Change in habit working environment in Windows 8 and 8.1 has led to the fact that some actions that were never difficult in Windows 7 and XP began to cause problems for users. So, due to the lack of the usual Start menu, not everyone understands how to open the system registry. However, there are no fewer ways to launch the registry editor in the G8 - there are even more of them than there were in the G7. Here are five of the easiest ones.
Five Ways to Open the Registry Editor in Windows 8
Using the Run app
There are two ways to launch the Run program:
- through the context menu of the Start button in Windows 8.1;
- by pressing the key combination Windows + R.
In the "Open" line of the window that appears, enter the command regedit and click OK.
The result of its execution will be the launch of the registry editor:
Using the command line
In Windows 8.1, Command Prompt is also opened from the context menu of the Start button.
In the console window, enter the already familiar command regedit and press Enter.
The Registry Editor will open.
Via Windows Explorer
You can open the registry editor in the same way as any other program - just by running its file.
From your desktop, open any folder, navigate to the C:Windows directory and double-click on the file regedit.exe.
Through search
You can access Search in Windows 8 and 8.1 from the following locations:
- context menu of the “Start” button (“Find” item);
- sidebar Charms, which appears on the screen if you move the cursor to the lower right or upper corner and move a little.
- start screen (magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner).
Enter in the search bar regedit, press Enter and run the found application.
With a shortcut
If you make frequent changes to the registry, you will find it convenient to launch regedit.exe using a shortcut. To create a shortcut on the desktop, enter the directory where the program is located (C:Windows), open the context menu of this file and select the "Create Shortcut" item.
Confirm your consent to place it on your desktop.
Now the registry editor will be launched by double clicking on the shortcut.
Using tiles on the home screen
From the same context menu that we called to create a shortcut, select the “Pin to Start Screen” command.
After that, a regedit.exe tile will be created on the start screen, clicking on which will open the program we need.
Third party programs for working with the registry
Applications for editing system registry enough. They differ from the built-in regedit utility in Windows 8 with registry optimization functions that are necessary to maintain high system performance. And this is the main purpose of such programs. Let's consider some of them.
Reg Organizer
Reg Organizer is a multifunctional operating system maintenance utility. Allows you to clean and defragment the system registry, manage startup programs, remove applications along with their remnants in the registry and on disks, apply various fine tuning etc.
One of the sections Reg Organizer resembles the regedit system utility - through it you can edit the registry manually.
This application can be used as a replacement for the built-in Registry Editor, but some of its features, if used incorrectly, can break the functionality of the system and programs. Therefore, Reg Organizer should only be recommended advanced users.
Registry Booster
Registry Booster is another application that allows you to optimize your system registry for faster startup and Windows work. The program has only three main functions - checking, cleaning and defragmenting the registry, but everything, except for checking, works only after purchasing a license.
Registry Booster is designed for any user, including beginners. Fixes found problems automatically and does not allow you to manage this process manually.
RegScanner
Nir Soft's RegScanner utility is a handy replacement for the built-in registry editor, aimed exclusively at advanced users. Designed to search for data in the registry by a variety of parameters, including length and date last change. Found entries can be deleted immediately by first making them backup.
RegScanner is useful for cleaning the system after viral infection and search for leftovers remote programs. Exists in 32- and 64-bit versions. Free.
Registrar Registry Manager
Registrar Registry Manager is an application similar to the built-in Windows Registry Editor, but far beyond its capabilities. It allows you to keep the registry in order on local and remote machines throughout the network. It has the functions of backing up and restoring data (both individual branches and the entire registry), cleaning, defragmenting, comparing registry keys and monitoring all changes.
Designed for advanced users and system administrators.
Today the topic is dedicated to the eight. As you already know, this OS has changed a lot GUI, and familiar elements were difficult to find even for experienced users. For example, due to the redesign of the start menu, not everyone could, and there were many such situations. To make things easier for users, let's take a closer look at how to enter Windows registry 8 in several ways.
Remember, any changes made through the registry editor may adversely affect stable work your computer. Before editing, make a system restore point through which, in case of an error, you will return the PC to a working state. You can also make a copy of the registry key that you edit. After all the preparations, you can start running regedit.
Ways to open the registry editor in Windows 8
The first method uses a search. Press start, then you will be taken to the home screen. In this area, move all the way to the right, then click the magnifying glass icon, which is located next to the power control (shutdown) button.
Note: You don't have to go to the start screen, just press Win + W where you are now.
A panel with a search form will appear in front of you, where you will need to enter regedit.exe. After successful entry, press the Enter key or select Registry Editor from the list below.
