home Solution How to open the Windows registry: all the ways. How to open the windows registry editor Where is the registry in windows 8

How to open the Windows registry: all the ways. How to open the windows registry editor Where is the registry in windows 8

In my articles, tips, and notes, I often refer the reader to the Windows Registry Editor. Many of them involve intensive work with registry keys and values. I suddenly realized that not all of my readers got their hands on working with this program, and some of them had never launched the Registry Editor at all. Therefore, I decided to write a small guide to this program.

Table of contents:

What is Registry Editor

The Registry Editor has historically been created as a tool for users who need to change Windows settings, which are not displayed in the user interface. The main function of this program is to view and change settings in the system registry, that is, in a set of special binary files that contain information about both the Windows configuration and almost all the programs that are installed on your computer. Windows OS and many programs (with the exception of those that are so-called "portable", portable, in other words - do not require installation) store their settings in the registry.

How to start the Registry Editor

Method 1
Regardless of the version of Windows installed on your computer, this method will work:

Method 2
The Registry Editor executable is located in C:\Windows, which means that you can open this folder in Explorer and run the regedit.exe file with a mouse click.

Alternatively, you can create a shortcut to Regedit.exe and place it in the start menu/list Windows applications 8.x, to a folder

%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

This will make Registry Editor visible in the results Windows Search, and will also allow you to launch the application with one click of the mouse.

General view of the Registry Editor

The registry editor looks like this:

As you can see in the picture above, it consists of two panels:

the left one displays a hierarchical representation of the data structure, it is called sections (or keys);
the right panel displays options. They are pairs name = data and are stored inside the keys.

What does Registry Editor show?

As I mentioned above, the editor shows us sections and options.

Sections are a virtual representation of data from several files that form registry database. You can see exactly which files represent the registry on your computer if you go to this section:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\hivelist

Here you can find a list of files on your hard drive that store registry data. The data inside them, as mentioned above, has a hierarchical structure, and the registry editor shows them in the form of a "tree". The roots of the tree (master keys) in the general case represent a specific file, to the data of which access is granted.

However, there are also virtual keys that appear in the registry editor as ordinary files, but in reality are a representation of several files or even separate registry branches. They usually exist for backward compatibility. For example, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG is a virtual view, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is also a virtual view that combines the registry keys of the current user and system partitions.

Please note that some registry files do not appear in the Registry Editor window. For example, you will never see what is stored inside a SAM (Security Accounts Manager) file. In the registry editor, it is represented by the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM\SAM branch and is supposedly empty there. This is done for security reasons.

Registry settings used by Windows and many third party applications to store various configuration settings and some user data. Parameter values are various types, but in general they are text values/strings, numeric values, or binary values.

How to create a new registry key

To create new key, click right click mouse on the parent partition in the left pane and select command Create -> Section from context menu.

You must give the newly created section a name according to the requirements of the program for which you are creating it.

How to create a new parameter

To create new parameter, you need to right-click

on the current section on the left
or
in the empty space in the right pane.

Select suitable type for the new parameter and enter its name. Double click on the parameter name to set its value.

How to become the owner of a section and get full access to it

Just as the concepts of "permissions" and "ownership" apply to files and folders in file system NTFS, they also exist for registry keys. Since the era Windows Vista and to this day, most of the registry keys that store OS settings are protected by restricting access rights so that they cannot be easily removed or changed by the user. Sometimes you may need to change the data in such partitions, and for this you need to be able to change the owner of the partition and get to it full access. To do this is quite simple.

How to restore TrustedInstaller as partition owner

Almost all system registry keys in Windows Vista, 7 and 8 have the TrustedInstaller account as their owner. After editing the permissions on a partition, you need to reclaim ownership of that partition. account otherwise, the operating system may not work properly. To restore the TrustedInstaller property in Windows Vista, 7 and 8, type NT Service\TrustedInstaller in the "Enter the names of the objects to select" box. Click OK.

How to change permissions on a registry key

After changing the owner of a registry key, you almost always have to change the access rights, without this you will not be able to change the parameter values. To do this, you must switch to the Permissions tab in the dialog box Extra options security.

Subsections may have so-called inherited permissions from its parent section. Alternatively, subkeys can also have explicit permissions other than the parent key.

In the first case, that is, if the permissions are inherited from the parent key, you must disable inheritance and copy the parent partition's permissions to the current key in order to be able to change them. To do this in Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP, uncheck "Add permissions inherited from parent objects" and click the "Add" button in the confirmation dialog box.

After disabling inheritance, select the appropriate user account and click Change to change access rights.

Windows 8 has a dedicated button to disable inheritance:

Permissions can be set in two ways: after disabling inheritance, you can set them only on the current partition, or you can set permissions on the current key and then apply them to all of its subkeys. To do this, check the box Replace all permission entries child object inherited from this object. This action will push the permissions you set down the key hierarchy for all subkeys.

