WINDOWS 2000
Registry Essentials
Windows NT stores all settings regarding how your installation of NT is configured, in the Registry. The registry, is actually a collection files on your hard drive. It is represented in a hierarchical structure, much like the directories on your hard drive. The Registry Editor is a tool in Windows NT that allows you to view and edit the registry. Warning! This is not for the faint in heart, altering your registry can result in a system that will not boot up! The registry editor is located in the winnt folder, and can simply be accessed by typing REGEDIT.EXE at the Run command on the Start menu.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
This branch contains all of your file types, filename extensions, and OLE information for all your OLE-aware applications. One special key here, called CLISD (short for class ID), contains all of the OLE information, used for communication between different applications. While the contents of HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT are easy to edit, it's probably not a good idea to mess with it because it is very cryptic and would be easy to screw up. The entire branch is a mirror of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CLASSES but is displayed separately for clarity and easy access.
HKEY_USERS
This branch contains all of the user-specific settings for each user configured to use your computer. In Windows NT 4.0, there are a few built-in users (such as administrator). There is also a .DEFAULT branch used for any new users that log onto the system, as a profile for that new user.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
This branch points to a section of HKEY_USERS, for the current user logged on. This way, any application can read the settings for the current user without having to know which user is currently logged on.
The settings for the current user are divided into several catagories; AppEvents, Control Panel, InstallLocationsMRU, Keyboard Layout, Netowrk, RemoteAccess, and Software. The most interesting, and valuable of these branches is Software, which contains a branch for just about every application you have installed. You'll find settings for Windows NT under the Microsoft branch.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
This branch contains all settings for hardware and software that aren't specific to the current user. The majority of the hardware setting here can be changed by using the Devices applet in Control Panel.
The branch that is the most useful here is the Software branch, which contains specific settings for the majority of applications that are installed on your system. This section is what replaces the many .ini files we have been so used to in the past.
You'll also notice here the Config branch. It contains one or more numbered hardware profiles for your system (common with laptop computers). The current hardware profile is mirrored in HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG.
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
This branch points to the part of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Config appropriate for the current hardware configuration.
HKEY_DYN_DATA
This is the only dynamic branch of the Registry. While all other branches are stored on your hard drive as files, this branch is created every time you boot Windows NT and is stored in memory. This branch contains information about the various device drivers and Plug and Play devices on your system.
So, how actually are these different branches stored on your system? HKEY_USERS and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE are the only root keys stored on your hard disk. Other than HKEY_DYN_DATA, the other root keys are simply mirrors of different portions of the first two. HKEY_USERS is saved as ntuser.dat, a copy of which is saved in each user's directory. The information in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE is stored in several files, called "hives", in your \Winnt\system32\config folder, none of which have extensions. Their filenames are listed in your Registry, in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\hivelist.
All the information given above (free) is purly for Educational purpose.
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