The Windows Registry
What is it?
The registry is basically a place where Windows stores a vast amount of settings and information about itself, hardware, installed software and more. Editing it directly can allow you to change settings and options not available anywhere else in Windows.
Where is it? How do I edit it?
The registry itself consists of a few dat-files in the Windows folder, system.dat and user.dat, and opening those in a text editor doesn't get you very far at all. Fortunately, there is a handy tool for registry editing and viewing included with Windows. It's called regedit.exe and it, too, resides in the Windows folder. A quikc double klick is all it takes to enter the wierd and wonderful world of registry editing!
So, That's What it Looks Like. Now What Does it All Mean?
(Pretty decent headline, huh? Sorry about that ... :-) Now that you've started regedit, you'll get a very much explorer-like window split in two parts. To the left is the tree of keys that make up the registry. Each key may contain both values and sub-keys (just as folders contain both files and other folders). Any values in a key will be displayed in the right window when you click on the key. Double clicking a value will bring up a box where you can edit it. You also have all the standard renaming, searching and deleting options available. The key structure is written just like normal paths. For example, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run contains a value for each program that is run when Windows starts. Add a value with a proper file path to make another program run at start, delete a key to stop the program from running. See how easy this is?
The Mandatory Word of Warning
The registry provides access to lots of settings pretty vital to proper operation of Windows, so changing the wrong setting the wrong way can potentially be disasterous. Wait, don't give up just yet! Some common sense will prevent most problems, even in dealing with the registry. For example, a value in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Activision key won't be of any importance for proper operation of Windows, but they will probably affect software from Activision in one way or the other. Also, most keys and values have pretty logical names, I can guess what the value "Wing 1 Installed" in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Origin Systems\WC: Kilrathi Saga key shows, especially since I know I've got the game installed and the value is set to 1 ... Changing stuff in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Hardware key without an idea what they control is another thing, a kind of thing you should probably stay away from to keep your Windows open (and your sanity) ... Just use your brain and common sense and you should be fine.
Some Cool Places to Look
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software: Almost all modern software adds a key full of more or less interesting values under this one. Jeff Wayne's the War of the Worlds is a great example of a game with lots of interesting values to play around with.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run: As mentioned above, this one contains a value for each program that is run when Windows starts.
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Windows 95/98 Annoyances
