Windows 95 registry for dummies Book

Introduction About This Book Conventions Used in This Book What You're Not to Read Foolish Assumptions How This Book Is Organized Part I: All Aboard: Introducing the Registry Part II: Hull, Keel, and Sail: The Registry Structure Part III: Rigging for Sea: Registry Customizing Part IV: The America's Cup: Registry Mastery Part V: Computer Overboard! Registry Troubleshooting Part VI: Docking at the Pier: The Part of Tens Part VII: Appendixes Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here Part I: All Aboard: Introducing the Registry Chapter 1: Why Do I Need to Know about the Registry? View from the Masthead: What Does the Registry Do? Defining the Registry Central storage location Software tracking information Hardware tracking information System configuration information The Registry's Role Recording installation choices Setting up hardware Setting up Windows 95 Running startup programs Defining how Windows 95 appears Specifying what double-clicking does Specifying what drag and drop does Defining right-click behavior Keeping track of application settings Reporting configuration data to administrators What Does the Registry Replace? (For Windows 3.x Veterans) Getting initiated into INI files Yes, Virginia, there is a Windows 3.x Registry INI files that Windows 95 needs INI files that other programs need Goodbye to two old friends What Does the Windows 95 Registry Add? User profiles Plug-and-Play info Access restrictions Rule #1: Saving the Registry How to save When to save Finding Out What You Can Do with the Registry Fixing Windows 95 bugs Recovering from crashes Making the desktop easier to use Speeding up Windows 95 Increasing security Sailing into the Sunset with the Registry Chapter 2: Backing Up the Registry: How to Sleep at Night Why Backups Matter When to Back Up the Registry Landmark backups Scheduled backups Where to Back Up Backing Up the Registry with Freebie Software The behind-the-scenes backup Configuration Backup Emergency Recovery Utility Windows 95 startup disk Export and import Microsoft Backup Batch file solutions Backing Up the Registry with Non-Freebie Software Norton Utilities rescue disks Norton Registry Editor Shareware General-purpose backup programs The Bottom Line Chapter 3: Editing the Registry without a Registry Editor What's so Risky about REGEDIT? What's So Safe about Alternatives? Extending a helpful hand Simplifying complex changes Taking care of INI files Control Panels Primary control panels Secondary control panels Showing your control panel who's boss SETUP My Computer and Explorer Opening a Program with Another Application System Policy Editor Application Software Chapter 4: The Tools You'll Use: Registry Editors from Stem to Stern Cautions and Alerts Registry Rule #1 Registry Rule #2 REGEDIT Is from Mars A tale of two versions REGEDIT à la mode, part 1: Getting GUI Adding REGEDIT to your desktop Anatomy of the REGEDIT window Changing stuff Adding keys and values Deleting keys and values Finding Printing Exporting and importing REGEDIT à la mode, part 2: Getting real Where's the remote? Getting set up for remote Registry editing Running REGEDIT remotely Norton Registry Editor Is from Venus Enhanced Find command Bookmarks Safety features Help that helps Shareware and Freeware Utilities SCANREG COMPREG Registry Search and Replace RegSurf Other stuff we discuss later Part II: Hull, Keel, and Sail: The Registry Structure Chapter 5: Where the Files Are Let's Get Physical Sharpening your physical skills: Viewing and printing The soul of your machine: SYSTEM.DAT Putting the "personal" in "personal computer": USER.DAT An optional security blanket: *.POL Backup for a rainy day: *.DA0 Backup for a very rainy day: SYSTEM.1ST Flotsam and jetsam: Other backup files Registry-Related Files Not Part of the Registry *.REG *.INF *.INI REGEDIT ShellIconCache Chapter 6: What You Must Know to Use REGEDIT: The Registry's Logical Structure The Basic Components Branching out Getting keyed up Adding value String Binary DWORD Gross Registry Anatomy HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Config Enum Hardware Network Security Software System HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Ignore the first key? You'd be an asterisk it Top half (extensions) Bottom half (file types) HKEY_USERS AppEvents Control Panel Network Software HKEY_CURRENT_USER HKEY_DYN_DATA Config Manager PerfStats Chapter 7: Making Hardware Work with Plug and Play Defining Plug and Play Taking the drudgery out of hardware installation Rating the Plug and Play standard Optimizing Plug and Play Motherboard BIOS Adapter BIOS Department of redundancy department How Does the Registry Store Plug and Play Data? HKDD: A special branch HKLM's supporting role Swinging from the Hardware Tree Mousing around Device Manager Identifying device conflicts Manually assigning resources Part III: Rigging for Sea: Registry Customizing Chapter 8: Customizing SETUP for Easier, Cleaner Installations A LAN with a Plan Copying the Files The strange case of NETSETUP A brute force approach Customizing the Install Son of a BATCH INFinite wisdom Adding the Finishing Touches Chapter 9: Customizing System Policies for Security and Safety Windows 95's Casual Security "Policies" and Procedures Installing the System Policy Editor The two faces of POLEDIT A flock of user policies A gaggle of computer policies A school of templates Applying Policies to