Windows Registry is the database used to store configurations, settings and options for Microsoft Windows systems. The database has a hierarchical structure.
The Windows Registry provides information about the settings for low-level operating system and applications running on the platforms. The kernel, user interface, device drivers, services, SAM and third party applications are some platforms which use the Window Registry.
Windows registry also offers a way to access counters to profile performance of the system.
The Windows Registry was first launched in the market with Windows 3.1 to store important configuration information for COM-based components.
The use of registry was inflated with the launch of Windows 95 and Windows NT so as to organize the surplus of INI files per program, which had been used earlier to amass settings of configuration for Windows programs.
The MS registry has two essentials: keys and values.
Inside keys, Registry Values are stored and they actually represent name/data pairs.
Manipulation of registry values is carried out by the API functions of Windows, which access names of values discretely from their key paths and/or from Windows handle that acknowledges the parent key.
Although, the term is a little bit confusing, with values resembling associative arrays, wherein standard definition suggests that a key is the name portion of value.
In Windows 3, keys were devoid of containing arbitrary names/data pairs, instead they contained only one unnamed value that needs to be a string.
The Windows registry can be edited in a manual way in MS Windows by executing regedt32.exe or regedit.exe in the directory of Windows.
This advantage could have serious consequences e.g. a slow computer if Registry editing is done carelessly. Thus, Microsoft recommends that before editing the Registry, backups should be performed to avoid damages. In fact, many industry experts like editors and authors of leading trade magazines have recommended this.
A straightforward implementation of the present-day registry tool surfaced in Windows 3.x operating system, dubbed as “Registration Info Editor” or simply “Registration Editor”.
This was a database of applications primarily used to edit inserted OLE objects in documents.
But the users need to be cautious as the two editors on the aforementioned platforms differ tremendously.
Microsoft Windows XP was the first system in which both the programs were integrated into one. This integrated program contained the interface of REGEDIT.EXE and the functionality of REGEDT32.EXE.
However, the distinctions do not occur with Windows XP as well as the newer versions REGEDIT.EXE being the improved editor and REGEDT32.EXE being purely a stub invoking REGEDIT.EXE.
Following functions can be performed using the Registry Editor:
- Importing and exporting .REG files, exporting data in the binary hive format
- Creating, manipulating, renaming and deleting registry keys, subkeys, values and value data
- Setting permissions based on ACLs (Windows NT-based systems only)
- Loading, manipulating and unloading registry hive format files (Windows NT-based systems only)
- Remotely editing the registry on another networked computer
Apart from Microsoft, Registry could also be edited in LINUX with the help of open source Offline NT Password & Registry Editor for files’ editing.