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Although we know you're probably tired of such lists, we do think it's important that you become familiar with the registry. When it comes to troubleshooting, you're going to find that you can accomplish many of the tasks you need to perform only by editing the registry. In fact, the solution to problems in almost every Knowledge Base article involves editing the registry-so the more you know, the easier it will be for you to troubleshoot and resolve these problems quickly.
Knowledge is key
In this article, we're going to show you the top five keys you'll work with most often in troubleshooting. We'll begin by providing you with a brief overview of the structure of the registry. From there, we'll walk you through each of the registry keys you'll most commonly be called upon to modify when troubleshooting. Let's get started.
Understanding the structure of the registry
Before we jump into editing the registry, let's review its structure. First, the registry consists of five subtrees-each displayed in a separate window when you run Registry Editor. In Table A, we describe these subtrees and their contents.
Although all of these subtrees are displayed as equal in Registry Editor, you'll find that the registry consists of only two trees: HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE and HKEY_USERS. All of the other subtrees are actually children of these two trees. For example, the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT subtree is a window to the following registry key in HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE:
Likewise, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG points to the registry key:
Finally, HKEY_CURRENT_USER is a window to the profile of the current user stored in HKEY_USERS.
Exploring registry files
One of the common terms you hear when people talk about the registry is hives. A hive is simply a portion of the registry that's stored in a file. Windows NT stores the files for HKEY_CURRENT_USER in each user's profile folder. For example, you'll find the administrator's registry hive (ntuser.dat) stored in the folder \winnt\profiles\administrator. Windows NT stores all other registry hives in the folder \winnt \ system32 \ config.
Backing up the registry
Before we continue, let's make sure you know how to back up the registry in case you run into trouble. Because the registry controls most of your system's configuration information, if you make a mistake,...