Registry question

[Tcs]

I do hope that someone can help me here. I've tried asking this question before, but so far,
haven't had any takers...

I'm trying to record, by means of registry entries, how I want my PC set up. I want to do this, so
that I can write one or more scripts so that when I reinstall my OS ( in this case XP Pro ), I can
just run my script(s), and get my machine set up like I want. I'd much rather prefer to do this, as
opposed to going into all the various screens and checking/unchecking boxes, radio buttons, and all
the other things one has to do to effect whatever changes.

So far, any books I've read on working with the registry have not been at all informative for this
either.

Can anyone please tell me what the secret is to know what the registry key(s) is/are to effect my
desired change? I once tried to copy the registry before I made my change..manually...so I ciould
do something like a "file compare' after I made my change. I thought that this way I'd be able to
see WHAT CHANGED in the registry. THAT didn't work worth a hoot.

Any help yiou might provide would be MOST APPRECIATED.

THANKS IN ADVANCE...

Tom

 

[Mark Dormer]

Get Regmon from SysInternals (Microsoft swallowed them)so you can monitor
the changes to the registry as you apply settings.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx

Read http://www.mdgx.com/reg.htm

Regards
Mark Dormer

 

[Poprivet]

I do hope that someone can help me here. I've tried asking this
question before, but so far, haven't had any takers...

I'm trying to record, by means of registry entries, how I want my PC
set up. I want to do this, so that I can write one or more scripts
so that when I reinstall my OS ( in this case XP Pro ), I can just
run my script(s), and get my machine set up like I want. I'd much
rather prefer to do this, as opposed to going into all the various
screens and checking/unchecking boxes, radio buttons, and all the
other things one has to do to effect whatever changes.

So far, any books I've read on working with the registry have not
been at all informative for this either.

Can anyone please tell me what the secret is to know what the
registry key(s) is/are to effect my desired change? I once tried to
copy the registry before I made my change..manually...so I ciould do
something like a "file compare' after I made my change. I thought
that this way I'd be able to see WHAT CHANGED in the registry. THAT
didn't work worth a hoot.

Any help yiou might provide would be MOST APPRECIATED.

THANKS IN ADVANCE...

Tom

You'd be a lot further ahead to buy an imaging software and just save an
image of the drive that can be put back at any time.

That said, you should be able to do a file compare on exported registries or
parts of it as mentioned. Just use regedit to export the entire registry to
a file at the times you want, and compare those. They're just text files.
Rename the export away from .reg so it doesn't accidentally get imported by
clicking on it.
Do NOT try to Import a complete registry export though: It doesn't work
that way although it may _seem_ to at first!

Trying to learn the complete registry in less than years is a futile effort,
IMO.
HTH
Pop`