open the selected key in the registry editor. This is a very handy option to quickly navigate to a section by simply copying its name.
- shortcuts for root partitions - you can use HKCU instead of HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKLM instead of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and so on.
- getting the registry path from the windows clipboard.
- command line argument "/j" to extract the path to the registry key from the Windows clipboard and quickly switch to the registry editor.
It's all damn convenient!
Option 2
I wrote a simple script that will get the contents of the clipboard, write it to the registry and open the registry editor. The following scenario is assumed: You are reading an article, it says - "go to the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion". You highlight the path to the section, press CTRL+C and run the script. Registry Editor opens in the right place. .
Many novice users are wondering how to enter Windows registry 10, 8, 7 or XP. No matter how much you go through the Start menu items, you can’t find a shortcut to the registry in it! How to open the registry in Windows?
The fact is that any rash change in the registry can lead to disastrous consequences for your computer. To prevent inexperienced users from getting into trouble, access to the registry has been hidden.
Make a promise to yourself that you will not make rash changes to the registry in order to do not harm your computer!
Details about what is a registry how it works, and how it can be used, can be found in.
For any version of Windows, there are several ways to launch a program in which you can change registry settings (it's called " registry editor»).
Let's start with the latest Windows 10, and consider two options for accessing the registry.
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 1 for Windows 10
- Click the "Start" button with the left mouse button (or the "Windows" key on the keyboard);
- When the Start menu opens, type " regedit" (without quotes);
- At the top of the search menu, under the inscription "Best match", the item "REGEDIT - Run command" will appear, click on this item with the left mouse button;
- If a confirmation window for starting the registry editor appears, click "Yes";
You will see the "Registry Editor" window, in which you can make changes to the registry itself.
Launching the Registry Editor in Windows 10
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 2 for Windows 10
- Click the Start button with the right mouse button (or the keyboard shortcut Win + X);
- In the menu that appears, select the "Run" item (these two steps can be replaced with one Win + R key combination);
- In the Run window that appears, type regedit" (without quotes) and click the "OK" button;
- In the launch confirmation window, click "Yes";
The "Registry Editor" window will appear, and you can proceed to make changes.
You can clearly see how to enter the Windows 10 registry in this video:
How to open the registry in Windows 8/8.1
To launch the registry editor in Windows 8, you need to follow the same steps as in Windows 10, if you have version 8 and not 8.1, then you don’t have a Start button, so in the first step of the first method, press the Windows key and then follow the instructions above.
Detailed video instruction on how to enter the Windows 8 (8.1) Registry Editor:
How to open the registry in Windows 7
To open the Registry Editor in Windows 7, you need to follow similar steps:
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 1 for Windows 7
- Type command " regedit" (without quotes);
- Click at the top of the menu, under the inscription "Programs" on the inscription " regedit»;
- Select “Yes” to the prompt to confirm the launch.
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 2 for Windows 7
- Press the key combination Win + R on the keyboard (hold down the Windows key and, without releasing it, press the R key);
- In the "Run" window, type the command " regedit
- Confirm the launch of the registry editor with the "Yes" button.
Both ways to enter the Windows 7 registry editor can be seen in this video:
How to open the registry in Windows XP
In Windows XP, opening the Registry Editor is slightly different:
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 1 for Windows XP
- Click on "Start" with the left mouse button;
- In the right column, find the item "Run" (both steps can be replaced with a combination of Win + R)
- In the window "Start the program" write the command " regedit” (without quotes) and click the “OK” button;
Launching the Registry Editor in Windows XP
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 2 for Windows XP (and not only)
- Open File Explorer (you can use the keyboard shortcut Win + X);
- Go to drive "C:";
- Open the Windows folder;
- Find the "regedit" file and run it.
And, of course, a video version of opening the registry editor in Windows XP:
The second method is suitable for all listed versions of Windows. Moreover, you can cheat a little:
Once you get to the "regedit" file, you can create a desktop shortcut and greatly simplify access to the Registry Editor in the future.
You can find out more about what a registry is and how it works.
Conclusion
Today you learned how to enter the registry in all current versions of Windows.
Collected in total three ways:
- Search through the start menu by entering the command "regedit"
- Using the "Run" command and typing "regedit"
- Opening the "regedit" file located in the C:\Windows\ folder
And one additional way: having reached the file "regedit" (third way), create a shortcut on the desktop.
