Giveaway of the Day Forums » Tag: registry

Giveaway of the Day Forums » Tag: registry - Recent Posts http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/tags/registry Giveaway of the Day Forums » Tag: registry - Recent Posts en-US Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:07:49 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 goodgotd on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94938 Fri, 09 Sep 2011 07:22:30 +0000 goodgotd 94938@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ hm. that's the only uncorrupted copy I could find, but looks right. been using 2.0.1.68 forever. thanks. hotdoge3 on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94935 Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:11:25 +0000 hotdoge3 94935@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Thanks mikiem2 got the Regshot v2.0.1.70 scan it and it clean mikiem2 on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94861 Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:50:38 +0000 mikiem2 94861@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ <blockquote>I have read enough 'be careful; don't use if you don't know what you are doing' warnings about running them, that I don't even take a chance. </blockquote> NOT disagreeing at all, years ago when I was training people on using PCs, Word etc., & this was back in the days of the 286 CPU, I found that the 1st thing I needed to do was get them playing a couple of games, to get them over their initial fear of breaking something. I've found people are generally divided into 2 groups, those careful lest something go wrong & those who are not. It's not confined to something like the registry, or to PCs/laptops for that matter... I've seen the same thing with DIY [Do It Yourself] projects, & I've seen innumerable pros in all fields whose greatest skill is bluffing, rather than what they're really supposed to be good at. The really hard part is having a more careful nature & finding a way to be somewhere in between -- the very best pros I've ever seen, again in any field, were/are those people. Personally I don't want or like to push too hard -- just nudge people to consider stepping outside their comfort zone, because that's where neat things usually happen. For most any given task of any sort [not just PCs] there are just 3 basic components: knowledge on how to do it, enough confidence [or desperation] to start, & knowing how to fix things if/when they go wrong. Decades ago I read that a Major League Baseball player said, a pro steps back up to the plate, no worries, & does their job, despite having struck out their last time at bat. That's always stayed with me. If something doesn't work out, if you fail, move on. I really didn't start out to write some sort of self-help thing or blog about philosophy, but I wanted to try and put warnings about the registry in context. Tech support people will warn about the registry because it's in their best interests -- screw something up & they might have to deal with it. Those people that are better at bluffing than they are at whatever skills often have a very convincing voice of doom, because it's in their best interests -- if there's a problem, not knowing how to fix it damages their image. And very well-meaning people who have had a bad experience warn everyone else -- that's a good thing, but it's like reading customer hardware reviews at newegg.com... one review doesn't tell you much, but 500 will. If 1 person for every 20 had bad luck you can judge the odds, but you need to see those other 19 reviews before you can make that judgement. At any rate, 1) I think people should be equally critical of everything they read or hear, whether it's warning or praise. 2) I think it's great to learn how & practice enough that you're comfortable putting things back when it comes to Windows & software & the registry -- if you can come to think of Windows to some extent like a dry erase or chalk board that's easily erased, you'll have an awful lot more fun. If that means doing a disk/partition image backup every day while you're off eating dinner or something, the freedom of being able to screw up may be well worth it. :-) 3) Building on #2, kids learn a huge amount of stuff by playing -- adults are no different, except much too often we tell ourselves not to play, or we limit our play to something regimented like a game. You learn more with less rules. Those that are the best at anything having to do with PCs are those that always ask, what if? With Big Apologies for the self-help tone, I hope this puts many of the warnings you'll see regarding anything with PCs or Windows & particularly the registry into a slightly better context. I don't want to counter warnings that messing with Windows' registry can be bad -- it can -- but simply say it's no more dangerous than any of dozens of other things you do every day. So why all the extra attention? :-) RosnSC on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94841 Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:30:15 +0000 RosnSC 94841@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ " I have long been 'scared/wary' of the registry" NolafromNZ, I am the same way, and thusly don't risk running registry cleaners. I have read enough 'be careful; don't use if you don't know what you are doing' warnings about running them, that I don't even take a chance. Whiterabbit-uk on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94836 Tue, 06 Sep 2011 23:42:44 +0000 Whiterabbit-uk 94836@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ I've created a Technical forum so that post such as this one can be kept together as they are a very useful resouce. I'll be adding Tags to make it easier to find them using the search function mikiem2 on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94743 Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:04:25 +0000 mikiem2 94743@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Pasting this into Google Translate: <a href="http://forum.ru-board.com/topic.cgi?forum=5&topic=0540&start=20" rel="nofollow">http://forum.ru-board.com/topic.cgi?forum=5&topic=0540&start=20</a> In the 1st post on that page, the link to "Regshot v2.0.1.70 (all versions)" works, McAfee scans the rar file OK before & after unpacking, & it looks like a newer version of what I already had & use. Please post if your AV software says different. [The url google translate comes up with is huge, so I copy pasted the original url] hotdoge3 on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94683 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:59:17 +0000 hotdoge3 94683@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Thank mikiem2 as for Regshot2 try for hours and all I find is spyware I did get Regshot1 ok but like Regshot2 as got windows 7 64bit. NolafromNZ on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94582 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:20:49 +0000 NolafromNZ 94582@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Very, very helpful information Mike, thank you. I have long been 'scared/wary' of the registry although I'm at home looking for things like unlock codes. I will give Regshot a go though, it would be very handy to know that what has being installed has also been uninstalled as per your final paragraph. And I have ERUNT but fortunately have never needed it, as I don't use registry cleaners either, too worried about what might happen as I am a total computer/XP/games addict. But you have made a lot of things clearer to me and for that I thank you. mikiem2 on "WIndows Registry, OneClick, & other reg cleaners etc." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/10349#post-94575 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:31:35 +0000 mikiem2 94575@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ 'Nuther registry cleaner on GOTD, which means there's a bit of disinformation floating around the comments, much of it inspired I'm sure by some horror story or another, some darkest tale of Windows gone Bad. Truth is, no matter what you do the registry, no matter what you do to Windows, as long as you can put things back, No Worries. In fact that's actually the first thing anyone should master with PCs of any sort, creating/restoring registry & hard drive backups, simply because stuff happens. Mastering backups is incredibly easy, & from then on you don't have the fear that you'll be like someone who tears apart the washing machine or car with no hope of getting anything assembled again. :-) That said, I wanted to take the time to try & clear things up a bit about Windows' registry, as always in case it helps... About... Working with Windows' registry may not ever be fun, but it doesn't have to feared either. Windows' registry is just a list, in database form, which Windows & optionally software uses for central data storage, e.g what fonts are installed & available, what video codecs, what app opens what kind of files when you double click them & so on. It's an alternative to using individual configuration files. When you run software Windows reads from the registry constantly -- Process Monitor, a SysInternals app will show just how much & how often. Windows will also write values to keep track of history etc. If you work with the registry you'll mostly remove extra entries that aren't needed, & you'll remove or edit entries to turn software off -- less often, & maybe more so with games, you'll edit values to configure how software behaves. Because it's just a list, Windows' registry rarely causes problems on its own -- most problems are caused by files -- though the registry may get involved turning software features on/off, telling Windows to use whatever files, &/or starting apps/services. The hardest part about working with the registry is that unlike individual configuration files [*.ini, *.xml etc.] there's no way anything can be commented, & while some names make sense, so you can at least make a very solid guess at what they control, most don't. Windows' registry is divided up into 5 sections which are sub-divided into many more keys, which themselves are sub-divided & so on... when you look at the registry in Windows' Regedit [type regedit into the Start Menu Run box & click OK] Keys look like folders in a view similar to the tree in Windows' Explorer, while values [if present] use an icon to reflect which of 5 types of values it is. Double-click or right-click a value to edit it, right-click a key to export it to a *.reg file, which is how you backup, save, or transfer registry keys from one Windows install to another -- double click or right click a *.reg file to merge it into the registry. Those *.reg files are simple text that can be written, edited, & saved in Notepad, though you have to watch or Notepad will save them as *.txt rather than *.reg files -- it's only a minor anoyance to re-name them. When it comes to changing registry keys/values, a sometimes hassle in win7 is that certain sections of the registry are protected, though those aren't keys you're likely to edit anyway. Still, if you need to change them use the right-click menu -> Permissions... -- sometimes you just need to give a group Full Control, while other times you need to click the Advanced button & use the tabbed dialog that pops up to take ownership. Most always I've only had to do this with driver related keys, & I wanted to delete them, so any concerns about reducing security were moot. The reason I mention it is because I have had apps create protected keys where maybe they shouldn't, & since they were protected, a newer/updated version wouldn't, couldn't install. Another thing to remember is that changing some keys will not make an immediate difference -- Windows' has to re-start so