How to change values in the registry. How to change values in the registry How to change characteristics in the registry
Having learned create a string value in the Windows registry using RegEdit you begin to understand that this is not enough for working with the registry. This parameter needs to have a value, but when creating a new string parameter, a record without a value is created. Below we will show how to add/change the value of a string parameter in the Windows registry.
So, after creating a new string parameter, a new entry appears in the Windows registry that does not yet have a value:
In order to add or change the value of a parameter, you need to right-click on its name. A context menu will appear in which you need to select “ Change...»:
A mini-window will open “ Changing a string parameter" In field " Parameter» the name of the parameter will be located (it cannot be changed). But in the field " Meaning"You can enter a new value or change an existing one. After the change, you need to click the " OK»:
Now you can see in the Windows registry entry that the value you just entered corresponds to the parameter.
Thus, you can enter or change the values of string parameters in the Windows registry using the RegEdit utility.
When setting up a Windows system, situations may arise when a particular setting cannot be changed through the user interface.
Often, the solution lies in editing the Windows system registry, with which you can influence a huge number of operating system settings.
Below we will look at what is a registry and how to make changes to it. For convenience, we will divide the article into small sections.
Defining and launching the Windows registry
Definitions of the term Windows registry There are many that can be given, here is a relatively simple and easy to understand one:
Windows Registry is a database of settings and parameters of the operating system, which has a tree structure
That is, a huge number of user and system OS settings are reflected in this virtual environment.
Let's look at two main ways to launch the standard Registry Editor utility:
Launching Registry Editor using the Run command
- Launch the utility Execute, going to Start - All programs - Standard(in Windows 10 the utility Execute is in the catalog Service), or by holding down the keys on the keyboard Start(on some keyboards this is marked as Win) And R
- In the window that opens, enter the command regedit
and press the button Enter
Launching Registry Editor from Explorer
- Go to the catalog C:\Windows
- Run the executive file regedit.exe
A Registry Editor window will open in front of us.
Windows Registry Structure
The display of information in the registry has a certain structure.
On the right side of the window we see sections and branches of the registry, each of which is also called a registry hive, while on the left there are registry keys and their parameters.
Registry keys
Each registry section displays the information assigned to it. Modern versions of the OS from Microsoft have five sections:
- HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT(HKCR) - contains parameters for defining file types and objects
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER(HKCU) - settings of the current user (account)
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE(HKLM) - general computer settings that apply to all users
- HKEY_USERS(HKU) - displays information about users
- HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG(HKCC) - displays the parameters of the hardware and connected devices of the computer
In early versions of Windows OS there was another section:
- HKEY_DYN_DATA(HKDD) - containing dynamically changing data on processor load, RAM usage and other current parameters
Registry Data Types
Registry keys in Windows can be of different types, we won’t go into details of each of them; the average user doesn’t need to know this, we’ll just list them below:
- String parameter
- Binary parameter
- DWORD value (32 bits)
- QWORD parameter (64 bits)
- Multiline parameter
- Expandable string parameter
You cannot change the data type of a created key using standard means; if you made a mistake during creation, you must delete the incorrect entry and add a new key.
Registry Backup
Before editing the registry it is always advisable create a backup copy branch or section being modified
Entering incorrect parameters into the Windows system registry can lead to unstable operation and system crash.
Creating a registry backup
To create a backup of the registry key, we will use the export function in the standard utility regedit.
- Launching the registry editor using the regedit command from the Run window or by launching the executive file of the same name from Explorer (the methods are described above)
- Right-click on the desired section and select Export
- In the window that appears, select the directory to save the backup file, enter the file name and click the Save button.
Restoring the registry from a backup
If for some reason there is a need to restore registry data from a backup copy, then we will only need to run the backup file with the extension *.reg and agree to making changes to the registry.
Removing entries from the Windows registry
First of all, we note that some keys have default values. This means that even if a particular key is not in its branch, the system will behave as if it had been assigned a default value.
From this we can conclude that the process of editing the registry is divided into several types:
- changing the parameters of existing keys;
- adding keys to the registry and assigning them the desired value;
- removing unnecessary keys or even hives from the registry.
Let's go straight to the last point, regarding deleting entries from the registry.
Most often this is necessary after removing the tail cleaning software. The fact is that some programs running in the Windows environment, during installation and during operation, actively interact with the system registry, adding entries with technical information there. But during uninstallation, not all lines in the registry are erased. This problem is partially solved by uninstaller programs from third-party developers, but there are also cases that require manual intervention.