If you see the UAC window, click yes. Thus, you can enter the registry on Windows 8.
In order not to enter the name of the editor file each time, I propose to make a shortcut to the regedit file in visible places. While typing the file name, when regedit appears in the list, right-click on it and select one of the following options:
- Pin to Start Screen - Windows 8 Registry Editor is attached as a tile to the Start Screen workspace.
- Pin to taskbar - The most productive of these two methods, the registry shortcut is placed on the taskbar.
The second method is to click on the context menu item. Windows 7 does not provide this feature, so in the previous article we added this item manually. Right-click on an empty spot on your desktop. In the open menu, select the item called "Registry Editor".
In the third way it is necessary. This is done by pressing the Windows + R key combination, after which the familiar regedit.exe construct is entered into the line, then Enter or OK is pressed.
After completing 1 of 3 recommendations, you can enter the Windows 8 registry in a convenient way for you. All of the recommendations described can be used equally, and there is no clear leader here. Sometimes a picture emerges that after trying all the steps, the Windows 8 registry editor does not open, showing an error that, follow the link to fix the problem.
The Windows registry is a repository for all operating system settings on which the correct and correct operation of all software depends. All changes made are saved in it, and often, to solve many problems or to fight viruses, you need to manually find the desired parameter and change the settings in it.
It should be remembered that all changes made can drastically affect the further operation of your computer, and therefore they should be done only when you are confident in your actions.
To enter the registry to change Windows settings, you need to open a window with a tree of its directories. There are two options here, the first is to click "Start" - "Run" or the second, the key combination "Win + R". A small command line window will open on the screen, in it you need to register the following command - “regedit”. Then press Enter or OK.
Next, a registry will open in front of you, or rather a window in which you can search for software and system support and carry out, if necessary, changes in the settings of its work. 
Let's start with the latest Windows 10, and consider two options for accessing the registry.
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 1 for Windows 10
Click the "Start" button with the left mouse button (or the "Windows" key on the keyboard);
When the Start menu opens, type "regedit" (without quotes) on your keyboard;
At the top of the search menu, under the inscription "Best match", the item "REGEDIT - Run command" will appear, click on this item with the left mouse button;
If a confirmation window for starting the registry editor appears, click "Yes";
You will see the "Registry Editor" window, in which you can make changes to the registry itself.
How to open the registry in Windows 10
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 2 for Windows 10
Click the Start button with the right mouse button (or the keyboard shortcut Win + X);
In the menu that appears, select the "Run" item (these two steps can be replaced with one Win + R key combination);
In the Run window that appears, type "regedit" (without quotes) and click the "OK" button;
In the launch confirmation window, click "Yes";
The "Registry Editor" window will appear, and you can proceed to make changes.
You can clearly see how to enter the Windows 10 registry in this video:
How to open the registry in Windows 8/8.1
To launch the registry editor in Windows 8, you need to follow the same steps as in Windows 10, if you have version 8 and not 8.1, then you don’t have a Start button, so in the first step of the first method, press the Windows key and then follow the instructions above.
Detailed video instruction on how to enter the Windows 8 (8.1) Registry Editor:
How to open the registry in Windows 7
To open the Registry Editor in Windows 7, you need to follow similar steps:
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 1 for Windows 7
Type the command "regedit" (without quotes);
Click at the top of the menu, under the inscription "Programs" on the inscription "regedit";
Select “Yes” to the prompt to confirm the launch.
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 2 for Windows 7
Press the key combination Win + R on the keyboard (hold down Windows key and, without releasing it, press the R key);
In the "Run" window, type the command "regedit" (without quotes) and click the "OK" button;
Confirm the launch of the registry editor with the "Yes" button.
Both ways to enter the Windows 7 registry editor can be seen in this video:
How to open the registry in Windows XP
In Windows XP, opening the Registry Editor is slightly different:
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 1 for Windows XP
Click on "Start" with the left mouse button;
In the right column, find the item "Run" (both steps can be replaced with a combination of Win + R)
In the "Start the program" window, write the command "regedit" (without quotes) and click the "OK" button;
Opening the registry in XP
Launching the Registry Editor - Method 2 for Windows XP (and not only)
Open File Explorer (you can use the keyboard shortcut Win + X);
Go to drive "C:";
Open the Windows folder;
Find the "regedit" file and run it.
And, of course, a video version of opening the registry editor in Windows XP:
The second method is suitable for all listed versions of Windows. Moreover, you can cheat a little:
Once you get to the "regedit" file, you can create a shortcut on your desktop and make it much easier to access the Registry Editor in the future.
