General System Registry Secrets
Table of contents
Abstract
This chapter includes tips for everything from using services on remote machines to successfully uninstalling software. You can change the way your interface looks, customize your Run command, and ensure that your logon scripts run correctly. You will find answers to common problems all Windows NT users face, including network protocols, printers, disk drives, and domain controllers.
SERVICES
Have you ever needed to start a service on a remote machine? You can use the tools in the resource kit, but they often aren’t handy or give curious results. Each service has a corresponding registry key and each key has a start value. Each service can have one of these start values:
| 0x0 |
Boot |
| 0x1 |
System |
| 0x2 |
Automatic |
| 0x3 |
Manual |
| 0x4 |
Disabled |
To alter the way a service starts, change the appropriate start value for each service. I give two examples and list common services and their registry keys for a generic Windows NT installation. Many other services are available; I just listed a few of the more common ones. Make sure you have your system backed up or have a spare test system when you go spelunking in here.
| I-1 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Atapi |
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x0
|
This example starts the Atapi service when the machine boots.
| I-2 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog |
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x2
|
This value makes the event log start automatically on the target computer. To change this configuration, run regedt32.exe and select the computer that has the service you wish to alter.
| I-3 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Alerter |
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x3
|
This example makes the alerter service start manually on the target machine.
| I-4 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser |
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x2
|
This example tells the browser service to start automatically every time Windows NT starts.
| I-5 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Busmouse
|
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x4
|
This example disables the busmouse service.
| I-6 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\DHCP
|
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x2
|
This example sets the DHCP client service to automatic startup mode.
| I-7 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Replicator
|
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x3
|
This example sets the directory replication service to manual start.
| I-8 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Messenger |
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x2
|
This example automatically starts the messenger service so you can send and receive system broadcast messages.
| I-9 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Sermouse |
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x2
|
This example sets the serial mouse service to start automatically.
| I-10 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\UPS |
| |
Value Name: |
Start |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0x4
|
This value controls the uninterruptible power supply service.
I-11 Change the value of BootExecute under the Session Manager key to prevent Windows NT from running chkdsk at boot time.
| Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Session Manager |
| Value Name: |
BootExecute |
| Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| Value: |
autocheck autochk *
|
This change may be necessary if you have really bad disks (other than the boot disk) and need to disable chkdsk so that you can proceed with the boot procedure. Restart the machine for any changes to take effect.
MICROSOFT FINDFAST 8.0/97
| I-12 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97
|
| |
Value Name: |
Path |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
D:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Findfast.exe
|
This path leads to the FindFast executable. Other software can use this key to find the FindFast utility.
| I-13 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97 |
| |
Value Name: |
LogFilePath |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
C:\WINNT\System32\FFASTLOG.TXT
|
This fully qualified path and filename is where the FindFast utility writes its activity.
| I-14 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97 |
| |
Value Name: |
LogFilePath |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
10800000 (default is 3 hours, 3*60*60*1000)
|
This value is the interval (in thousandths of a second) at which the FindFast indexes are updated.
| I-15 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97 |
| |
Value Name: |
IFilterConverter |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
D:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Office\Ifilter.cnv
|
This fully qualified path and filename is where the FindFast utility looks for its index filter.
| I-16 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List |
| |
SubKey: |
Index 00
|
This SubKey sets where FastFind looks for information on a given index.
| I-17 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| |
Value Name: |
Automatic |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
1
|
Setting this value to 1 means that NT automatically updates the current index; setting this value to 0 means that the current index is not automatically updated. The value is in binary format.
| I-18 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| |
Value Name: |
Folder |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
C:\
|
This fully qualified pathname points to the root of the directory structure to be indexed. All the subfolders from the point specified in this entry are indexed.
| I-19 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| |
Value Name: |
Additional Folders |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ
|
| |
Value: |
This value specifies folders to index in addition to the directory pointed to by the Folder key.
| I-20 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| |
Value Name: |
Type |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0
|
This value specifies the type of documents to be indexed. Acceptable values are:
| |
0 |
Microsoft Office documents |
| |
1 |
Microsoft Word documents |
| |
2 |
Microsoft Excel documents |
| |
3 |
Microsoft PowerPoint documents |
| |
4 |
Microsoft Project documents |
| |
5 |
All indexable file types (excludes .exe, etc.)
|
| I-21 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| |
Value Name: |
Index Operation |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
3
|
This value specifies the type of operation to perform on the current index. Acceptable values are:
| |
1 |
Create the index |
| |
2 |
Update the index one time only |
| |
3 |
Update the index continuously
|
| I-22 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| |
Value Name: |
Proximity Search |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0 |
If this value is enabled, entire phrases and quoted strings are included in the index, thus increasing the size of the index file. If it’s disabled, the FindFast utility indexes more quickly and keeps a smaller index file, but searching for phrases takes longer.
| I-23 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| |
Value Name: |
Size Limit |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
1,537,456,000
|
This value limits the maximum size of the current index; it specifies the number of bytes allowed.
| I-24 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| |
Value Name: |
Last Update |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_BINARY |
| |
Value: |
50 ea 9c d9 69 54 bc 01
|
This value specifies the time and date the current index was last updated.
