This
important information is quoted directly from Microsoft
support files. If any links do not work contact Microsoft support for
information.
Back
up the registry
Before you edit the registry, export the keys in the
registry that you
plan to edit, or back up the whole registry. If a problem occurs, you
can then follow the steps in the "Restore the registry" section to
restore the registry to its previous state. To back up the whole
registry, use the Backup utility to back up the system state. The
system state includes the registry, the COM+ Class Registration
Database, and your boot files. For more information about how to use
the Backup utility to back up the system state, click the following
article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
308422 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422/) How to
use the Backup
utility that is included in Windows XP to back up files and folders
320820 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320820/) How to
use the Backup
utility to back up files and folders in Windows XP Home Edition
326216 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326216/) How to
use the backup
feature to back up and restore data in Windows Server 2003
Edit the registry
To modify registry data, a program must use the
registry functions that are defined in the following MSDN Web site:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724875.aspx
(http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724875.aspx)
Administrators can modify the registry by using
Registry Editor
(Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe), Group Policy, System Policy, Registry
(.reg) files, or by running scripts such as VisualBasic script files.
Use the Windows user interface
We recommend that you use the Windows user interface to
change your
system settings instead of manually editing the registry. However,
editing the registry may sometimes be the best method to resolve a
product issue. If the issue is documented in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base, an article with step-by-step instructions to edit the registry
for that issue will be available. We recommend that you follow those
instructions exactly.
Use Registry Editor
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the
registry
incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These
problems might require that you reinstall the operating system.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify
the registry at your own risk.
You can use Registry Editor to do the following:
• Locate a subtree, key, subkey, or value
• Add a subkey or a value
• Change a value
• Delete a subkey or a value
• Rename a subkey or a value
The navigation area of Registry Editor displays
folders. Each folder
represents a predefined key on the local computer. When you access the
registry of a remote computer, only two predefined keys appear:
HKEY_USERS and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Use Group Policy
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) hosts administrative
tools that you
can use to administer networks, computers, services, and other system
components. The Group Policy MMC snap-in lets administrators define
policy settings that are applied to computers or users. You can
implement Group Policy on local computers by using the local Group
Policy MMC snap-in, Gpedit.msc. You can implement Group Policy in
Active Directory by using the Active Directory Users and Computers MMC
snap-in. For more information about how to use Group Policy, see the
Help topics in the appropriate Group Policy MMC snap-in.
Use a Registration Entries (.reg) file
Create a Registration Entries (.reg) file that contains
the registry
changes, and then run the .reg file on the computer where you want to
make the changes. You can run the .reg file manually or by using a
logon script. For more information, click the following article number
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
310516 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310516/) How to
add, modify, or
delete registry subkeys and values by using a Registration Entries
(.reg) file
Use Windows Script Host
The Windows Script Host lets you run VBScript and
JScript scripts
directly in the operating system. You can create VBScript and JScript
files that use Windows Script Host methods to delete, to read, and to
write registry keys and values. For more information about these
methods, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:
RegDelete method
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/293bt9hh.aspxp
(http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/293bt9hh.aspx)
RegRead method
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/x05fawxd.aspx
(http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/x05fawxd.aspx)
RegWrite method
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yfdfhz1b
(http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yfdfhz1b)
Use Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a component
of the
Microsoft Windows operating system and is the Microsoft implementation
of Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM). WBEM is an industry
initiative to develop a standard technology for accessing management
information in an enterprise environment. You can use WMI to automate
administrative tasks (such as editing the registry) in an enterprise
environment. You can use WMI in scripting languages that have an engine
on Windows and that handle Microsoft ActiveX objects. You can also use
the WMI Command-Line utility (Wmic.exe) to modify the Windows registry.
For more information about WMI, visit the following
Microsoft Web site:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394582.aspx
(http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394582.aspx)
For more information about the WMI Command-Line
utility, click the
following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
290216 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290216/) A
description of the
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) command-line utility
(Wmic.exe)
Use Console Registry Tool for Windows
You can use the Console Registry Tool for Windows
(Reg.exe) to edit the
registry. For help with the Reg.exe tool, type reg /? at the Command
Prompt, and then click OK.
Restore the registry
To restore the registry, use the appropriate method.
Restore the registry keys
To restore registry subkeys that you exported,
double-click the
Registration Entries (.reg) file that you saved in the Export registry
subkeys section. Or, you can restore the whole registry from a backup.
For more information about how to restore the whole registry, see the
“Restore the whole registry” section later in this
article.
Restore the whole registry
To restore the whole registry, restore the system state
from a backup.
For more information about how to restore the system state from a
backup, click the following article number to view the article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:
309340 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309340/) How to
use Backup to restore files and folders on your computer in Windows XP
Note Backing up the system state also creates updated copies of the
registry files in the %SystemRoot%\Repair folder. If you cannot start
Windows XP after you edit the registry, you can replace the registry
files manually by using the steps in the "Part One" section of the
following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
307545
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/) How to recover from a
corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting.
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