Regedit file

[Peter]

When you hit the run icon and type in regedit, you find a series of
directectories and such. Where can I find this folder ??? How can I copy
the entire many pages and edit it and then re copy it back to a new
installation copy of xp home 32 bit ???

Peter
Australia

 

[VanguardLH]

When you hit the run icon and type in regedit, you find a series of
directectories and such. Where can I find this folder ??? How can I copy
the entire many pages and edit it and then re copy it back to a new
installation copy of xp home 32 bit ???

You obviously have no clue how the registry works. Stay away from
regedit or any other registry tools until you spend the time to learn
about the registry. You're like the psycho doctor that thinks they can
do a heart transplant just because they have a scalpel. Go visit your
local public library and start reading some Dummies books on Windows
followed by more in-depth books, especially those that specifically
target the registry, like "Windows Registry".

http://tinyurl.com/6gfmkpy
http://tinyurl.com/66vmo3d
http://tinyurl.com/649ykdk

 

[Stan Brown]

When you hit the run icon and type in regedit, you find a series of
directectories and such. Where can I find this folder ??? How can I copy
the entire many pages and edit it and then re copy it back to a new
installation copy of xp home 32 bit ???

Vanguard wrote in harsh language, but the message was correct, I'm
afraid.

The system registry contains a *lot* of stuff that relates to this
particular system's configuration. If you simply transplanted it
wholesale to a new PC, the odds are you'd have a non-bootable PC.

 

[Mayayana]

| When you hit the run icon and type in regedit, you find a series of
| directectories and such. Where can I find this folder ???

C:\Windows\System32\config\
But it's not a good idea to touch anything there.

| How can I copy
| the entire many pages and edit it and then re copy it back to a new
| installation copy of xp home 32 bit ???
|

You might find this helpful:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986

In Win9x what you want to do was feasible, but not
advisable. In WinNT it's more complex and there are file
access restrictions. In any case, I don't think you'd
want to do a direct copy.

What you can do is to export an entire "hive" as a
..reg file and then import that elsewhere. But note that
importing a .reg file does not delete anything. It just
adds/overwrites. (You can also edit a .reg file in Notepad,
but that's not realistic for more than a few settings.)

Registry terms: There are 6 main keys, which are often
called "hives". The "folders" below those are known as "keys".
The named values in a key are "values" and the actual
value is known as "data". This is a potentially confusing
jumble of terms taken from INI files, whhere there are
"sections" instead of keys, with values named "keys"
and data named "values". I don't mean to confuse things,
but if you know about INI files it helps to know about this
particular planning boondoggle at Microsoft. So:

Hives: HKEY_CURREENT_USER

Keys: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3

Values: "1001"

Data: 3

The above represents one of several settings that *may*
result in Internet Explorer blocking signed ActiveX controls.
(The settings you see in Internet Options show only this
set of settings. Malware, sleazy corporations and
corporate system admins can invisibly override them with
at least 4 other settings in completely different keys!...
Hopefully you know not to use IE online.)

The Registry is actually a remarkably efficient database.
You could spend months researching the values. And like
most things Microsoft produces, it's unnecessarily bloated
and unnecessarily abstruse. People make money writing books
that detail bizarre "secret Registry tweaks" that Microsoft
adds so that only corporate system admins in the know will
be able to control various system settings. (Just the settings
for Internet Explorer could fill a book....except that no one
would be able to understand it -- as demonstrated with the
sample above.

In brief, the main keys you might be interested in are
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM), HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
(HKCR), and HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU).

HKCR is actually a representation of the HKLM\Software\Classes
key. HKCR details file types and "classes". Classes are registered
COM objects. COM (component object model) is a system that
allows programming libraries to be registered with the system for
use by software. The HKCR key provides a central point where
COM objects can be located and loaded. (COM is another book.)

The main key of interest in HKLM is HKLM\Software, where many
system settings and program settings are located. HKCU\Software
does the same for each user.

There are countless reasons not to just copy the Registry over
to a new machine, even if you could. Windows has simply become
far too complex for that. The hardware settings would be invalid
in a new machine... The HKCR settings would be a disaster, unless
you had all the exact same software and system files on the new
PC... The HKLM and HKCU Software settings would be invalid unless
you had all the exact same software installed.

