In today's article on Understand Computers we will teach you, we will teach you to use Registry Editor
Or the registry / registry editor as it is called in the Arabic language professionally.
In general we have posted several articles that let you apply lots of tweaks to Windows and adding new items using Registry Editor but if you have full knowledge about that it will make you more professional and you can fully deal with the Registry on your own and find out more.
The most important thing to know about Registry is that you probably shouldn't mess around and delete or change things for no reason. Deleting a large portion of the registry will not make your computer run faster, and no registry hack will speed up your computer or give you some major new functionality that is not there.
Almost all registry modifications involve either modifying the behavior of some components in Windows, or disabling one that you don't like. For example, if you want to prevent programs or exe files from running, you can Registry to do so. If you are tired of Windows Update forcibly restarting your PC, you can modify the registry to stop it.
Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that contains all the configurations and settings used by components, services, applications, and almost everything in Windows.
The registry contains two basic elements that you must know, which are “Keys” and “Values”.
Registry Keyes are folders, and they really look like folders. Values are a bit like the files inside folders, and contain the actual settings.
When you first open the Registry Editor, you will find a menu on the left side that contains Keys, with Values or Object Values on the right side, so it's very simple.
The keys or Keys you see on the left side of the screenshot are important.
Each one contains a different set of information, and depending on what you're trying to do, you'll need to know which section you'll be scrolling down.
The most important Registry Keys you will use HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT:-
Windows uses this section to manage file type associations where you can learn about all of the extensions that have been registered in Windows and the default program that you open with, usually abbreviated HKCR. This key is connected to the HKLM \ Software \ Classes folder.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
It maintains the user settings for the currently logged in user, usually abbreviated to HKCU, the most important subkey here is HKCU \ Software, which contains the settings of the installed programs for the active user.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
All Windows settings are stored here, usually abbreviated to HKLM. Mostly you'll use the HKLM \ Software key to check your computer or Windows settings.
HKEY_USERS
All settings are stored for all users, and are usually shortened to HKCU. If you need to check the settings for another user on your computer, you can use this key.
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
All settings are stored per hardware, this isn't used often, and it's just a link to HKLM \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Hardware Profiles \ Current.
Create new Keys and values:-
In this section, we will create a key and a value inside it through the Registry Editor, and in order to open it, all you have to do is type regedit in the Run box or in the search box in the Start Menu.
Right-clicking>any key on the left side of the window gives you a bunch of options, most of which are fairly straightforward and easy to understand.
You can create a new key, which will appear as a folder on the left side, or a new value, which will appear on the right side. These values can be a little confusing, but there are really only a few that are used regularly.
- String Value (REG_SZ) - contains text values, and in most cases you can modify them in many cases.
- Binary Value (or REG_BINARY) - This value contains random binary data, and you will never want to try to release one of these keys.
- DWORD (32-bit) Value or (REG_DWORD) - Contains numeric values for a regular integer, either 0 or 1, or a number from 0 to 4,294,967,295.
- QWORD (64-bit) Value or (REG_QWORD) - It's not often used for registry modding purposes, but it's basically a 64-bit scalar value.
- Multi-String Value or (REG_MULTI_SZ) - These values are somewhat uncommon, but they basically function like the Notepad window. You can type multi-line text information in a field like this one.
- Expandable String Value (REG_EXPAND_SZ) - these variables have a string that can contain environment variables and are often used for system paths. To a string it may be SystemDrive% \ Windows% which stands for the path, this means if you want to create a path like this you can through this key.
Favorites menu:-
One of the really useful features that no one seems to notice is the Favorites menu, which is great when you want to check a path inside Registry regularly. The really fun thing is that you can export the Favorites list and use it again on another computer without having to re-register the keys and add them to the Favorites menu.
It's also a great way to bookmark something in the Registry if you search multiple locations, so that you can easily return to where you were last.
Export Registry Files:-
You can export the Registry keys and all the values under it by right-clicking a key and choosing Export. This is really important if you are going to make changes to your system.
Once you have the exported Registry file, you can double-click it to enter the information back into Registry, or you can choose Edit to have a look at the contents through Notepad.
Permissions settings:-
Some Registry keys will not allow you to make changes by default. This is generally because you don't have Permission permission for these keys, but you can tweak the permissions system if you want by right-clicking on a key and choosing Permission, then tweaking it from there.
We have to note that this is not a good idea, and you should usually steer clear of keys that require a lot of work to release.
Where are the Registry files stored?
You can find the registry files stored in this folder Windows \ System32 \ Config.
SAM, SECURITY, and SOFTWARE files are the same keys inside HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Save a backup copy of the Registry:-
You may have noticed over the years that every site advising you to edit the Registry in some way also tells you to backup your Registry. But what is the best way to do this?
You can't completely export Registry to a file, and it won't work very well to import it again either. You also can't easily access the files themselves on your hard drive, as they are completely locked. It will not work.
Some important things to note:-
While many people refuse to agree, the truth is that Registry cleansers are pointless and should not be used. Cleaning a few hundred keys from a database of millions will not provide any performance boost, and any errors in the Registry that cause a component not to load properly will be discovered in Event Viewer or elsewhere, and can be fixed without resorting to Registry Cleanup.
You can review this article for more explanation: Why cleaning the registry won't speed up the device.
And don't let us start defragmenting the registry, which is complete nonsense these days. Perhaps once upon a time on Windows 95 with slow hard drives, that made sense. But now, with modern hard drives or solid state drives that do not need to be defragmented at all?
Do not do it.
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