Launching the editor There are at least 4 ways to invoke this utility:
Through the Explorer.
Search
Through the Run service. command line. It is not necessary to describe them all, since some require a certain level of knowledge and skills to use, but it would be inappropriate not to mention them. So let's get started.
Through Explorer
Open "My Computer", go to system disk(often it is C) and in the search bar we enter: regedit. After some time, which the machine needs to search, the same editor will be offered in the main part of the window. It remains only to open it and begin to perform the required actions. to content.
Through search
We move the mouse cursor to the right panel, where we select "Search" and set the same command as in the previous paragraph: regedit. Then double click Let's activate the application. The utility itself looks like this: READ ALSO What is virtual machine for Windows 8 and how to run it to the content.
Through the "Run" command
This option involves calling an intermediate component. We use the + [R] combination on the keyboard, after which we enter the already familiar Regedit.exe or without the “.exe” extension into the field and press .
1. Launching the registry editor using the "Run" utility.
I will not tire of repeating that the Run utility is one of the most convenient in Windows, with it you can easily and quickly launch the vast majority of system Windows utilities. In this case, this is done in two three steps:
1. Hold down the Win + R keys
2. We write in the opened command regedit
We write in the opened command regedit
3. Click the OK button. Everything, the registry editor is running.
2. Using the search in the start menu
Here the complexity depends on the operating system, so in Windows 10 the search is right on the taskbar, just write regedit and open the search result.
In Windows 7, you need to open the Start menu and enter the same request at the bottom of it.
In Windows 8.x, open the start menu and click on the magnifying glass in the upper right corner.
And then we enter search query. And launch the registry editor.
3. Using Windows Explorer
There is also nothing complicated here, open the explorer and go to the folder.
Scroll down and look for the regedit.exe file with your eyes. When found - we launch.
Using Task Manager
Here the principle is the same as in the first method, but more actions need to be done. We launch the "Task Manager". For example, right-click on the taskbar. And select "File" → "Run a new task".
In the window that opens, enter regedit and click OK.
5. Using the command line
We already know how to launch the command line, in our context it will be easiest to use the method through the context menu of the Start corner. And in the window that opens, enter regedit
The result of any of the five methods will be the launch of the Windows Registry Editor window.
Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores all the settings of the Windows operating system. The registry contains settings for software and hardware computer, information about user profiles, security policies, lists of installed software, and other system information.
We will not go into details of the structure, content and work with the registry, as this is a topic for a separate article. Consider only ways to enter the registry editor (running regedit.exe).
Warning! All actions with the registry must be deliberate, do not make changes if you are not sure of their result. You must be clear about what you are doing, as even minor changes to the settings can disrupt the operation of the operating system.
1. Opening the Windows Registry Editor through the Run utility
utility Run can run different ways. The fastest: press a key combination on the keyboard Win+R. In Windows 7, you can use the menu Start -> Run. In the window that opens, type and press OK (or enter on your keyboard).
2. Open via Windows Explorer
Another easy way is to run through windows explorer. To do this, just open My computer and go to the following path: C:\Windows. In this folder, find and run the file . Ready.
3. Launching the Registry Editor via Windows Search
In Windows 7 with a standard desktop, you can open the Start menu and type in the search bar at the bottom. The operating system quickly found the necessary file, which will need to be opened.
Open Start
And enter regedit
In Windows 8, the registry editor can be opened through the search in the same way, only this OS uses a "tiled" interface instead of the standard Start.
Select search in the right menu
The Windows registry is a database of operating system settings that contains information and settings for all computer components: PC hardware, software, system parameters. In many cases, when working on a computer, the user needs to open the Windows registry to configure the operating system, change OS settings or installed applications.
The system registry, or Windows registry, contains all the necessary data to manage system settings and settings. Depends on the state of the registry normal functioning Windows operating system.
After making modifications to the registry settings, the configuration and settings of the system or programs installed on the computer are changed. To make changes or correct some settings, you must enter the registry of the operating system. The question arises: how to open the registry editor on a computer? How to enter the Windows registry?
AT operating system Windows available special application Registry editor (regedit.exe) for working with registry data. The built-in tool of the system, the Registry Editor program, is well suited for working with registry branches (the registry has a tree form). Individual registry files have different locations in the operating system. Therefore, to make changes to the system registry, you should run the Windows Registry Editor on your computer.
Note:
- Incorrect or incorrect modification of registry settings can lead to malfunctions of the operating system. Because of this, the user will have to perform a system restore or reinstall Windows. Before editing the registry, follow the steps to return the system to working capacity in case of unsuccessful actions: backup the registry, create a system restore point, run backup system partition.