I-25 If your system occasionally hangs up and the desktop is blank or you are missing icons, you have probably discovered that the only way to recover is to reboot. However, look at this registry entry and make sure it is set to 1; the shell can then automatically restart if it crashes.
| Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Find Fast\97\Index List\Index 00 |
| Value Name: |
AutoRestartShell |
| Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| Value: |
1
|
A value of 1 automatically restarts the shell after a crash. A value of zero does not.
| I-26 |
Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| |
Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Control\ |
| |
|
SessionManager\Memory Management\ |
| |
Value Name: |
NonPagedPoolSize |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
0 |
When this value is set to 0, the system uses the default size. A non-zero value specifies in bytes the amount of memory to use.
I-27 Problem: You are copying files from your NT server to an NT workstation on a Token-Ring network and you get the error “Filemanager cannot copy X. The session was canceled.” The copying feature works fine with small files but blows up on large files. This registry entry helps you fix this problem.
| Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NETFLX1\
Parameters |
| Value Name: |
MaxFrameSize |
| Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| Value: |
0x800
|
This value sets the maximum framesize to 2 kilobytes. This example assumes you are using a NetFlex network interface card.
I-28 Problem: You are having problems with your network after upgrading to FDDI and running Workstation with Novell servers. On the Novell server, your packet size is 4202, but NT workstation gets an error, generally because it tries to execute a read-only file from the Novell server. Changing this registry entry should fix you right up.
| Hive: |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
| Key: |
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Nwrdr\Parameters
|
Add the following value under the Parameters key:
| Value Name: |
DefaultMaxPacketSize |
| Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| Value: |
1012
|
Restart the machine for these changes to take effect.
THE RUN COMMAND
I-29 If you want to customize what appears in the drop-down box of the Run command (which you get to by clicking Start and selecting Run), change the following registry entries to add and delete items.
| Hive: |
HKEY_CURRENT_USER |
| Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ RunMRU |
| Value Name: |
MRUList |
| Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| Value: |
abcdefg (number of entries to display)
|
The number of letters in this string determines the number of values you want displayed. For example, specifying abc shows only the first three values, whereas abcdef shows the first six values.
For each of the entries below, the value is the command line that is displayed in the corresponding position of the Run command’s drop-down box. For example, Value Name “a” corresponds to position 8. A sample value for any of these entries is c:\winnt\notepad.exe.
| I-30 |
Hive: |
HKEY_CURRENT_USER |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ RunMRU |
| |
Value Name: |
a |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-31 |
Value Name: |
b |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-32 |
Value Name: |
c |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ
|
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-33 |
Value Name: |
d
|
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-34 |
Value Name: |
e |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-35 |
Value Name: |
f |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-36 |
Value Name: |
g |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-37 |
Value Name: |
h |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-38 |
Value Name: |
i |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-39 |
Value Name: |
j |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-40 |
Value Name: |
k |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-41 |
Value Name: |
l |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-42 |
Value Name: |
m |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-43 |
Value Name: |
n |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-44 |
Value Name: |
o |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-45 |
Value Name: |
p |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-46 |
Value Name: |
q |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-47 |
Value Name: |
r |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-48 |
Value Name: |
s |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-49 |
Value Name: |
t |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-50 |
Value Name: |
u |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-51 |
Value Name: |
v |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-52 |
Value Name: |
w |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-53 |
Value Name: |
x |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
| I-54 |
Value Name: |
y |
| |
Data Type: |
REG_SZ |
| |
Value: |
<full path and file name>
|
You can associate an executable with any of the above values. Be sure to enter the corresponding letter in the MRUList value to be able to see the command in the drop down menu. Log out for these changes to take effect.
DESKTOP
| I-55 |
Hive: |
HKEY_CURRENT_USER |
| |
Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\Completion |
| |
Value Name: |
Char
|
| |
Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| |
Value: |
9
|
Setting this value to 9 lets you specify a partial pathname at any command prompt and have it be completed when you press the TAB key. For example, typing c wind <TAB> expands to c:\windows.
I-56 Does your desktop seem sloooow? Want to speed it up? Try changing this registry entry. Add the following value under the explorer key.
| Hive: |
HKEY_CURRENT_USER |
| Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer |
| Value Name: |
Max Cached Icons |
| Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| Value: |
number of icons to cache
|
This value controls how many icons Windows NT stores in memory and in its cache file %systemroot%\ShellIconCache. You will need to experiment to find the right value for your system. Reboot the machine for these values to take effect.
I-57 Problem: Have you ever wanted to remove the Network Neighborhood Icon from your desktop? Try as you might it can’t be done, right? That’s what I thought, too, but here is a registry entry that gets rid of it. Add the following value under the Explorer key:
| Hive: |
HKEY _Current _User |
| Key: |
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ Explorer |
| Value Name: |
NoNetHood
|
| Data Type: |
REG_DWORD |
| Value: |
0x1
|
Reboot the machine or log off and back on, and presto! No Network Neighborhood.
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