What is a computer registry? 

The Registry is the centralized configuration database for Windows OS, as well as for applications. The Registry stores all-important information about parameters, device configuration, and user preferences. It also stores information about settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the computer.

The Windows Registry is one of the most important applications of the Windows Operating System. The Registry is nothing but a database that stores minute details such as installed applications, hardware drivers, and settings etc; available on your computer. Windows registry serves as a central configuration database for user, application, and computer-specific information. System Registry is the most important nucleus of any operating system. This is a database used by Microsoft Windows to store configuration information about the software installed on a computer.

The Important Sections Of Windows Registry 

===>>>(Here I have tried to give a brief introduction for newbies)

1) HKEY_User

It contains the information for each user of the system.

2) HKEY_Current_User

It contains information of all the preferences for the current user.

3)HKEY_Current_Configuration

It stores settings for the display and printers.

4)HKEY_Classes_Root

It includes file associations and OLE information.

5)HKEY_Local_Machine

It contains the informatin of settings for the hardware, operating system, and installed applications.

6)HKEY_Dyn_Data

It contains information for includes performance data.

Usually when you install a new program, it writes some data to the computer's registry. If you want to manually edit the registry for some reason, you can use the "regedit.exe" program, which comes with the Windows operating system.

Very Important===>>>

While editing the registry; be cautious, if you don't know exactly what you're doing, it will disable your computer.

As soon as user makes changes to "Control Panel" settings, or file associations, system policies, or installed software, the changes are stored in the registry.

In case of Windows 9x computers, an older installation can leave a very large registry that slows down the computer's startup and can make the computer unstable. But these problems do not usually occur on the Windows NT group of systems, including Windows XP.

Journey Inside the Registry 

(Detail Study For studious)

The logical sections are the main pillars of the Registry. It is split into a number of logical sections. Logical sections are generally named after the definitions used to access them in the Windows API, which are begin with "HKEY" (It's an acronym of Handle to a Key), mostly abbreviated to a 4 letters short name.

I) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT (HKCR)

Information about registered applications, including associations from file extensions and OLE object class ids to the applications used to handle these items are stored here.

II) HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU)

Information about currently logged in user and settings that are specific to them are stored here.

III) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM)

The general settings information for all users on the computer is stored here.

IV) HKEY_USERS

It contains subkeys related to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER keys for an individual registered user on the machine.

V) HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG

It holds information collected at runtime; information stored in this key is temporarily stored on disk and regenerated at boot time. All these keys are divided into subkeys, which may contain further subkeys.

Any key may contain values, which are either strings or binary data. Each key has a default value, which is in effect a value with the same name as the key. Registry keys and values are specified with syntax similar to Windows' filenames, using backslashes to indicate levels of hierarchy.

Let us study this example===>>>

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore

Refers to the subkey SystemRestore of the subkey CurrentVersion of the subkey WindowsNT of the subkey Microsoft of the subkey Software of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key.

Now let us know the location of Registry 

The Registry is located on your computer in several files, depending upon your version of Windows OS. Accordingly there will be various files and various locations for these files depending upon the type of Windows OS.

System Registry is the most important nucleus of any operating system. This is a database used by Microsoft Windows to store configuration information about the software installed on a computer. Now I hope that you will never forget the importance of clean registry.

Clean registry is the sign of healthy (error free) system. Never COMPROMISE with system performance and stability of your computer. If you neglect the importance of tips on "How to keep the system registry clean?" you must be doing injustice to your computer system.

Click here to learn more about importance of keeping system registry clean.

Subscribe to "COMPTECH" ezine to get the latest news and updates on Computer Hardware, Software, Tips & Tutorials.

Enter your E-mail Address Enter your First Name (optional) Then Don't worry -- your e-mail address is totally secure. I promise to use it only to send you Mindpc.