How to open the registry editor in different versions Windows operating system? There are several universal ways to enter the Windows Registry Editor in the same way in all versions of the operating system. In the article, we will additionally analyze how to enter the Windows 10 registry, how to enter the Windows 8.1 (Windows 8) registry, how to open the Windows 7 registry editor, for each system.
You can open the registry editor in Windows in the same way for different versions of the operating system using 5 ways:
- login using the Run dialog box
- launching the "regedit" file from the "Windows" folder in Explorer
- opening with command prompt or Windows PowerShell
- find the application using search on the taskbar or from the start menu
- launching the registry editor using a pre-created shortcut
First, consider the universal methods applicable to different Windows versions, and then look separately at additional methods for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7.
How to enter the system registry from the "Run" dialog box
Using the Run dialog to launch the Registry Editor works on all modern versions of the operating system: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
In the operating room Windows system do the following:
- Press the "Win" + "R" keys on your keyboard at the same time.
- In the "Run" window, in the "Open" field, enter the expression: "regedit" (without quotes), and then click on the "OK" button.
After that, the Registry Editor application window will open on the computer.
How to enter the registry on a computer from the Windows folder
Another way to enter the registry editor is to launch the application directly from system folder Windows on a computer. This method can be used in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
The only caveat: you need to be careful in your actions, as you will enter the folder with the operating system. Be careful what you do.
Follow these sequential steps:
- Open File Explorer on your computer.
- Go to the "C:" drive, open the "Windows" folder.
- Find and then double-click the left mouse button on the "regedit" application.
The system Registry Editor will open on your computer.
How to open the registry using the command line
You can start the registry editor from the command line.
Do the following:
- Run command prompt as administrator.
- In the command line interpreter window, type: "regedit" (without quotes), and then press the "Enter" key.
How to Enter the Registry Editor Using Windows PowerShell
The Registry Editor is launched from Windows PowerShell like this:
- Run Windows PowerShell as an administrator.
- In the PowerShell window, type: "regedit" (without quotes) and then press "Enter".
Create a shortcut to launch the Windows Registry Editor
If the user is not ready to take several steps each time to launch a system application, you can make this task easier. To do this, you need to create a shortcut with which the registry editor will be launched on the computer.
Take the following steps:
- Run file manager Windows Explorer.
- open local disk"C:".
- Enter the Windows folder.
- Find the "regedit" application, right click on it.
- AT context menu select "Send to" first, and then "Desktop (create shortcut)".
- A shortcut will appear on the desktop of the computer to launch the Registry Editor system tool.
Now, you can easily open the registry editor by double-clicking the left mouse button on the application shortcut.
How to open the registry in Windows 10
Let's see how to enter the Windows 10 registry in a different way, using search. First we will find the application on the computer and then we will run the system tool.
To open the Registry Editor in Windows 10, do the following:
- On the taskbar, click on the search icon, or left-click on the Start menu.
- Enter on the keyboard the expression: "regedit" (without quotes), and then execute the command.
The Windows 10 Registry Editor is open and ready to make changes to the appropriate keys.
How to enter the registry Windows 8.1 (Windows 8)
Windows 8.1 (original) and Windows 8 do not have a Start menu, so some users find it difficult to search desired application on PC.
Windows 8.1 Update 1 has a built-in Start menu, so you can start searching for the registry editor on your computer in this way:
- Right click on the start menu.
- Select "Find".
- In the Search box, type "regedit" (without quotes).
- Launch the application.
Another universal way for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8:
- Move your mouse cursor down from the top right of the screen.
- In the sidebar that opens, click on the "Search" icon.
- In the search field, enter the expression: "regedit".
- Execute the command.
As a result, the Windows 8.1 (Windows 8) Registry Editor will launch on the computer.
How to open the registry in Windows 7
Now we will try to enter the Windows 7 registry. In the seven, in addition to the universal methods described above, there is another way to enter the registry editor.
In the Windows 7 operating system, to open the registry editor, do the following:
- Enter the start menu.
- In the "Search files and programs" box, type "regedit" (without the quotes).
- Launch the Registry Editor application.
Conclusion
If necessary, the user can enter the Windows Registry Editor to make changes to the system registry settings. There are several ways to enter the Windows registry: using the Run dialog box, launching a system tool from a previously created application shortcut, opening the registry editor in command line or in the Windows PowerShell entry, launch the application from the Windows system folder, search for and launch the registry editor in different versions of the operating system.