In the next lesson, I plan to look at a way to save (backup) certain parts of the registry before changing them.
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The registry is a large database that stores all the settings necessary for the normal operation of the operating system. You can view it through the registry editor, which is available in Windows. Any user can enter it if his account has administrator rights.
And if you made any changes, or the computer turned off by itself, for various reasons, or you accidentally pressed the wrong key and deleted a parameter or an entire registry branch, then this may not have the best effect on the computer.
And yet, if this happened, let's figure out what are the ways to restore the registry of Windows 7 and Windows 8, for the normal operation of the computer.
With a backup
As you probably guessed, this method is not for everyone. If you previously backed up the registry through "File" - "Export" - read on, if not - go to the next method.
So, you have a backup. Press the combination Win + R, the window will open "Run". In the "Open" field, write regedit and click "OK".
The Registry Editor window should appear. In it, go to the "File" tab and select from the menu "Import".
The explorer will open, find in it the previously created backup and click "Open".
Wait while the files are copied.
Using System Restore
A system restore can be done using restore points. You could create them earlier, when the system worked stably and everything suited you. Or they could be created automatically by the system: when making changes to the computer configuration, before installing drivers, and so on.
Let's first consider, how to restore the registry if the operating system boots. In Windows 7, go to "Start" - "Control Panel".
Here we are interested in the point "Recovery".
In the next window, click "Starting System Restore".
Now you need to select a restore point. If there are several points, and you are in doubt, look at the date the point was created - did your computer work normally on these dates ?! - choose it. Clicking "Search for affected programs", you can see which programs will be removed as a result of recovery. Click "Next".
We confirm the rollback of the system to the selected state by clicking "Finish".
All data, including the registry, will correspond to the state that was at the time the selected restore point was created.
If you have Windows 8 installed on your computer, read the article: Windows 8 restore point and system rollback. There you will be interested in the second part. The actions will need to be performed the same as described above.
If the OS does not start
Restore the registry if the computer does not turn on is also possible. AT operating system Windows 7, when booting the computer, press, at intervals of 1 second, the F8 button. A window will appear "Additional download options". In it, use the arrows to select the item "Computer Troubleshooting".
In the next window, select a language and click "Next".
Select your account, it is better that it has administrator rights, then enter the password if you have set it when logging in, and click "OK".
The following window should appear, select the item in it "System Restore".
A recovery window will open, click "Next" in it and repeat the steps described in the paragraph above.
If you have Windows 8 installed on your computer, you can press F8 or Shift + F8 when loading, but you are unlikely to see a window for additional download options. It is best to use a system recovery disc or a bootable USB flash drive. You can create them on any other computer with Windows 8 installed.
Follow the link and read the article how to restore Windows 8. Everything is described in detail there. You should have the following window. Then go along the path: "Diagnostics" - "System Restore", and select the desired restore point.
Through the command line
In Windows, the files that are responsible for the operation of the registry are stored in the following path: C: (your system drive letter)/Windows/System32/config . The RegBack folder is also located there, it stores backup copies of all registry branches. They are updated by the system automatically, depending on the settings, every 5-10 days.
We need to do the following: delete the DEFAULT, SAM, SECURITY, SYSTEM, SOFTWARE files that are in the config folder and replace them with similar files from the RegBack folder.
We will not be able to do this in the operating system, since it will be necessary to replace the files responsible for its operation. Therefore, you need to use the advanced boot options, and open the command line.
In Windows 7, press F8 when booting the system. Then you need to do everything as described in the paragraph above. In the window "System Recovery Options", select an item "Command line". As a result, the command prompt will start as an administrator.
In Windows 8, you can open the command prompt using the combination . This is described in detail in the article: Windows 8 Safe Mode. Read the paragraph: enter safe mode using the combination Shift + reboot. When the next window appears, select "Command line".
If the computer does not turn on at all, due to changes in the registry, then read the paragraph: enter safe mode using the system recovery disk (you can create it on any computer with installed Windows 8).
So, we launched the command line. Now enter the following commands line by line. Press "Enter" at the end of each line. First, let's create a badreg folder on the system drive, copy all the files of our non-working registry into it. Then we will safely delete the DEFAULT, SAM, SECURITY, SYSTEM, SOFTWARE files from the config folder, because we have copies of them. And lastly, we copy the backups from the regback folder to the config folder.
