Windows Registry for Windows Vista
The hierarchical database - Registry - for Windows stores settings and options for configuration on MS Windows operating systems.
The registry contains set-up for components of low-level operating systems and the applications based on that platform. Registry is used by device drivers, the kernels, SAM, user interface, services and all the third party software.
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.
But the use of Windows Registry extended with the launch of Windows NT and Windows 95. It included a large number of per-program INI files wherein configuration settings for Windows had been stored.
Keys and values are the two basic components of the Windows registry.
Registry Values refer to the pairs of name/data stored within the keys.
The Windows API functions, which query and maneuver registry values, obtain the names of values distinctly from the key path and/or from the handle that recognizes the parent key.
The terminology seems to be misleading because the values resemble to an associative array. This associative array uses standard terminology for referring the name part of the value as a key.
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.
Theres provision for manually editing registry in MS Windows by carrying out the execution of regedt32.exe and regedit.exe in Windows directories.
Although, neglectfully editing the registry can result in irreparable damage or you end up with a slow Vista. Therefore, Microsoft and several industry experts, including the writers and editors of leading trade magazines, have highly recommended to perform backups of the registry prior to editing it.
A direct implementation of the current registry tool was seen in Windows 3.x, known as the “Registration Editor” or “Registration Info Editor”.
It was mainly only an applications database that facilitates editing embedded OLE objects.
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.
These editors do not show such differences on Windows XP and newer systems. For instance - REGEDIT.EXE is the more refined and sophisticated editor, while REGEDT32.EXE is only a stub that invokes REGEDIT.EXE.
The Registry Editor permits users to carry out functions that follow:
- Loading, manipulating and unloading registry hive format files (Windows NT-based systems only)
- Setting permissions based on ACLs (Windows NT-based systems only)
- Bookmarking user-selected registry keys as Favorites
- Finding particular strings in key names, value names and value data
- Remotely editing the registry on another networked computer
Linux platform too allows for editing the registry with the assistance of an open source tool called Offline NT Password & Registry Editor.