After all of the above, someone may have a reasonable question: why even clean the registry of unnecessary entries?
The answer is simple: firstly, sometimes the remaining entries in the registry after uninstalling a program prevent the re-installation of the same software; secondly, registry entries are stored in large files, the increase of which negatively affects hard disk fragmentation and system responsiveness.
Another reason to clean the registry may be the discovery of malware entries in it. Such malware can be banner viruses, Trojans, and advertising links that terrorize the user by constantly launching specified web pages in the browser. By the way, we wrote about ways to get rid of the latter in the corresponding article:
Adding and changing key settings in the Windows registry
We have already looked at an example of setting Windows settings via adding registry entries in articles and.
Let's see how you can change the parameter of an existing key. For example, let's produce disabling UAC control through the registry(User Account Control - account control).
Launch the Windows Registry Editor.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Now on the right side of the window we find the key EnableLUA and double-click on it.
In the Value field I 1
on 0
and press the OK button
Now, when running programs that require additional permissions, the UAC User Account Control window will not appear.
For safety reasons, carry out disabling UAC Not recommended, as the computer becomes more vulnerable to unauthorized launch of malicious programs
This concludes our introduction to the Windows system registry.
In this article we will take a closer look at the topic of how to create reg files to automate work with the registry, so as not to edit the necessary parameters manually. We will talk about how to work with the registry from the command line in a separate publication.
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Rice. 5.3. Window for changing the value of a string parameter
Rice. 5.4. Window for changing the value of a numeric parameter
View of the window for changing registry parameter values, shown in Fig. 5.3 is used to change a string value, and in Fig. 5.4 – numerical value ( DWORD). The meaning of a parameter determines the parameter's data type, its possible values, and the name of the dialog box.
Different types of parameter data correspond to different ranges of input values. In Fig. Figure 5.5 shows the binary data editing dialog box.
Rice. 5.5. Example of a binary data editing window
5.11. Removing a registry key or setting
You can delete any of the registry settings, for example, by selecting from the menu Edit(Edit) paragraph Delete(Delete), or by right-clicking on the parameter and selecting from the context menu Delete(Delete), or, highlighting this parameter with the cursor, press the key Delete. The deletion procedure is completed, as always happens in Windows, confirmation of the selected actions: in the warning window that appears, select Yes(Yes).
5.12. Create a registry key or value
When creating a parameter, you must decide in which key this parameter should be created. The procedure for creating a parameter is as follows: having found the required key and highlighting it, you should execute Edit -> New(Edit –> Create) and in the submenu that appears, select the type of parameter to be created. Subkeys are created in the same way. Paragraph Create(Create) menu Edit(Edit) also contains a submenu that allows you to create a new subkey in the selected key (Fig. 5.6). This menu is activated if the selected object is itself a subkey (located on the left side of the Registry Explorer).
Rice. 5.6. Example of creating a parameter
The created setting will appear on the right side of the Registry Explorer window. By default, the parameter name will be highlighted so you can enter it right away. The operation of assigning a value to a parameter is equivalent to editing it, described above.
5.13. Exporting and importing registry information
One way to archive registry data is to export keys and subkeys to a file. The contents of this file can later be imported back into the registry of this or another computer.
To export a key, you need to select the exported key and select Export(Export) on the menu File(File). In Fig. 5.7 shows a window Exporting a registry file(Export Registry File).
Rice. 5.7. Window for selecting a file to export a registry branch
This example exports the top level key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
You can import registry keys into various types of files. The type is selected in the field File type(Save as Type). The default extension is .reg. You can also save information, for example, in text format (extension .txt). This will allow you to view files in Notepad(Notepad) or using the command line instruction EDIT. Can also export to .reg– files compatible with the types of registry entries used in Win9x/ NT. This dialog box allows you to create a backup copy of the entire registry. In section Export range(Export Range) two options are available:
entire registry(All) – archiving of the entire register;
select branch(Selected Branch) – archiving of the selected key and the entire hierarchical structure under it.
The export process, after specifying the file name, is completed by pressing the key Save(Save). The size of the export file depends on whether the entire registry or part of it is exported. The size of the file created in Fig. 5.7 (the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key is exported) depends on the amount of installed software, the scope of its configuration parameters, etc.
To import a file use the command Import(Import) menu File(File). After running this command, a dialog box for selecting the imported file appears, similar to the export window. You must specify the file name and click on the button Open(Open). Next, a dialog box appears showing the recovery process. If the values of the imported keys are used by the running OS, a warning may appear indicating that some data may not be recovered.