MD c:\badreg
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\badreg
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\badreg
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\badreg
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\badreg
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\badreg
delete c:\windows\system32\config\default
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\system32\config\regback\default c:\windows\system32\config\
copy c:\windows\system32\config\regback\sam c:\windows\system32\config\
copy c:\windows\system32\config\regback\system c:\windows\system32\config\
copy c:\windows\system32\config\regback\security c:\windows\system32\config\
copy c:\windows\system32\config\regback\software c:\windows\system32\config\
exit
After you enter the exit command, the command prompt window will close and the computer will restart.
I hope one of the ways will help you restore the registry in the operating Windows system 7 or 8.
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Discussion: 16 comments
Most likely, you have the DEFAULT, SAM, SECURITY, SYSTEM, SOFTWARE folders in a different path, but not c:\windows\system32\config.
Reply
And what to do?
Reply
You need to find out the path to the specified files. Do you have the 32 bit version installed or the 64 bit version?
I enter commands in the line as shown, for some reason it says: “the system could not find this path”, what should I do?
Reply
When I hear the phrase Windows registry, I imagine the icon for the regedit.exe program - a semi-disassembled green cube consisting of smaller cubes. What exactly is a registry? I think many Windows users have heard about it, but not many have seen and understand what kind of miracle it is.
The Windows 8 registry is a database that contains settings for the operating system and programs. So, the registry is a database. Like any other database, the registry is stored in files on the hard drive. There are several registry files, the main part is located in the C:\Windows\System32\config folder (%windir%\system32\config). If you look into this folder, then all the files opposite which the “File” type is indicated will be the same registry files.
Another place where registry files are stored is in the root folder of user profiles and along the path C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows (%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows). Each profile has its own registry files, since each account uses its own unique hive (section) of the Windows registry, because the settings for all profiles are unique. To open your profile, press the key combination WIN + R, in the window that appears, type %userprofile% and click OK. These files will probably be hidden from you, you need to enable the display of hidden and system files to see them. In the screenshot below, you can see that the registry file is NTUSER.DAT, the rest are logs needed to recover from an unexpected crash.
What do we have at the moment? The Windows 8 registry is stored in files scattered across folders. In order to view or edit some settings of the operating system or programs, you can use the regedit.exe program. It is stored in the C:\Windows folder, but you can run it by pressing WIN+R and typing regedit. In general, Microsoft does not recommend making changes to Windows settings directly through the registry, but using the existing user interface of the operating system. If you run regedit, then I recommend that you do not make any changes, but only familiarize yourself with the structure of the database.
Since all Windows settings are stored in the registry, in the absence of that same user interface (which is typical for stripped-down Windows versions like Windows 7 Starter), many settings can be changed through the registry. For example, you can use regedit to change the desktop background by specifying your path to the image file, although this cannot be done through the Control Panel.
That's all I would like to tell.
The Windows registry is a database of operating system settings that contains information and settings for all computer components: PC hardware, software, system parameters. In many cases, when working on a computer, the user needs to open the Windows registry to configure the operating system, change OS settings or installed applications.
The system registry, or Windows registry, contains all the necessary data to manage system settings and settings. The normal functioning of the Windows operating system depends on the state of the registry.
After making modifications to the registry settings, the configuration and settings of the system or programs installed on the computer are changed. To make changes or correct some settings, you must enter the registry of the operating system. The question arises: how to open the registry editor on a computer? How to enter the Windows registry?
The Windows operating system has a special application Registry Editor (regedit.exe) for working with registry data. The built-in tool of the system, the Registry Editor program, is well suited for working with registry branches (the registry has a tree form). Individual registry files have different locations in the operating system. Therefore, to make changes to the system registry, you should run the Windows Registry Editor on your computer.
Note:
- Incorrect or incorrect modification of registry settings can lead to malfunctions of the operating system. Because of this, the user will have to perform a system restore or reinstall Windows. Before editing the registry, follow the steps to return the system to working capacity in case of unsuccessful actions: backup the registry, create a system restore point, run backup system partition.
How to open the registry editor in different versions of the Windows operating system? There are several universal ways to enter the Windows Registry Editor in the same way in all versions of the operating system. In the article, we will additionally analyze how to enter the Windows 10 registry, how to enter the Windows 8.1 (Windows 8) registry, how to open the Windows 7 registry editor, for each system.
