Understanding The Registry

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This issue: Understanding The Registry

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by Otis Cooper
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Otis F. Cooper
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http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com/

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FEATURE ARTICLE - Understanding The Registry
by Otis F. Cooper
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When you understand the purpose of the Registry and how
to change entries,you have gained power to customize
Windows than you thought possible.The Registry is a
database holding crucial data about your computer's
configuration and its simple to access and to change.

The first and most important task you must perform is
to backup your registry even before you know how to
access this file.Changing certain parts of the registry
spells disaster and your backup can pull you out of
the fire.

HOW TO BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY

To backup your registry using the registry checker,click
on Start,Programs,Accessories,System Tools and
System Information.Next open the tools menu and click
Registry Checker.The Registry Checker scans your
registry and ask if you want to make a backup and here
you select yes.

If your registry becomes corrupt and will not allow the
computer to boot,the registry checker may not run.
Its an excellent idea to copy a backup of your registry
on a floppy or other removable disk.To do this task,open
Windows Explorer,and browse to C:\WINDOWS.Next
copy System.dat and User.dat to the floppy disk.Copy
the files in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSBACKUP as well.If
your operating system is Windows Me,copy the file
Classes.dat as well.

If you change your registry and find that windows will
not boot,start the computer with your startup disk and
change the startup disk with the registry disk.Windows
98 users click Start,Shut Down,Restart in MSDOS Mode,
and click OK.Once you arrive at the Dos Prompt,type
scanreg.exe/restore and press Enter.From there you
restore the most recent registry and reboot the PC after
you remove the disk from the drive.Scanregw /restore is
the command for WinMe users.

THE REGISTRY STRUCTURE

The Registry structure can be confusing to say the least.
The registry data resides in the User,and System.dat
Windows 98 files which are hidden from the user's
view to discourage tampering.Windows Me uses the
System,Classes,and the User.dat files.The registry
consists of six branches as follows:

The HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
This branch contains data for user configuration,which
stores changes you make to Windows and when you
install or uninstall applications.This data is accessed
by Windows on a regular basis such as when you click
on an icon or music file.

The HKEY_USERS
As the name indicates,this branch contains data about
each user with an account on that computer.Each user
will have a separate KEY.Within each branch are folder
like files called Keys and you may even see subkeys
within each Key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER
This is the location of settings for the user that is using
the system now.Desktop and Control Panel settings of
the current user are among the data present.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
This branch or subtree contains data about your system's
hardware,software, and the operating system.

HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
This branch works together with the above branch.It loads
data from the Hkey_Local_Machine into the Hkey_Current
_Config subtree that may be needed for the current user.

HKEY_DYN_DATA
Here data is taken from other parts of the registry and
places it into memory for quick access by Windows.

Every key in the registry is displayed with an icon of a
folder.And these folders are simply nothing more than
storage areas for data,such as a folder in your file cabinet.
And these keys with contain keys within themselves.

The Keys mentioned above are the most important keys
in your registry and viewing the associated video clips will
show you the structure of your registry.

Microsoft does not want us playing around in the registry since
one wrong move and you may disable your computer.One
reason for this is because most of the changes you can make
in your registry can easily be made in the Control Panel settings.

So why bother to learn how to make changes in your registry?
Knowledge is power and the more you understand everything
about your computer,the more control you will have over it.It is
best to learn and to tamper with the registry on a second PC in
your home rather than playing around with your business or the
only system at your residence.

Take a minute to view the video on the structure of the registry
and how to perform a backup.To take a look at your registry you
can click on Start,Run,and type "Regedit" in the open block.In
our next article we will show you how to make changes to the
registry,what happens when you delete the wrong key or value,
and what to do to get your system back on track.

Even though you can make most changes in the Control Panel
that you can make in your registry,you want to master every
aspect of your system.Learning about the registry will help you
have the confidence of know all about your system.View the
videos,visit the web sites,and understand the registry completely.

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Article by: Otis F. Cooper
Learn how to save your computer
visit our site today!
http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com/
allaboutpc@juno.com
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You may reprint this article if
the author box is kept intact
Copyright 2002 Otis F. Cooper
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Otis F. Cooper
Softsale Software
5550 Pickering Ct.
Colorado Springs,Co 80911
allaboutpc@juno.com
http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com/
719-390-6935