Odd Registry Keys

[Guest]

I was lookinf through my registry the other day and noticed several odd keys.
There would be a key: XXXXXX, with subkeys CLSID and CurVer. Below that
there would be another key: XXXXXX.1 with only a CLSID subkey. The CLSID
values were identical. Could I just delete the CurVer subkey and the
XXXXXX.1 key? What causes this? Is this not just a waste of registry space?

 

[Malke]

I was lookinf through my registry the other day and noticed several odd
keys.
There would be a key: XXXXXX, with subkeys CLSID and CurVer. Below that
there would be another key: XXXXXX.1 with only a CLSID subkey. The CLSID
values were identical. Could I just delete the CurVer subkey and the
XXXXXX.1 key? What causes this? Is this not just a waste of registry
space?

Leave your registry alone or you will break your operating system. The XP
registry does not work the same way as the registry in Win9x/ME. Do not
worry about "waste of registry space". If your hard drive is so cramped for
room that you are poking about in the registry, buy a bigger hard drive or
buy a second drive and put your data on it.

Malke

 

[NewScience]

You can always look at the CLSID and determine what put it there ...
especially if it's malware.
There's no harm in just looking around ... that's how I learned how Windows
was put together.

1. Copy down the CLSID
2. Open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Clsid\[the CLSID you found]
3. Check what the Default value is (if there is one)
4. Open the key and see if there is an InprocServer32 key, if so click on
it and see if it gives you a pathname (right panel).

If there is something there, that is the DLL or EXE that is evecuted in
support of that CLSID. By looking at the pathname, maybe it will ring a
bell. Or you can go to that folder, right-click on the filename given,
select Properties and see if there is a Version Tab. If there is, click on
the tab, and look to see who it belongs to.

 

[Plato]

I was lookinf through my registry the other day and noticed several odd keys.
There would be a key: XXXXXX, with subkeys CLSID and CurVer. Below that
there would be another key: XXXXXX.1 with only a CLSID subkey. The CLSID
values were identical. Could I just delete the CurVer subkey and the
XXXXXX.1 key? What causes this? Is this not just a waste of registry space?

Please state what is NOT working on your PC?

 

[Guest]

Malke-
I know to back-up my registry and files before messing with them. Why do
people get so upset when it comes to exploring the registry or asking about
it. The biggest problem with MS software is that there are people who want
the Windows registry to remain a "black box". How can one improve the
efficiency or understanding of our machines if one does not explore or ask
the questions. As an engineer, most of the practical experience I have is
from exploring, testing, and analyzing. I guess that some people want to
hord the information and be the "go-to-guy".

New Science-
I will try to trace the values through the registry.

Plato-
There is nothing wrong with my machine. I am just trying to make it run a
bit more efficient. (I know that an efficient Win box is an oxy-moron.) I
was just looking for the cause for the odd keys and values.

Cutting the size of the registry does speed up the boot time and operations
of a machine. It is true with anything that uses any programmable code. You
should how we efficiated code for military hardware and programming.

 

[Malke]

Malke-
I know to back-up my registry and files before messing with them. Why do
people get so upset when it comes to exploring the registry or asking
about
it. The biggest problem with MS software is that there are people who
want
the Windows registry to remain a "black box". How can one improve the
efficiency or understanding of our machines if one does not explore or ask
the questions. As an engineer, most of the practical experience I have is
from exploring, testing, and analyzing. I guess that some people want to
hord the information and be the "go-to-guy".

No one gets "upset". Because the majority of people who post here looking
for help are not computer-savvy, it is common practice for those of us who
try to be responsible to warn of consequences. There is no way for me to
know how vast your experience is until you tell me - as you apparently have
just done now.

Here is your original post:

"I was lookinf through my registry the other day and noticed several odd
keys.
There would be a key: XXXXXX, with subkeys CLSID and CurVer. Below that
there would be another key: XXXXXX.1 with only a CLSID subkey. The CLSID
values were identical. Could I just delete the CurVer subkey and the
XXXXXX.1 key? What causes this? Is this not just a waste of registry
space?"

