When despite all the clever Windows 7 troubleshooters, when your computer is not working properly there are situations where editing the registry offers the best
chance of a cure. My primary aim is to give you the skill, the practice, and above all, the confidence
to launch regedit and change the registry settings. My secondary aim is to persuade you to take sensible precautions, for example, export at least that particular branch before editing any
registry values.
Windows 7 Registry Tweaks
As usual, I have lots of worked examples for
you to try on your own machine. Each registry tweak has two aims; to
solve a specific problem, and to provide general learning points, which help
you to master regedit. Most of the tweaks work equally well on Windows
7, Vista, XP and Windows Server registries, where there are differences I will explain what happens in each operating
system.
There will be times when
Windows help reveals that there is simply no GUI to configure a particular
Windows 7 setting. Consequently, the only hope of solving the problem is to edit
a value in the registry. Another reason
to acquire confidence at editing the registry, is so that you can repair a defective machine remotely.
Officially, you edit the
Windows 7 registry by adding keys or modifying values, colloquially,
this process is called 'tweaking the registry', or 'hacking the registry'.
My hidden agenda it is that learning should be fun, and in particular, that tweaking the registry should be
satisfying.
To reinforce this 'let's have fun' message, many of my examples also have amusing anecdotes.
A collection of all the operating system's configurable settings.
A database for Group Policy settings.
A replacement for all those ancient .ini files.
A no-go area for amateurs!
A tool for troubleshooting operating system problems.
A back-end for Control Panel's front-end.
A vehicle for having fun while you tweak
Windows 7's performance and appearance.
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To become expert at any task you need to acquire a range of skills. Because the registry is live, with no 'Simulate'
button, and no safety catch, I have arranged the following Windows 7 registry
tweaks as a progression. Here is my sequence for mastering the registry along
with examples of how to develop the corresponding technique.
Although I will be giving clear instructions to help you tweak the
Windows 7 registry, nevertheless
do take precautions. The best defence against a mistake would be to experiment with the registry on a test machine. My favorite technique for recovering from mini-disasters is to
restore or import the previous settings, however this only works if I export the registry
key BEFORE I start editing values. What I do from inside regedit is click on the File menu, Export,
Selected Branch. Every other expert will tell you to backup the System State before you begin.
Let us assume that your mission is to change a setting
using the
Windows 7
regedit.
Click on the Windows 7 Start
Orb (Button)
Click in the 'Search programs and files' Dialog Box
Type regedit
Press enter (or double click the program Registry Editor)
See screenshot opposite
Note 1: Unlike Vista, if you type just the first few letters,
for example 'reg',
then Windows 7 auto-completes the name of the program, you don't have to type the full name -
regedit.
Note 2: One clue that amateurs are not
encouraged to open the registry, is that the special editor, Regedit, does not appear on any
Windows 7 menu.
Before you make any changes to your registry settings, get into the habit of exporting at least that branch of the registry.
Backup the system state before you try anything radical in the registry.
Research Volume Shadow Copy, and test how it restores a previous version of your registry files.
If your computer has a serious problem, which requires pressing F8 at boot-up, remember to try Last Known Good as your first recovery option.
Seek alternative methods; think laterally. Instead of risking making changes with your registry editor, what else could you do? I urge you to consider configuring a Group Policy rather than
tweaking the registry. Occasionally
Windows 7 may provide a new GUI to configure a setting.
Learn how to perform a remote registry edit with:
Regedit, File Menu, Connect
Network Registry.
As you work through my
Windows 7 registry tweaks, make a point of studying each page's 'Key Learning Points'.
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Windows 7 Registry Structure
There are two main areas of the registry, user settings and machine
settings. These correspond to User and Computer settings of group
policy. Once you launch the Windows 7 regedit you can see the folders
or hives.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, also contains the CLASSES_ROOT and the
CURRENT_CONFIG, or put another way, Classes Root and Current Config are
short-cuts to particular areas of the registry.
Once you concentrate on the label 'Local Machine', or 'Users', then the
registry begins to make more sense; this also helps you to make the correct
decision first time. For instance, if you are configuring Mozilla
Firefox settings, then the next step will be HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE --->
SOFTWARE.
When it's the very operating system that you want to tweak then head for:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE ---> SYSTEM.
Physically Mapping Files to Windows 7 Registry Hives
If you look in this system sub-folder, then you will see files that map
to various areas in the registry, this knowledge is most useful when
recovering data in a corrupt registry:
%SystemRoot%\System32\Config
For example, the SAM security, software and system files correspond to
the areas in the registry that you can see in the screenshot to the right.
»
Summary of Windows 7
Registry Tweaks
When a computer is not working properly there are times where editing the
Windows 7 registry offers the best chance of a solution. My aim is to give you the skill, the practice, and above all, the confidence
to launch regedit and change the registry settings.
If you like this page then please share it with your friends
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