What Is The Windows Registry?
The Windows windows registry is a database which shops settings and alternatives for the os for Microsoft Windows 32-bit variations, 64-bit variations and Windows Mobile.
It includes details and settings for all the hardware, software application, users, and choices of the PC. Whenever a user makes modifications to “Control Panel” settings, or file associations, system policies, or set up software application, the modifications are shown and kept in the computer registry.
The computer registry is in fact a huge file where a great deal of setting can be saved.
This file has actually been around a long time and has actually had various names.
The very first windows variation that utilized the windows computer registry to keep settings was windows 3.11 and the pc registry because variation of windows was called Reg.dat.
In Windows 95 & & 98 the computer system registry files are called User.dat and System.dat and are saved in the Windows directory site.
Windows ME called the windows registry files, User.dat, system.dat, and classes.dat and saved them in the Windows directory site.
The latest variations of windows like, Windows NT, 2000, 2003, & & XP shops the pc registry files like this,
The Registry files are saved in %SystemRoot% System32Config:
– Sam
– Security
– Software
– System
– Default
– Userdiff
– NTUSER.dat
– The NTUSER.dat file is saved in the profile folder.
The Windows Registry was presented to clean up the old method of keeping text entries in INI files. These entries had actually formerly been utilized to save setup settings for Windows programs.
The ini files where kept in a great deal of lots of programs and various directory sites utilized their own ini declare some or all of their settings. By doing this of utilizing ini files all over the system, made them tough to track and deal with in a sensible and simple method.
What’s Good with the Registry
Altering from having several INI Files per program to one centralised windows registry has some apparent and some not so apparent advantages:
– The computer system registry keeps maker setup different from user setup. When a user logs into a Windows NT/XP/2003 computer system, their computer system registry settings are combined with the system large settings.
– Group Policy enables administrators on a Windows-based computer system network to centrally handle program and policy settings. This is not utilized in a home environment, just in corporations with a devoted logon server.
Since the computer registry is accessed through an unique API it is offered to scripts and remote management utilizing WMI, -. Each script does not need to be personalized for every single application’s distinct setup file designs and limitations.
– The windows registry can be accessed as one product over a network connection for remote management/support, consisting of from scripts, utilizing the basic API.
– It can be supported more quickly, because it is simply a little number of files in particular places.
Bad things with the Registry
Not all that shines is gold. The Registry presents some issues:
– It is a single point of failure – damage to the Registry can render a Windows system unbootable, in severe cases to a point that can not be repaired, and needs a complete reinstall of Windows. This is why it is so crucial to utilize pc registry scan and fix energies, while the computer registry still can be fixed.
– Any program which wishes to control the computer registry should utilize unique Windows API works whereas a setup file can be controlled utilizing typical text file-processing strategies.
– Configuration files can include remarks to assist the user by describing what worths are for and how they can be altered, the computer registry can not. And the computer system registry usage something called guids in a big scale.
– It is harder to backup – it can not be done ‘live’ due to the fact that it is constantly in usage, and therefore needs unique software application such as ntbackup.
Since you can not quickly extract information from backed up windows registry files, – Restoring parts of the computer system registry is hard
– Any application that does not uninstall correctly, or does not have an uninstaller, can leave entries in the windows registry, which can lead in time to increased file size and reduced efficiency. And when again, here’s the significant reason that you should utilize a pc registry scan/clean and repair work software application.
As soon as more with the release of the brand-new Vista Operating System from Microsoft, the computer registry will be redone.
– The windows registry keeps device setup different from user setup. When a user logs into a Windows NT/XP/2003 computer system, their pc registry settings are combined with the system broad settings. There are constantly some system broad settings that are typical for all users.
– Configuration files can consist of remarks to assist the user by describing what worths are for and how they can be altered, the windows registry can not. And the computer system registry usage something called guids in a big scale.