MICROSOFT WINDOWS REGISTRY

SAFEBYTES SOFTWARE

Your computer’s registry has information that is used by your programs and Windows. The Registry is what helps the operating system manage your computer; it helps other programs use your computer’s resources, and it houses custom settings that you make in your programs and in Windows.

For example, when you modify your desktop, those changes are stored in your Registry. When you see a list of files that have been recently opened, that information is stored in your Registry. Also, any changes that you make in your Microsoft Word status bar are held on the Registry as well. The Registry is a “database”. The registry’s information is stored on the disk, but dynamic information also is present in your computer’s memory.

Working in the Registry

You shouldn’t need to make changes to the registry manually because applications and programs make all necessary changes to the registry automatically. Making a change that is incorrect to your system’s registry increases the chances of your computer not working. But, if a corrupted file shows up in your registry, you may need to make some changes.

.Reg Files

If you spend enough time on your computer, you will come across .reg files either within your file system or on the internet. A .reg file is a simple text file that has instructions for the Regedit.exe utility to remove, change, or add keys to the registry with a typo can cause your system to crash.

It is recommended that before you apply any. Reg files to your system that you first open them up in your text editor to find out what they actually contain. However, generally, applying a .reg file to your system is much safer than making a manual change.

DISADVANTAGES

The registry in Windows 95 has been labeled as a single point of failure, because reinstalling the operating system was a required task if the Registry were to become corrupt. Windows NT uses a transaction log system to protect against any corruption during updating. Current Windows versions use two levels of log files to make sure that the Registry maintains integrity even if there is power failure or another catastrophic event during a database update. Even when there is an error that isn’t recoverable, Windows can re-initialize or repair damaged Registry entries during a system boot.

RECOVERY AND BACKUPS

It is strongly recommended that you back up your registry before any changes are made, and that you only change values in the registry that you understand or have been instructed to modify by a trusted source.The System Restore utility backs up the registry and can restore it as long as Windows remains bootable, in the Recovery Environment starting in Windows Vista.NT Backup can also be used to back up your Registry as part of your System State and then restore it. Windows XP’s Automated System Recovery feature can also restore your computer’ Registry.Windows ME and Windows 98 included command line and GUI (Scanreg.exe and Scanregw.exe, respectively) tools to check the Registry and fix the Registry’s integrity, creating five regular, automatic backups by default and manually restoring them whenever the system detects the corruption.