As you can see, there is no way for anyone to know your skill level from
that.

No one is "hoarding". Don't worry, I won't bother you with any of my
"hoarded" information again.

*plonk*

Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke-
No worries. I apologize if I was a bit abrupt. Please take no offense. I
understand that my original post was a bit terse in the way of technical
information. I was looking for the "Why?" and "What if?" in regards of the
semi-duplicate keys. I have not, yet, found much information on the issue.
If it helps, here is an example:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ABManager.AddressBooksManager]
@="AddressBooksManager Class"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ABManager.AddressBooksManager\CLSID]
@="{F55B4E8D-ECFF-11D3-BCE1-0004AC961EA6}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ABManager.AddressBooksManager\CurVer]
@="ABManager.AddressBooksManager.1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ABManager.AddressBooksManager.1]
@="AddressBooksManager Class"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ABManager.AddressBooksManager.1\CLSID]
@="{F55B4E8D-ECFF-11D3-BCE1-0004AC961EA6}"

Any ideas?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Malke-
I know to back-up my registry and files before messing with them.
Why do people get so upset when it comes to exploring the registry or
asking about it.

Just because somebody provides warnings to others about the dangers inherent
in using regedit doesn't mean anyone's getting upset. Many, maybe most,
people who come here asking questions are rank beginners, and it's very
likely that they can themselves in serious trouble if they aren't given
warnings at appropriate places.


The biggest problem with MS software is that there

are people who want the Windows registry to remain a "black box".
How can one improve the efficiency or understanding of our machines
if one does not explore or ask the questions. As an engineer, most
of the practical experience I have is from exploring, testing, and
analyzing. I guess that some people want to hord the information and
be the "go-to-guy".

I think you have it exactly backwards. Nobody here is looking to horde
information. In fact we are all here precisely because we want to share
information. If you are an engineer who explores, tests, and analyzes,
that's great. I'm sure you then have a better sense of what you are doing
and are are less likely to screw things up.

But the enormous majority of people who come here with problems are not
engineers. They are ordinary people--students, housewives, retired people,
and so on--who are having trouble with their computer and want to get it
fixed as easily and quickly as possible. They are not looking to become
computer experts, and in most cases wouldn't succeed if that's what they
tried to become. Exploring, testing, and analyzing is the last thing they
want to do.

New Science-
I will try to trace the values through the registry.

Plato-
There is nothing wrong with my machine. I am just trying to make it
run a bit more efficient. (I know that an efficient Win box is an
oxy-moron.) I was just looking for the cause for the odd keys and
values.

Cutting the size of the registry does speed up the boot time and
operations of a machine.

That is not correct. If there is any effect at all, it is so tiy as to be
unnoticeable.

It is true with anything that uses any
programmable code. You should how we efficiated

"Efficiated"? Perhaps that's some kind of military jargon, but I have no
idea what it means.

 

[Guest]

efficiate - verb -
To produce or make more capable of producing a desired result.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

efficiate - verb -
To produce or make more capable of producing a desired result.

Not in any of my dictionaries.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Malke-
I know to back-up my registry and files before messing with them. Why do
people get so upset when it comes to exploring the registry or asking about
it.

They're self-appointed "gurus" (kinda like Carey) who think that they
know it all, when actually they're often parroting what they've
heard/read.

Cutting the size of the registry does speed up the boot time and operations
of a machine.

It might have one day in the distant past, but given the speed of
today's processors and the amount of RAM in today's systems, the "speed
up" will hardly be noticable in most cases

That said... if you wanna **** with the registry, be willing to take
the consequences if something goes wrong.

So far - and I've been playing around with my own systems for about 15
years now - I've not (yet) trashed a registry, nor have I needed the
backup that I created when I played with it.

 

[Bob I]

Appears to be a common misspelling of "efficient"