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.This chaptercontains more than just instructions for how to use the editor, though.You'll find useful tidbits ofinformation that come from my own experience using this program, such as how to search betterand how to quickly back up settings before changing them, which will hopefully make yourexperience with the single most powerful tool in Windows XP a great one.Running RegeditYou won't find a shortcut to Registry Editor (Regedit) on the Start menu.You don't want to find ashortcut to Regedit on the Start menu.Imagine what life as an IT professional or power user whosupports friends and relatives would be like if Microsoft advertised this program to every WindowsXP user on the planet.That's one reason why you find so little documentation about Regedit in Helpor elsewhere.That's also why Windows XP provides policies that you can use to limit access toRegedit.IT professionals and power users have great need for Regedit, however it's often the onlyway to fix a problem or customize certain settings.For example, I recently used a program thatchanged critical settings while it was running, and then restored them when the program shut down.Unfortunately, the program crashed without restoring the settings and the only way I could get themback to their original values was to edit the registry.Sometimes, it's the only tool for the job.Note Regedit and Registry Editor are one and the same.Regedit.exe is the name ofRegistry Editor's program file and it is easier to type, say, and read, so I will use theterm Regedit for Registry Editor throughout the remainder of this book.Regedit is in %SYSTEMROOT%, C:\Windows on most computers.Click Start, Run, and typeregedit to run Regedit.You don't have to type the path.If you want to start Regedit even quicker,drag Regedit.exe to your Quick Launch toolbar or to the Start button to add it to the top of your Startmenu.33IT professionals can prevent users from running Regedit.They can set the Disable registry editingtools policy in Group Policy, local or otherwise.When users try to run Regedit, they see an errormessage that says, "Registry Editing has been disabled by your administrator." Although it'sprobably not a good idea to prevent the setup program from installing Regedit.exe, you can set theRegedit.exe file's permissions to prevent users from running it or better yet, use SoftwareRestriction Policies to prevent users from running Regedit.exe, regardless of the file's permissionsor users' rights.I cover these topics in detail elsewhere in this book.Note For more information about Group Policy and Software Restriction Policies, seeChapter 6, "Using Registry-Based Policies." To learn the best way to deploy fileand registry permissions, see Chapter 7, "Managing Registry Security."NoteAdministrators shouldn't rely on any of these methods to secure the registry completely.These simple barriers don't stop determined users from gaining access to the registry.Forinstance, dogged users can download shareware registry editors, most of which don't honorthe Disable registry editing tools policy.Shareware registry editors also circumvent SoftwareRestriction Policies and permissions that you apply to Regedit.exe.In reality, determinedusers will always find a way to hack away at the registry, so part of the solution must be acorporate IT policy that you clearly communicate to users.Exploring RegeditWith all its power, Regedit is still a simple program with a straightforward user interface.Its fewmenus are simple.It has a status bar that displays the name of the current key.Its window containstwo panes, split by a divider that you can drag left or right to change the size of both panes.On theleft is the key pane; on the right is the value pane.The key pane displays the registry's keys andsubkeys, analogous to folders and subfolders.This is the registry's hierarchy.The value panedisplays the settings that each key contains.Click a key in the key pane, and you see that key'svalues in the value pane.This is so similar to Windows Explorer that I'll stretch to say that if youknow how to use one, you know how to use the other.Figure 2-1 is a snapshot of Regedit.Figure 2-1: Regedit is much easier to use when you maximize its window, which helps you to seethe full names of subkeys and each value's data in its entirety.Regedit saves its settings every time you close it.The next time you start Regedit, the window will34open to its last position and the window and panes will be the same size.The columns will also bethe same size.Last, Regedit reselects the last key that you selected.At times, you'll want Regedit toforget these settings, though, particularly if you're writing a book about the registry and are doingscreen captures.Chapter 9, "Scripting Registry Changes," shows you how to do just that.Youc r e a t e a s c r i p t t h a t a u t o m a t i c a l l y r e m o v e s t h e k e yHKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Registry.You can't just remove this keyusing Regedit, though, because Regedit creates this key each time you close it and will use thecurrent settings to do so.The following sections describe each pane in more detail, including special tips for working on eachside of Regedit's window.Regedit Got BetterRegedit in Windows XP makes several improvements over the version in Windows 2000:" Access the features of both Regedit and Regedt32 (the second registry editor in Windows2000) in a single editor.You no longer have to flip back and forth between both registryeditors to complete most tasks." Search for keys, values, and data faster." Add the keys you use most frequently to the Favorites menu and then pop back to them justby clicking their friendly names on the menu." Return to the last key that you selected the next time you run Regedit." Export any portion of the registry to a text file that's much easier to read than anything earlierversions of either registry editor provided.Additionally, Windows XP makes substantial improvements to the registry itself.Windows XPsupports much larger registries than earlier versions of Windows; it's now limited only by the amountof disk space available.Second, the registry is faster in Windows XP than in earlier versions ofWindows.Windows XP keeps related keys and values closer together in the database, preventingpage faults that degenerate into disk swapping.Last, Windows XP reduces fragmentation byallocating space for large values in 16-KB chunks.All in all, the registry in Windows XP issignificantly faster to query than it was in Windows 2000.Key PaneThe key pane displays the registry's hierarchy [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]