Registry Editor command line switches

Jump to the desired registry key with one click

Option number 1

Some time ago, I created a RegOwnershipEx utility that allows you to get full access to a registry key with one click. In addition, it allows you to go to the desired registry key. I recommend that you take a look at it.

RegOwnershipEx allows the following:

become the owner and get full access to the selected registry key. There is a registry overview window for easy choice section.
favorites - for quick access to your favorite registry keys. It is integrated with the "Favorites" menu of the Registry Editor.
restore the permissions and ownership that you changed earlier. those. The program allows you to return the rights to their original state.
function "open in regedit" - you can open the selected key in the registry editor. This is a very handy option to quickly navigate to a section by simply copying its name.
shortcuts for root partitions - you can use HKCU instead of HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKLM instead of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and so on.
getting the registry path from the windows clipboard.
command line argument "/j" to extract the path to the registry key from the Windows clipboard and quickly switch to the registry editor.

It's all damn convenient!

Option 2

I wrote a simple script that will get the contents of the clipboard, write it to the registry and open the registry editor. The following scenario is assumed: You are reading an article, it says - "go to the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion". You highlight the path to the section, press CTRL+C and run the script. Registry Editor opens in right place. .

Windows Registry is a hierarchical database in which all parameters are stored operating system Windows. 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

When I hear the phrase Windows registry, I imagine the icon of the regedit.exe program - a semi-disassembled green cube consisting of smaller cubes. What exactly is a registry? I think many Windows users heard about it, but not many have seen and understand what kind of a miracle it is.

The Windows 8 registry is a database that contains settings for the operating system and programs. So, the registry is a database. Like any other database, the registry is stored in files on the hard drive. There are several registry files, the main part is located in the C:\Windows\System32\config folder (%windir%\system32\config). If you look into this folder, then all the files opposite which the “File” type is indicated will be the same registry files.

Another place where registry files are stored is in the root folder of user profiles and along the path C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows (%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows). Each profile has its own registry files, since each account uses its own unique hive (section) of the Windows registry, because the settings for all profiles are unique. To open your profile, press the key combination WIN + R, in the window that appears, type %userprofile% and click OK. These files will most likely be hidden from you, you must enable the display of hidden and system files to see them. In the screenshot below, you can see that the registry file is NTUSER.DAT, the rest are logs needed to recover from an unexpected crash.

What do we have on this moment? The Windows 8 registry is stored in files scattered across folders. In order to view or edit some settings of the operating system or programs, you can use the regedit.exe program. It is stored in the C:\Windows folder, but you can run it by pressing WIN+R and typing regedit. In general, Microsoft does not recommend making changes to windows settings directly through the registry, and use the existing user interface of the operating system. If you run regedit, then I recommend that you do not make any changes, but only familiarize yourself with the structure of the database.

Since all Windows settings are stored in the registry, in the absence of the same user interface(which is typical for truncated Windows versions Windows type 7 Starter), many settings can be changed through the registry. For example, you can use regedit to change the desktop background by specifying your path to the image file, although this cannot be done through the Control Panel.

That's all I would like to tell.

To start editing the registry, press the Win + R keys and type the command regedit

Locking the Right Charms Bar

When you move the mouse cursor to the lower right or upper corner monitor pops up panel Charm Bar. This is not always convenient, especially if this panel is not needed at the moment. To block the panel, open the registry editor and find the section

in this section DisableCharmsHint and assign it a value 1

Blocking left panel switcher

To lock the left pane in the same section

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\EdgeUI

create a DWORD value named DisableTLcorner and assign a value 1 .

To bring the panels back on hover, change the value of the options to 0

Turn off the screen windows lock 8

The lock screen in Windows 8 is a Metro interface that appears when the computer starts up or wakes up from sleep. To disable the lock screen, open the registry editor and in the section

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\

create a partition personalization. In chapter Personalization create a DWORD value named NoLockScreen and assign a value 1

We speed up the launch of applications from Windows 8 startup

In Windows 8, starting applications from startup does not happen immediately, but after the Metro interface and its components are loaded. You cannot completely remove this pause, but you can reduce the loading time. Open the registry editor and in the section

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

create a partition Serialize In this section, we create a DWORD parameter with the name StartupDelayInMSec and value equal to 0

Changes will take effect after reboot

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 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 line also opens 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);

the Charms sidebar, which appears on the screen if you move the cursor to the lower or upper right corner and move it 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

There are a lot of applications for editing the system registry. 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 be recommended only to experienced 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, focused exclusively on experienced 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, after making a backup copy of them.

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. Has functions Reserve copy and restoring data (both individual branches and the entire registry), cleaning, defragmenting, comparing registry keys with each other and monitoring all changes.

Designed for advanced users and system administrators.

Just about the complex. Programs. Iron. Internet. Windows