Manual steps to use Registry Editor

you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems that result from incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. Editing the registry involves the following six types of procedures: • Locating a subtree, key, subkey, or value • Adding a subkey • Adding a value • Changing a value • Deleting a subkey or a value • Renaming a subkey or a value

Locating a subtree, key, subkey, or value

There are five top-level registry subtreesEach of them starts with "HKEY." In the following example, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE is the subtree, SOFTWARE is the key, and Microsoft is the subkey. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft In Registry Editor, you can search through the keys and subkeys in the same way that you search through your folders in Windows Explorer. The keys and the subkeys are listed in a folder tree in the left pane of Registry Editor. If you click a key or a subkey in the left pane, information about the value name, the value type, and the value data appears in the right pane. As in Windows Explorer, each folder may be expanded by clicking the plus sign (+) that is next to it. After a folder is expanded, the plus sign changes to a minus sign (-). Note When this article says to expand an item, click the plus sign next to that item.

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To locate the Microsoftsubkey that is mentioned earlier in this section, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK. 2. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. 3. Expand SOFTWARE. Click Microsoft. 4. Note When you click the Microsoft subkey, its values appear in the right pane. To view the next lower level of subkeys, expand the Microsoft subkey. To locate a value, click the subkey that contains the value, and then view the contents of the right pane.

Adding a key

To add a new subkey named TestSubkey to the Microsoft subkey, follow these steps: 1. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. 2. Expand SOFTWARE. 3. Click the Microsoft subkey. 4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key. 5. Type TestSubkey, and then press ENTER.

Adding a value

To add a new DWORD Value named TestDWORD and to set its value data to 1 in the TestSubkey key, follow these steps: 1. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. 2. Expand SOFTWARE. 3. Expand Microsoft. 4. Click the TestSubkey subkey. 5. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. 6. Type TestDWORD and then press ENTER.. 7. Right-click the TestDWORD DWORD Value, and then click Modify. 8. Type 1, and then click OK.

Changing a value

To change the value data for the TestDWORD DWORD Value to 0 in the TestSubkey key, follow these steps: 1. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

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2. Expand SOFTWARE. 3. Expand Microsoft. 4. Click the TestSubkey subkey. 5. Right-click the TestDWORD DWORD Value, and then click Modify. 6. Type 0, and then click OK.

Manual steps to rename a key or value

To rename the TestSubkeysubkey to Test, follow these steps: 1. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. 2. Expand SOFTWARE. 3. Expand Microsoft. 4. Right-click the TestSubkey key, and then click Rename. 5. Type Test, and then press ENTER.

Deleting a key or value

To delete the TestDWORD DWORD Value in the TestSubkey subkey, follow these steps: 1. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. 2. Expand SOFTWARE. 3. Expand Microsoft. 4. Click the TestSubkey subkey. 5. Right-click the TestDWORD DWORD Value, and then click Delete. 6. Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the value. For more information about editing the registry, follow these steps in Registry Editor: 1. On the Help menu, click Help Topics. 2. On the Contents tab, double-click Registry Editor. 3. Double-click How To. 4. Double-click Change Keys and Values, and then click the topic that you want.

Manual steps to edit the registry

Use the Windows user interface
We recommend that you use the Windows user interface to change your system settings instead of manually editing the registry. However, editing the registry may sometimes be the best method to resolve a product issue. If the issue is documented in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, an article with step-by-step instructions to edit the registry for that issue will be available. We recommend that you follow these instructions very exactly.

Manual steps to back up the whole registry

To back up the whole registry, use the Backup utility to back up the system state. The system state includes the registry, the COM+ Class Registration Database, and your boot files. For more information about using the Backup utility to back up the system state, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 308422 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422/) How to use Backup to back up files and folders on your computer in Windows XP 320820 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320820/) How to use the Backup utility to back up files and folders in Windows XP Home Edition 326216 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326216/) How to use the Backup feature to back up and restore data in Windows Server 2003

Manual steps to export registry subkeys

You can follow these steps to export a registry subkey before you edit it. Note Do not follow these steps to export a whole registry subtree. (HKEY_CURRENT_USER is an example of such a subtree.) If you must back up whole registry subtrees, back up the whole registry instead. 1. Click Start, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK. 3. Locate and then click the subkey that contains the value that you want to edit. 4. On the File menu, click Export. In the Save in box, select a location where you want to save the Registration Entries 5. (.reg) file, type a file name in the File name box, and then click Save.