Networks, Groups, and Individuals System-wide policies Group policies Single-user policies Gotchas Chapter 10: Customizing User Profiles So Bob Always Sees Bob's Icons When to Use Profiles Roamin' your network Thanks for sharing Setting Up User Profiles What Profiles Do to the Registry File cloning: The physical changes Stand-alone PC Networked PC Backups A spare set of keys: The logical changes Profile Downsides Luxury tax #1: Performance Luxury tax #2: Convenience Mandatory User Profiles Exorcising User Profiles Chapter 11: Customizing the Desktop for Speed, Form, and Function For Customizers and Custom Misers PowerToys WinHacker Customizing for Speed System settings Animated windows Cascading menus Hot-rodding the keyboard Turbocharging dial-up Internet links Common activities Adding the URL History folder to the Start menu Adding Dial-Up Networking to the Start menu Customizing for Form Changing icons Renaming desktop icons Customizing for Function Filling security holes File associations and OLE Opening unknown file types Modifying the context menu Part IV: The America's Cup: Registry Mastery Chapter 12: Tracking and Hacking Tracking the Wild Registry Snapshotting Watching in real time: REGMON Hack Packing (Not through Europe) REG and INF files: Registry road maps Rules and REGs Instructions for INFs The header The main section Add entries Delete entries Comments Distributing INF and REG files Via e-mail Via batch files Via network logon scripts Via diskette Chapter 13: Keeping the Registry Lean, Mean, and Efficient Why Trim the Sails? Disk Space RAM Speed Easier troubleshooting Defragmenting the Registry Nuking Old File Types REGCLEAN: Free, Unsupported, and Mysterious What REGCLEAN does What REGCLEAN doesn't do Running REGCLEAN Recovering from a bad cleanup Distinguishing Good Orphans from Bad Finding orphans Deleting orphans Compressing the Entire Registry OSR2 method OSR1 method Part V: Computer Overboard! Registry Troubleshooting Chapter 14: A Dirty Dozen Registry Problems (and Solutions!) Windows 95 Displays a Registry Error at Startup Non-Registry causes Registry causes REGEDIT Displays Error Messages I Can't Boot to Safe Mode I Can't Reverse Restrictive Policies The Wrong Program Runs When I Double-Click a File The Properties Option Crashes Windows 95 Importing Fails with Real-Mode REGEDIT Importing a REG File Misses Some Keys Importing a REG File Creates Unwanted Duplicates After Restoring the Registry the Fonts Are Gone Changing a File System Profile Slows Windows Down System Policy Editor Doesn't Save a File Chapter 15: Restore and Restart as a Last Resort There's No Mode Like Safe Mode Specific Restore Procedures Restoring from DA0 files CFGBACK to the future A word about ERD The export/import bank Batching it Norton to the rescue (disk) Restoring from general-purpose backup programs SYSTEM.1ST is really SYSTEM.LAST Part VI: Docking at the Pier: The Part of Tens Special Insert: The Windows 98 Registry: A First Look Caveat Reader! What's New with Windows 98? The desktop as Web page Other Internet-egration Migration support Improved hardware support Dribbleware consolidation I-10 Mo' better utilities I-11 Checking Out Registry Checker I-15 Basics I-15 Beyond basics I-17 Controlling Registry Checker I-17 Automatic compression I-18 Automatic startup I-18 A potential problem I-18 Recognizing Registry Differences I-19 New keys I-19 Greater use of CLSIDs I-23 New code I-24 Call me a CAB: New automatic backups I-24 Standing Pat: Registry-Editing Tools I-25 REGEDIT I-26 System Policy Editor I-26 User Profiles I-26 File Types dialog box I-27 Customizing the Initial Registry I-27 NETSETUP I-27 BATCH I-28 Known Windows 98 Registry Problems I-30 Call for Comments I-31 Chapter 16: Ten Registry-Related Internet Sites www.imaginations.com www.ntinternals.com www.winmag.com www.zdnet.com www.annoyances.org/win95 www.windows95.com support.microsoft.com/support www.microsoft.com/windows/windows95 www.download.com comp.os.ms-windows.win95.misc Chapter 17: Ten Registry Tricks -- Useful and Otherwise Provide Your Own Startup Tips Recover a Lost Internet Explorer Password Modify Your Screen Saver Timings Restart the Registry Faster Automatically Log On to the Desktop Remove Programs from the Install/Uninstall List Change the Registered Organization and Owner Names Change the Default Windows 95 Setup Directory Annotate the Registry Create Application-Specific Sound Schemes Chapter 18: Ten Non-Windows Registries International Scumbag Registry Yacht Club Registry Bloomingdale's Bridal Registry duPont Registry Speedtrap Registry National Pet Registry Internet Social Registry Official Registry of Persons Named Luke Registry of Educational Software Publishers Canadian Registry of Experts Part VII: Appendixes Appendix A: Glossary Appendix B: References and Resources Companies Mentioned in This Book Books Magazines Appendix C: About the CD System Requirements How to use the CD by using Microsoft Windows What You'll Find CleanSweep Deluxe Filemon GHOST MTUSpeed Norton Utilities NovaBackUP Registry Search and Replace Regmon The Registry Surfer TweakDUN WinHacker WinZip 95 If You've Got Problems (Of the CD Kind) Appendix D: Differences between the Windows 95 and NT Registries Files Security Structure Data Types Editing the NT Registry Expansion Index IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., End-User License Agreement Installation Instructions Book Registration Information