Reg files don't work

[Bob S]

I've suddenly discovered that I can't merge reg files into
the registry. When I click on a reg file, instead of
changing the registry like a good little reg file, it causes
the "Open with" dialog box to pop up, asking me what program
I want to use to run the file.

I don't know how long this has been going on, because I
don't use reg files much. It came up yesterday because I had
to uninstall and reinstall Internet Explorer 7 because
the Restricted Zone had disappeared from the Security tab of
Internet Options. (The reason turned out to be that using
IE5 PowerTweaks to add a site to the Restricted Zone makes
the RZ disappear in IE7, and a reinstall is the way to fix
it.)

After reinstalling IE7 I wanted to use IE-Spyad
< http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm >
to bring the restricted sites up-to-date. However, when I
clicked on the IE-Spyad reg file to uninstall the current
list, I got the behavior described above. Since then I've
tried it with a couple other, harmless reg files, and I get
the same result.

I could edit reg files if I wanted to; i.e., I can right
click, click edit, and the text editor opens the file.
However, merging doesn't work.

I've never come across such a thing before, and haven't the
slightest idea how to proceed.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[osparhar]

There are 2 ways:

1. Goto command line (launch command window), change directory (cd) to
the folder where your reg file is. Type the following at the prompt
and hit enter.

regedit.exe my.reg

where my.reg is the reg file you want to merge.

2. Right click on the reg file and click on "Open With" menu item.
When "Open With" screen comes up, browse to c:\windows\regedit.exe and
associate reg files with this tool. Then double-click on the my.reg to
merge the registry information.

Hope this helps.

Parhar
http://www.askarya.com/tm/tm.asp
(Improved *Taskbar Manager* for Windows XP)

 

[Dave Patrick]

Can you run regedit.exe? From a command prompt;

C:\>assoc .reg
should return with
..reg=regfile

If not then
assoc .reg=regfile
to restore the default file type association.


--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

 

[Ayush]

Replied to [Dave Patrick]s message :

Can you run regedit.exe? From a command prompt;

C:\>assoc .reg
should return with
.reg=regfile

If not then
assoc .reg=regfile
to restore the default file type association.

And if that doesn't work then :
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/fileassoc/xp_regfile.zip

 

[Bob S]

There are 2 ways:

1. Goto command line (launch command window), change
directory (cd) to the folder where your reg file is. Type
the following at the prompt and hit enter.

regedit.exe my.reg

where my.reg is the reg file you want to merge.

2. Right click on the reg file and click on "Open With"
menu item. When "Open With" screen comes up, browse to c:
\windows\regedit.exe and associate reg files with this tool.
Then double-click on the my.reg to merge the registry
information.

Hope this helps.

I made a note of your first method, but tried the second,
and it worked. All fixed now.

Thanks very much.

 

[Bob S]

Can you run regedit.exe? From a command prompt;

C:\>assoc .reg
should return with
.reg=regfile

It did. Nevertheless, when I looked in Folder Options | File
Types tab, reg files weren't associated with anything. I
therefore did something akin to what Parhar suggested: in
Folder Options | File Types tab, I went to reg and clicked
on the Change button across from "Opens with." I browsed to
c:\Windows\regedit.exe and now the reg files work.

I had been confused earlier because when I was getting the
"Open with" dialog when I double clicked on reg files, none
of programs listed were suitable. Once I knew regedit.exe
was supposed to do it, I could fix it.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Bob S]

And if that doesn't work then :
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/fileassoc/Parhar.zip

I just replied to the others, noting that (re)associating
reg files with regedit.exe did the job. But I'm still
interested. What does the reg file in the zip do?

Thanks.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Hi Bob,

What a surprising connection! Don't know why the IE5 PowerTweaks modifies the "Flags" value unnecessarily. FYI, the problem can be fixed by resetting the "Flags" value for the Restricted Sites zone.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=182569

<Q>
The Flags DWORD value determines the ability of the user to modify the security zone's properties. To determine the Flags value, add the numbers of the appropriate settings together. The following Flags values are available (decimal):
</Q>

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


I've suddenly discovered that I can't merge reg files into
the registry. When I click on a reg file, instead of
changing the registry like a good little reg file, it causes
the "Open with" dialog box to pop up, asking me what program
I want to use to run the file.

I don't know how long this has been going on, because I
don't use reg files much. It came up yesterday because I had
to uninstall and reinstall Internet Explorer 7 because
the Restricted Zone had disappeared from the Security tab of
Internet Options. (The reason turned out to be that using
IE5 PowerTweaks to add a site to the Restricted Zone makes
the RZ disappear in IE7, and a reinstall is the way to fix
it.)

After reinstalling IE7 I wanted to use IE-Spyad
< http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm >
to bring the restricted sites up-to-date. However, when I
clicked on the IE-Spyad reg file to uninstall the current
list, I got the behavior described above. Since then I've
tried it with a couple other, harmless reg files, and I get
the same result.

I could edit reg files if I wanted to; i.e., I can right
click, click edit, and the text editor opens the file.
However, merging doesn't work.

I've never come across such a thing before, and haven't the
slightest idea how to proceed.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[Parhar]

No problem.


Parhar
http://www.askarya.com/tm/tm.asp
(Improved *Taskbar Manager* for Windows XP)

 

[Ayush]

Replied to [Bob S]s message :

I just replied to the others, noting that (re)associating
reg files with regedit.exe did the job. But I'm still
interested. What does the reg file in the zip do?

Thanks.

It rewrites the reg file values/keys in registry.

 

[Bob S]

What a surprising connection! Don't know why the IE5
PowerTweaks modifies the "Flags" value unnecessarily. FYI,
the problem can be fixed by resetting the "Flags" value
for the Restricted Sites zone.

<Q>
The Flags DWORD value determines the ability of the user to
modify the security zone's properties. To determine the
Flags value, add the numbers of the appropriate settings
together. The following Flags values are available
(decimal):
</Q>

Thanks, Ramesh.

I've copied your message, in case the issue comes up again
(which, knowing how computers feel about me, I'm sure it
will).

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

You're welcome, Bob. Thank you too for bringing up this issue!

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com

What a surprising connection! Don't know why the IE5
PowerTweaks modifies the "Flags" value unnecessarily. FYI,
the problem can be fixed by resetting the "Flags" value
for the Restricted Sites zone.

<Q>
The Flags DWORD value determines the ability of the user to
modify the security zone's properties. To determine the
Flags value, add the numbers of the appropriate settings
together. The following Flags values are available
(decimal):
</Q>

Thanks, Ramesh.

I've copied your message, in case the issue comes up again
(which, knowing how computers feel about me, I'm sure it
will).