How To Repair Your Registry The Hard Way

To repair the Windows registry manually is a very complicated administer that even computer technicians dare not do unless it is the last thing they can maybe do to save a computer. But, in order to repair the Windows registry manually, one must have a thorough appreciative of what the Windows registry is, how it is structured and how it works.

Appreciative the Windows Registry

The Windows registry feature is a relatively new addendum to the Microsoft Windows system. This means that it was not built-in in the first versions of Windows, namely Windows 3x and older. Instead of the registry feature, these earlier versions of Windows have an .ini file and a .dat file stored in each folder and subfolder. These .ini files and .dat files control the settings and configuration data for the files in the folder or subfolder they are linked with.

Storing settings and configuration data in this manner is very tough. The .ini files and .dat files can be deleted by accident if the user of the computer is careless, and this action can cripple the entire system.

Upon the enhancement of the Windows NT system, these settings and configuration data came to be consolidated in what became the Windows registry feature. At first, the Windows registry was just a database where these settings and configuration data may be viewed by typing in the mandate regedit.exe, but cannot be edited.

Later versions of Windows – Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows 2000 – saw changes in the Windows registry feature, and the mandate used became regedt32.exe rather than regedit.exe. The main difference between regedit.exe and regedt32.exe is that while regedit.exe boundary allows the computer’s user to view more in rank about the registry keys, regedt32.exe allows the user to do more with the registry keys using additional functions.

The first translation of Microsoft Windows to integrate the best of regedit.exe with regedt32.exe is Windows XP. In Windows XP, the mandate name regedit.exe is used, as well as the boundary of the older translation of regedit.exe. These are then collective with the functionality of regedt32.exe. This translation of the Windows registry became the staple in later versions of Windows such as Windows Server and Windows Vista.

The Components of the Windows Registry

The Windows registry as we know it now has two basic components: the key and the value. The key is similar to the folders that we can find in Windows Explorer, and each key can have subkeys within it, just like a folder in Windows Explorer would have subfolders. The value, on the other hand, is the name/data pair that is proscribed within these keys and subkeys. They are the small pieces of data where the in rank about how our computer should be running is stored.

Keys are organized into hives. The hives found in a Windows registry are:

o HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT (HKCR) – the hive where the keys and values pertaining to the myriad of applications we use on our computer are stored.

o HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU) – contains in rank on the settings used by whoever is using the computer at the given moment that the computer is being used.

o HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) – pertains to the general settings used by all the registered users of the computer.

o HKEY_USERS (HKU) – keeps in rank corresponding to those in HKCU, for all registered users of the computer.

o HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG (HKCC) – fleeting in rank that the computer gathers when it is booted up.

Editing and Repairing the Registry

There are a number of ways that a person can use to edit and repair the registry. Among these methods are:

o Manual editing. Manual editing means opening the registry using the regedit.exe mandate and classification owing to the registry keys and values by yourself, deleting values and keys that you find invalid or suspicious.

o Windows Registry Editor. The Windows Registry Editor is a support tool released by Windows as a companion to the Windows registry. It can be used to locate keys and values, rename them, change them, add to them or delete them.

o Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Also referred to as Group Policy, MMC is used by system administrators to manage networks and computer system components, including registry editing in various computers built-in in the network.

o Registration Entries (.reg). In this method, registry changes are place into a registration entries file and then run using a script.

o Windows Script Host. Alterations to the registry can also be done by scripting using Visual Basic or JScript. The basic methods that can be used under the Windows Script Host are: RegDelete, which deletes values from the registry; RegRead, which restores a key’s value or the name of a value in a key; and RegWrite, where new values are produced or existing values are changed or written over.

o Windows Management Instrumentation. The automated administer of performing administrative tasks in Windows, including Windows registry repair and editing.

o Console Registry Tool for Windows. This method makes use of the reg.exe tool and of various codes and scripts typed in at the Mandate Prompt of the Windows OS.

As thorough as Windows registry repair can be when done manually, it is very time consuming and exceptionally risky. Even expert computer technicians avoid having to touch the Windows registry unless there is not anything else that can be done about the registry’s problems. If errors are committed when trying to repair the Windows registry using one of these methods, it can result in destabilization of the system. If this happens, the user would need to reformat the computer and reinstall the operating system absolutely.

The Simpler Way to Repair the Windows Registry

As mentioned, to repair the Windows registry using the methods listed above is highly risky, tedious and time-consuming. A stuck-up way of addressing problems with a computer’s Windows registry is by using third-party registry cleaner software. Using such software will momentously reduce the time and effort that is necessary for otherwise repairing the Windows registry manually. Most of all, third-party registry cleaners are much, much safer and risk-free.

One particular registry cleaner that stands out among the rest is RegCure. It is quick – it can do all the scanning and repairing that needs to be done in as small as a minute. It is thorough – it seeks all the invalid entries and malicious code hiding in the dark corners of the computer’s registry. And most importantly, it is safe – it has a backup and restore feature that allows the user to go back in case that a mistake is done during the scanning administer. Using RegCure is the best way to do a Windows registry repair. Download a free scan of RegCure from the link here.

Ken Morris
Repair-Xp.com
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Author: Ken J Morris
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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