One fascinating aspect of Microsoft's registry is that each successive
Windows
version brings new features to tweak. Here are examples of
interesting Windows 8 regedit hacks. Please note these are from early
beta versions, and may not be relevant to the RTM or even the customer
preview version.
This page assumes that you have a good grounding in
regedit. Nevertheless, do remember the golden rule, at least
export the branch you intend to working
with before you start.
The task manager has only seen cosmetic improvements since the days of
Windows 95, but here in Windows 8 is a radical redesign. This
Modern Windows 8 Task Manager not only lists which applications are running,
but also which are idle. It may be my imagination, but it now seems
easier to kill programs than previously. This is a registry hack for
an early Windows 8 beta.
Registry Instructions to Enable the Modern Windows Task Manager.
This enables, or disables, the Office 2010 style top menu ribbons.
Microsoft's ribbon idea has taken a while to evolve to a point that users
accept it. Or is it a case of people slowly adapting to new technology
for navigating around Windows Explorer or Microsoft Outlook?
Registry Instructions to Check the New Explorer Ribbon
Note: Don't start in HKLM, launch Regedit and navigate
to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.
Create a New, String Value under this key called: 'AppID'
Set its value to '{9198DA45-C7D5-4EFF-A726-78FC547DFF53}'
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Microsoft has developed a built-in Appx application to view PDFs.
Look out for the new name for this gismo: 'Modern Reader'. To turn
this feature on or off you can hack the Windows 8 registry; first navigate
to this hive / key:
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Check the logic 0 (zero) means the the Windows Task Manager is
enabled. Numeric 1 means Disable TskMgr.
Note 1: If you are trying to DISABLE a Windows Task Manager
then you may need to create a System folder and then create the
DisableTaskMgr DWORD value.
Note 2: You need to reboot for this setting to take effect.
Windows 8 contains a native webcam.exe application. This is a clear
indication that Microsoft is working to tightly integrate webcams into the
new operating system.
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Although I will be giving you clear instructions to help you master tweaking the registry,
I still advise you to take precautions because there is no 'Simulate' button
in regedit.
The safest way of all to experiment with the registry is on a test machine,
because in the worst case scenarion you could re-install Windows 8 if you (we!) make a terrible mistake,
and there would be no data loss.
Let us assume that your mission is to change a setting in Windows 8
by using the registry editor.
From the Metro UI type: R e g e d i
t
You should see the famous icon in the results pane
See screenshot right
right-click the regedit app, and 'Advanced' should appear in the
bottom left of your screen.
Click and select 'Run as
administrator'.
Launch Your registry editor - Regedit.
Note 1: Unlike other Windows executables, if you type just the first few letters,
for example: 'reg',
Windows 8 does not display name of this program, you have to type the full name -
regedit.
My favorite technique for recovering from mini-disasters is to export the
registry key BEFORE I change any values. To do this, launch regedit
then click on the File menu, Export,
Selected Branch. Every other registry expert will tell you to backup the System State before you begin.
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