You can open the registry editor in Windows in the same way for different versions of the operating system using 5 ways:
- login using the Run dialog box
- launching the "regedit" file from the "Windows" folder in Explorer
- opening with command prompt or Windows PowerShell
- find the application using search on the taskbar or from the start menu
- launching the registry editor using a pre-created shortcut
First, consider the universal methods applicable to different Windows versions, and then look separately at additional methods for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7.
How to enter the system registry from the "Run" dialog box
Using the Run dialog to launch the Registry Editor works on all modern versions of the operating system: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
On the Windows operating system, do the following:
- Press the "Win" + "R" keys on your keyboard at the same time.
- In the "Run" window, in the "Open" field, enter the expression: "regedit" (without quotes), and then click on the "OK" button.
After that, the Registry Editor application window will open on the computer.
How to enter the registry on a computer from the Windows folder
Another way to enter the registry editor is to launch the application directly from the Windows system folder on the computer. This method can be used in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
The only caveat: you need to be careful in your actions, as you will enter the folder with the operating system. Be careful what you do.
Follow these sequential steps:
- Open File Explorer on your computer.
- Go to the "C:" drive, open the "Windows" folder.
- Find and then double-click the left mouse button on the "regedit" application.
The system Registry Editor will open on your computer.
How to open the registry using the command line
You can start the registry editor from the command line.
Do the following:
- Run command prompt as administrator.
- In the command line interpreter window, type: "regedit" (without quotes), and then press the "Enter" key.
How to Enter the Registry Editor Using Windows PowerShell
The Registry Editor is launched from Windows PowerShell like this:
- Run Windows PowerShell as an administrator.
- In the PowerShell window, type: "regedit" (without quotes) and then press "Enter".
Create a shortcut to launch the Windows Registry Editor
If the user is not ready to take several steps each time to launch a system application, you can make this task easier. To do this, you need to create a shortcut with which the registry editor will be launched on the computer.
Take the following steps:
- Run file manager Windows Explorer.
- Open Local Disk "C:".
- Enter the Windows folder.
- Find the "regedit" application, right click on it.
- From the context menu, first select "Send to" and then "Desktop (create shortcut)".
- A shortcut will appear on the desktop of the computer to launch the Registry Editor system tool.
Now, you can easily open the registry editor by double-clicking the left mouse button on the application shortcut.
How to open the registry in Windows 10
Let's see how to enter the Windows 10 registry in a different way, using search. First we will find the application on the computer and then we will run the system tool.
To open the Registry Editor in Windows 10, do the following:
- On the taskbar, click on the search icon, or left-click on the Start menu.
- Enter on the keyboard the expression: "regedit" (without quotes), and then execute the command.
The Windows 10 Registry Editor is open and ready to make changes to the appropriate keys.
How to enter the registry Windows 8.1 (Windows 8)
Windows 8.1 (original) and Windows 8 operating systems do not have a Start menu, so some users find it difficult to find the desired application on their PC.
Windows 8.1 Update 1 has a built-in Start menu, so you can start searching for the registry editor on your computer in this way:
- Right click on the start menu.
- Select "Find".
- In the Search box, type "regedit" (without quotes).
- Launch the application.
Another universal way for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8:
- Move your mouse cursor down from the top right of the screen.
- In the sidebar that opens, click on the "Search" icon.
- In the search field, enter the expression: "regedit".
- Execute the command.
As a result, the Windows 8.1 (Windows 8) Registry Editor will launch on the computer.
How to open the registry in Windows 7
Now we will try to enter the Windows 7 registry. In the seven, in addition to the universal methods described above, there is another way to enter the registry editor.
In the Windows 7 operating system, to open the registry editor, do the following:
- Enter the start menu.
- In the "Search files and programs" box, type "regedit" (without the quotes).
- Launch the Registry Editor application.
Conclusion
If necessary, the user can enter the Windows Registry Editor to make changes to the system registry settings. There are several ways to enter the Windows registry: using the Run dialog box, launching a system tool from a previously created application shortcut, opening the registry editor in command line or in the Windows PowerShell entry, launch the application from the Windows system folder, search for and launch the registry editor in different versions of the operating system.
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