it reads the registry fresh. And since Windows is using it, you can't replace the registry while Windows is running -- restoring a backup for instance has to happen during a re-boot. System Restore will backup/restore the registry in win7, but in XP [& to a lesser extent Vista] don't count on it. A free app called ERUNT works great for registry backup/restore, but read up on the caveats with win7 from the app's web site, & realize that in win7 data is spread out a bit more, not contained only in the registry, so after restoring a registry backup in win7 you might experience a few minor glitches... in win7 it helps if/when the ERUNT backup is as fresh as possible, so don't skip creating a fresh backup to use one you made several hours ago. Another tip, regardless the Windows version, update your AV apps Before doing an ERUNT backup -- I don't know how every AV package works, but I had a problem where McAfee had updated its files, but the old registry entries from the backup didn't reflect those newer files, so McAfee would neither work nor update. Why some like to clean the registry... Every version of Windows has been open to abuse -- understandable since developers want their code & devices to work, & the best way to do that is not always by following Microsoft best practices or rules. And often enough the people writing code screw up, perhaps through laziness &/or deadline pressures or maybe they're just less skilled. Windows registry is one of the parts of the OS that's most abused, though the effects of any abuse & neglect are usually confined to bloat, to growing the registry rather than causing any problems. That may seem counter to some experiences you & others may have had, but in most all cases it's software that cause's problems, & the registry's only role is to turn it on or off -- many times [a notable exception is drivers] you can either get rid of the offending file(s), or get rid of whatever registry entries so Windows doesn't know that file or files exist. Is registry bloat a problem? I don't think that's an easy yes or no. Using Notepad open a 1 KB *.txt file & then open one that's 20 MB, or 40... it takes longer to open the bigger file, because Notepad & Windows have to do more. Search for a non-indexed filename in a folder with a dozen files, then try the same thing with a folder containing hundreds or thousands... again it takes longer to do more. Simple logic dictates that the smaller Windows' registry is, the fewer keys & values it contains, Windows will do some things faster because there's less for it to do. A related, potential benefit to keeping the registry lean concerns leftovers, registry entries (&/or actual files) left over after you've removed an app. Software you have installed today may be just fine, today, but conflict with software or updates you add tomorrow. It's one thing to deal with it when you want to use a conflicting app, but entirely another when your problems are caused by leftovers that shouldn't be there in the 1st place. Not every app will conflict with other software -- most apps don't -- but the more you have, the more you have to go wrong. That includes leftovers. But like most everything else in life, the key IMHO is moderation... You can keep the registry & Windows itself lean by not installing software, but running software is the whole point of Windows, isn't it? You can spend all sorts of time & effort weeding out leftover files & registry keys &/or values, but it's hardly worth it if you spend far more time/effort cleaning up than you'd ever spend fixing things if you do have a future problem, & that can be a pretty big IF. Microsoft knows the registry is in some respects Windows' Achilles heel, so Windows is pretty darn good at handling its inefficiencies. The flip side of that is you have to remove a tremendous amount of registry entries to just make a noticeable dent in the registry files' total size, & by noticeable I mean noticeable in Windows Explorer, e.g. a few MB shaved off of a total >100 MB. Cleaning the Registry... Cleaning up the registry can be as simple as looking in the Software sections [under Current User & Local Machine] & deleting a key or keys with the same name as an app you just uninstalled. Going a step further you can search [Find] on the app's name &/or the name of it's program folder -- remember the name of that folder, or note it somewhere before you uninstall in case it's deleted [like it should be]. More thorough yet, you can save any CLSIDs [e.g. "{00000000-0F56-11D2-9887-00A0C969725B}"] you find in keys/values you know belong to that app, & search using those CLSIDs. The downside is that the deeper you go, the greater the odds you can screw up, deleting something you shouldn't. Deleting a Software key with an app's name is little or no risk. Say your search finds a key under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\ that looks like my example: {00000000-0F56-11D2-9887-00A0C969725B} -- click [select] that key in the left pane of Regedit, & the 1st value in the right pane might tell you that key belongs to the app you removed... it's pretty safe then to delete that key. In some cases though that 1st value may not tell you anything meaningful, e.g. it may be blank, so you have to look for something like a sub-key named "InprocServer32" -- If it shows the filename & path for one of the files you uninstalled, again you're normally safe deleting that entire key, e.g. {00000000-0F56-11D2-9887-00A0C969725B}. If however you find another app, or a file belonging to another app listed anywhere in a key, it's safer to just delete any values that specifically refer to the app you removed or one of its files. Generally you want to stay away from anything listed under HKLM\ System\ unless you've got a bit of experience & are comfortable working with drivers. Many drivers start with Windows, they may make hardware work &/or