Example: Outlook Express stores settings in HKCU, but most
are stored under a key named with a random GUID. OE also stores
email files in the personal "AppData" folder, using the same GUID.
On a new PC where you copy over the OE settings, it won't help
because there's a new GUID for your account. And if you overwrite
that GUID you'll lose all of your email because OE will no longer
see the files in AppData! A different example: You can carry over
your Firefox settings, but FF puts almost nothing in the Registry.
All of its settings are in an AppData subfolder. A third example: Your
current Registry's HKCR may have IrfanView assigned to open .jpg files.
On your new PC you don't have IrfanView, so there's an error when
you double-click a .jpg file.

This could go on all day...

As you can see, the Registry is very complex and very messy.
In practice it's even more messy because Microsoft has made
Windows settings into a breathtakingly vast mess. To a
great extent that was deliberate. It's a combination of two
things: 1) A sort of secret decoder ring fetish that seems to affect
a lot of geeks, causing them to manufacture abstruseness and long,
uninformative names for things. 2) The abstruseness provides a
way to discourage most people from controlling their own PC. Since
Microsoft aims Windows mainly at corporations they want to satisfy
the system admins who control those machines. Even with home/small
office PCs the abstruseness helps corporate interests: Very few
people know the "secret" setting to remove "Provided by Hewlett Packard"
from the IE title bar, for instance, so HP gets a free ad. And making things
confusing saves on support costs. Every time MS adds an unnecessary
button marked "Advanced" they scare 95% of their customers away
from adjusting the settings that hide behind that button.

In addition to all that, there's little standardization between software
programs about how to store settings. (The current fad with 3rd-party
software is not to put settings into the Registry at all.) What you probably
want to do is to research the settings that will apply to your personal
preferences, then export some of those keys on the new PC.

The biggest export that *might* turn out OK would be to
export/import the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

But before you do that I would strongly advise that you look over
those subkeys first, so that you have an idea of how many changes
you'll be making on the new PC.

 

[Twayne]

In

When you hit the run icon and type in regedit, you find a
series of directectories and such. Where can I find this
folder ??? How can I copy the entire many pages and edit
it and then re copy it back to a new installation copy of
xp home 32 bit ???
Peter
Australia

It would be a LOT easier to just remove/reinstall all the programs and a lot
faster, too. Unless you have an identical machine with identical hardware,
software applications and settings, I'd guess you might have a 0.09% chance
of that workng. Otherwise maybe only a 2% chance of it working, as several
files are "created" on the fly which may not be part of the regstry, in
addition to their own caches probably not located anywhere near the
"registry" files. Remember, the full registry only actually resides in RAM,
not necessarily on the disk.

Good luck!

Twayne`

 

[Peter]

I understand machine codes and converting registry from the old days of the
vic-20, commodore 64 and a few other older machines of which i still own and
use, it's just i want to find via ztree the registry in winodws xp home
edition. Over the years i have collected a great many machine codes and
write my own software which i use daily in my business, others look oddly at
the simplicity of the programming involved, so i do understand the registry
and the pitfalls involved and yes i can boot from a floppy and if any probs
appear, can restore the system back to the way it was. Have you ever gotten
a idea, and went to any lengths to investigate your idea. FUnny how i work,
but at the moment the commodore 64 is working away on a databse for a local
business involving over 100,00 single items.
Any way thank you for your words of wisdom, any help always adds a piece to
the jig-saw.

Peter
Australia

 

[Twayne]

In

In message
Peter <[email protected]> writes:

<snip>

Perhaps this will help him a little with figuring out why it's so dangerous
to mess with the Registry. And this is not complete: At least one section is
missing. XP adheres to the NT Platform and this does apply to XP.


REGISTRY MAKEUP





NTUSER.DAT files are the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive for the registry.

One NTUSER.DAT for each user on the machine, some templates and repair.
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator
C:\Documents and Settings\Default User
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService
C:\Documents and Settings\NetworkService
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\NTUSER.DAT
C:\WINDOWS\repair
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\systemprofi...





To locate your Windows Registry files you will need to know which Windows
platform you have. There are currently only two Windows platforms that all
versions of Windows are built on. They are both named after the earliest
version of each platform.

Windows XP, 2000, 2003 and Vista are all newer versions of the Windows NT
platform. They all use the NT Kernel32.dll, although the Kernel32.dll has
been updated / modified for each Windows operating system.

Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, and ME use the Windows 95 Kernel32.dll and are all
part of the Windows 95 platform. Here again, the Kernel32.dll has been
updated / modified for each new operating system.

The Registry files cannot be read from a DOS prompt, or the Recovery
Console, or even a text editor in Windows. These files are databases, and
only RegEdit, Regedit32 and the Kernel32 can read them. To read them in
Windows enter RegEdit in the Run window at the Start button.








In Windows XP, 2000, and 2003 there are several Registry files. These files
are named without a file extension and are stored in the
Windows\System32\Config folder. These files are named Software, System, SAM,
Security, Default, and UserDiff. There is one more Registry file and it does
have a file extension, NTuser.dat. In Windows XP, 2000 and 2003. NTuser.dat
is stored in the users folder under the Documents and Settings folder. Each
user has their own NTuser.dat file. The NTuser.dat file stores all settings
that each user selects; these settings will override settings stored in the
System file.

The function of each file is different. Security stores information about
security. The SAM file stores information about the Security Accounts
Manager service. Neither of these two files, Security and SAM, are viewable
in RegEdit, unless you reset the permissions. System stores all the
information about hardware. Software stores information about your software
and how Windows will perform and the default Windows settings. The Default
file, stores all the default user settings, the NTuser.dat file overrides
the default user settings. The UserDiff file stores information about the
corresponding SubKeys in the HKEY_USERS Hive for each registered user.

Each of these Registry files has its own backup which is made during the
Windows installation. They are never updated. They are located in the
Windows\System32\Config folder, and have a file extension of sav. These file
are created at the end of the text base part of the Windows installation,
before the graphic part begins. Installing these sav Registry files will
reset Windows to the point of finishing the Windows installation. These
files will only be updated if you perform a Windows repair by using the R
option during a Windows reinstall.

There is also another set of Registry files save to Windows\Repair. These
are same as the sav file. Except they will never be updated. If you use
these files you will reboot back into Windows to the point, "Windows is Now
Setting Up" during a Windows installation. Your software setting and user
setting are all gone. There are no users yet in these files .

On Windows XP, Windows also creates a current backup of the Registry each
time System Restore creates a restore point. These Registry files are
located in the System Restore Information folder on the same drive as
Windows is installed. However, the System Restore only seems to work if the
Registry is not damaged or corrupted. It just seems like it never works when
you really need it.

For security reasons, the Kernel32.dll protects these files from being
copied or altered without the use of the Kernel32.dll. You cannot manually
make backups, and you cannot change some of the Keys' information.

To make a backup of the Registry you will need to use either a third party
backup tool or Windows Backup. If you use the Windows Backup tool you need
to make a System State backup to backup the Registry.

 

[Mayayana]

| The Registry files cannot be read from a DOS prompt, or the Recovery
| Console, or even a text editor in Windows. These files are databases, and
| only RegEdit, Regedit32 and the Kernel32 can read them. To read them in
| Windows enter RegEdit in the Run window at the Start button.
|

I'm not sure all this info. is really useful, except, as you
say, to show how ill-advised it would be to try to access
the Registry in the form of disk files. It's potentially confusing,
and mostly irrelevant, to talk about Win9x vs WinNT
differences.

But for what it's worth, the above bears clarification.
There are 3rd-party programs that can access the
Registry. Windows Script Host and WMI also have
native functions to access the Registry. Something like
VBScript can be used to automate the creation/saving of
..reg files. (A common VBScript hack is to edit the Registry
by exporting a .reg, editing the text of that, then
re-merging the .reg file , via calls to regedit.)

Kernel32.dll is *not* a repository of Registry functions.
They're in advapi32.dll, with wrapper functions in shlwapi.dll.
Those functions allow anyone who is using the Win32 API to
access Registry keys/values. (It gets slightly more complex
with Win64. The Win32 API writes to its own subkey for
parts on the Win64 Registry, unless one knows enough
to target the Win64 values and has reason to want to.)

While the Registry files are different in Win9x vs WinNT,
from the point of view of anyone using any of the above
methods the differences are mostly transparent. In other
words, the actual Registry files are different but the API
calls, WSH functions, and WMI functions hide that. Aside
from a few minor quirks in specific API calls, the functions
are all the same and do not require knowing what version of
Windows one is using.