provide services, & if something related to them is off, Windows may not start. You may not even be able to get to Safe Mode. If you can boot to at least a command prompt, using something like the repair console on Windows setup discs, you should be able to restore an ERUNT backup of your registry -- that's why I regard ERUNT as essential. Autoruns can be cool to turn off drivers/services, & if Windows doesn't try to start them you have better odds deleting driver/service registry entries &/or files, but it's not foolproof. Stuff happens -- be able to put things back as required... Back Up. Note that you should click the View menu -> Refresh [F5] occasionally in Regedit, as keys/values in HKCR\ CLSID\ for example are propagated throughout lower levels of the registry, so if you delete one, search may throw an error because it can't find the key that Regedit thinks should be there. Note 2: while you should back up the registry as a first step, I often export individual keys I'm unsure of before deleting that key, & I'll often make multiple ERUNT backups as I proceed during a longer cleaning project -- it's the same idea as doing multiple save-as while editing an image or similar project, where you might want to go back, but not all the way to the beginning. Registry cleaning software essentially will look for things like a file name &/or path that doesn't exist on your hard drive. They'll look for things like a CLSID in the app's key that isn't also in HKCR\ CLSID\ for example. Many also look for things like file name extensions, e.g. .txt, only ones that don't list any apps or files in their values. IOW it's like finding bad shortcuts, where whatever the shortcut pointed to is no longer there. One problem is that registry cleaners don't have your smarts, your capacity for reason, so if they find an app's missing from your hard drive but listed as a value under some "InprocServer32" key, they'll delete just that entry, leaving every other part of that key intact -- you're smart enough to figure out if you can delete the entire key, which may have several more sub-keys, plus values inside of those. Another problem is that the kind folks writing software code don't always do things the way others expect them to, e.g. a CLSID listed in a program's key may be there strictly for that program, appearing nowhere else in the entire registry... a registry cleaning app might say that doesn't appear under HKCR\ CLSID\ like it should, so I'm going to delete it. Oops, just broke that program. That does not mean registry cleaners aren't useful -- it means you should *ideally* review what they want to get rid of. Registry cleaners that let you jump to any flagged registry entry in Regedit are obviously preferred. But this is real world, which is seldom technically ideal, and you may not want or be able to spend all the time it would take to review every flagged entry. In those cases deleting hundreds or thousands of registry entries might be cool, regardless the fact you could probably do better, but please realize that if you have the time or inclination to do a better job later on, with uninstalled app names/paths now removed, you'll most likely never find those keys to remove them entirely. And like I said above, it is a bit of a crap shoot -- if a registry cleaner deletes something an installed app needs, it's likely now broken. Do back up. Related to registry cleaners, Separate Uninstaller apps often function two ways -- they may record installations &/or they may perform registry searches looking for any reference to an application's name. They also lack your smarts, so if an uninstall app finds an app's name mentioned it might delete that entry, but can't look at the rest of the key -- you can, & might very well find you can delete the whole thing. Recording installations is great, but using that recorded data for *automated* uninstall can be iffy. Some files will work side by side with other files, & sometimes only one file at a time can do one job -- I can use 2 mice & a tablet with this PC, but I can only use one at a time. When you install an app, one or more of the included files might take over a job or jobs that were previously done by another file or files. If you remove those files, or the registry entries that turn them on, tell Windows to use them, what's left to do their job? What takes their place? Hopefully whomever wrote that app's uninstall routine took that into account. A stand-alone uninstall app that recorded that install OTOH, will tend to leave all sorts of stuff behind, a sort of overkill approach to try and make sure that sort of problem doesn't happen to you. It may remove too much or too little, depending on the app itself as well as the app it's uninstalling. An easy to use approach I often take is to monitor installations using Regshot or Regshot2 -- Regshot2 works with 64 bit Windows. Both take before/after registry snapshots [they'll optionally do files/folders too], saving the comparison results, & I'll store a copy of those results in the folder alongside the app I just installed. If later I want to uninstall that app I 1st copy those logs somewhere else, do the uninstall, then check the registry based on those logs, looking for leftovers. The logs show what new entries were created, & while those are usually fairly safe to just delete, I compare them to the current keys/values to see if they're the same, to help make sure some other program hasn't taken over that function. What the logs show as changed registry entries are more iffy -- when the app I just removed took over a job from something else, I need to make sure either the needed files are still there & working, or put things back the way they were. And as always when editing the registry, I back up. hotdoge3 on "whats with this sentence that is always on the front page." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/8160#post-83852 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:06:29 +0000 hotdoge3 83852@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Are you using a Ad-blocker? Because it Blocks it. no its dose not block only blocks ABP. ##a[href^="http://www.liutilities.com/aff"] NoScrip will Block with like this Now Giveaway of the Day users are eligible for . NoScrip off like this If you install software often, your registry file gets bloated reducing overall system performance. Now Giveaway of the Day users are eligible for FREE scan for Windows errors. Beatnik on "whats with this sentence that is always on the front page." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/8160#post-83850 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:06:58 +0000 Beatnik 83850@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ OK, sorry for the gripe then as I am using an ad blocker. Although if my ad blocker blocks it then its just an add then? In all I was just wondering I wont gripe with a website that gives things away!!! Thanks for the input! IN all GAOTD FTW!! MadDogTen on "whats with this sentence that is always on the front page." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/8160#post-83799 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:43:50 +0000 MadDogTen 83799@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ <blockquote>I know this although the front page always says this but IMO if your going to tell people that give a link for registry cleaning resources??</blockquote> There is a Link. Are you using a Ad-blocker? Because it Blocks it. Beatnik on "whats with this sentence that is always on the front page." http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/8160#post-83795 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:43:13 +0000 Beatnik 83795@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ <blockquote>If you install software often, your registry file gets bloated reducing overall system performance.</blockquote> I know this although the front page always says this but IMO if your going to tell people that give a link for registry cleaning resources?? I just think its weird as I always read it as it is always not in the program description but right below it and IDK for some reason it bugs me even though it is a relevant topic its not relative to the application listed. I think it should have a link to the forum with resources IMO I think it would be nice. Although I know this is a pet peve post i am sorry but its like if you had an electronics site and on the bottom of every thing you have you state, <blockquote>Do not put metal objects in a microwave.</blockquote> Sure its good advice but what about it? goodgotd on "Registry hack allows Windows XP sp2 patching (For updates)" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7912#post-81757 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:20:57 +0000 goodgotd 81757@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ But beware, as having an SP2 install cloaked as SP3 can have unpredictable results doing updates, as some patches don't 'fit' without having stuff installed as part of Service Pack 3 onboard to patch. one known fault fixed in the defragmentation API with SP3 is described thus on the 'known problems' page for <a href="http://www.mydefrag.com/Manual-KnownProblems.html">MyDefrag</a>: "Some data on an NTFS partition may become corrupted after you restart a Windows XP-based computer that uses a SATA hard disk drive. This is not a MyDefrag bug but a Microsoft defragmentation API bug. Microsoft has fixed this in XP service pack 3. Also see: * <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941715/en">Bugfix 941715</a> " and the article on <a href="http://www.infopackets.com/news/business/microsoft/2010/20100812_new_hack_gives_xp_sp2_users_access_to_microsoft_support.htm">Infopackets</a> points out the potential for later gotcha's- "Hack Is Strongly Discouraged We (at Infopackets.com) do NOT recommend you apply this hack if you are running XP Service Pack 2, as this hack is not supported by Microsoft. In short: any subsequent SP3 patches applied to such a system will likely compromise your PC stability and/or you may be completely locked out of Windows." hotdoge3 on "Registry hack allows Windows XP sp2 patching (For updates)" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7912#post-81740 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:54:19 +0000 hotdoge3 81740@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ <a href="http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2268015/registry-hack-allows-windows-xp" rel="nofollow">http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2268015/registry-hack-allows-windows-xp</a> Registry hack allows Windows XP SP2 patching (For updates) "It turns out that an SP2 system will think it's SP3 if you edit this key: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\ Control\Windows, and edit the DWORD value CSDVersion from 200 to 300 (and reboot)," Buzz on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079/page/2#post-73349 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:34:45 +0000 Buzz 73349@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Sorry, now I see. Glad ya got it sorted out. goodgotd on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73343 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:20:29 +0000 goodgotd 73343@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ <blockquote>GMMAN & goodgotd, now I know NT means New Technology. Not a question, but what happens when it becomes "newer"? </blockquote> Vista. Splat. and win 7. note win2000 and up are "based on" NT Technology (notice the redundant T? I *still* call it Nice Try.) <blockquote>internal data buses and registers of 32 bits wide </blockquote> data bus width, 32 bit: essentially 32 wires (each representing a bit) parallel to each other which each can be on or off, plus at least one wire that tells whatever is waiting for the pattern of on (1) and off (0) that forms a 32 bit binary {base-2, humans normally use decimal or base-10, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_numeral_system">Binary numeral system</a>... others you'll run into are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octal">Octal</a> [base-8, network ip's are octal] and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexadecimal">Hexadecimal</a> [base-16]...} number that the other lines are set right and to read them. and, just as important, *not* to read them as they are changing. also known as a strobe line. there's usually at least one strobe line going the other direction to say 'I've got it, start setting up the next number'. a register is a temporary storage place for a binary number- like the memory button on a calculator, or a cubbyhole to store a number- cpu's have a bunch of them. <blockquote>Oh, "partition". Think I have a mental block for this word. </blockquote> think of data as water, and a new hard drive is a bathtub made out of window screen on a frame. making a partition of the whole hard drive is like putting in a waterproof liner (bucket) that just fits inside it. making more than one partition is like putting a series of smaller form-fitting buckets in until as much as you want to put water in has watertight compartments that you can move your data (water) between. this analogy also explains why partitioning a hard drive reduces the total space somewhat- the 'walls' of the bucket(s) take up space that otherwise could hold water (data). better? oh, and in this analogy, how many bits wide a bus is could be thought of as how big a hose your water/data is being pumped back and forth through- the wider bus (bigger hose) will be able to move more water/data in the same amount of time. SeniorCitizen on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73339 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:52:54 +0000 SeniorCitizen 73339@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ 10-0228 6:00AM Heathly & happy Sunday all my learned (pronounced learn-ed!) neighbors. GMMAN & goodgotd, now I know NT means New Technology. Not a question, but what happens when it becomes "newer"? LOL. I asked about 32 and 64 and got " ... internal data buses and registers of 32 bits wide (each binary bit doubles the largest number that can be expressed in one shot) like the Pentium II and Athlon". Far too advanced language for me. After reading discussion don't think these numbers are important to me. Explanation of terabyte etc is super. Not only a 'save'; hanging on my puter now so I remember. Buzz: Wasn't trying to backup Registry. Wanted means to save ONLY the words in it. That wunnerful Dragon taught me. "To transparently export the registry to a text file 1) Click Start 2) Click Run 3) Type regedit /e c:\output.txt and then click OK. When you are done, make a copy of the "output.txt" file on floppy (or USB stick.)Worked great! Archangel: Don't have time to watch any sports because reading this stuff is much much more interesting to me! cimmind: Very helpful words you provided. You say you don't care for the color scheme on this forum. Curiously, what color(s) would you prefer? I find the gray tones very easy on my eyes. Oh, "partition". Think I have a mental block for this word. I picture it as a brick wall separating 2 houses as a fire wall. I hope no one on these forums ever get upset with me for saying "Thank You". All this info is exciting to me, as I'm starting to really understand what this beige machine is all about. ALL of the info has been saved to disk, and time and again during the day I read it. I do not feel as frustrated as I did 2 weeks ago and it's a super feeling. THANK YOU all! -- Linda goodgotd on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73334 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:28:18 +0000 goodgotd 73334@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ the way I view the forums comfortably with firefox is going to tools>options>content tab>colors button and uncheck 'allow web pages to choose their own colors..' and set the background black and the text light gray. some pages I have to recheck the box to see buttons, but it sure makes gaotd easy on the eyes! @GMMan- I started out learning data processing in 1977 on a honeywell mainframe, pdp-8 minicomputer and hollerith card punch machines and pretty much rode the progression of the microcomputer stage by stage until I stalled at the athlon xp. :) cimmind on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73329 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:30:17 +0000 cimmind 73329@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Hi.. Quoting your full text, so the layout of my reply may be more confusing! Since my television lines are down and can not watch it, think I'm spending too much time at GOTD forums. And though my head's spinning with new things, some room is still left. Its not just your spending too much time here. Its the awful colour scheme and layout of this GOTD forum. I browse many online forums well enough, but spending a few minutes on this forum makes my head spin too! To cimmind: THANK YOU for info that is almost all understandable to me! It's funny you used the word "Administrator" as this has been somewhat of a problem to me. I am the ONLY person who uses this computer. Your being only person to use the comp does not necessarily mean you need to have only one account. E.g. i have a main Admin account and i have created a new 'limited account'. I do all my internet browsing, document editing, multimedia viewing etc. through the limited account only. For installing any new software, i log off and go back to the admin account. I have 3 email addresses -- 1 is name I originally used when I went with a new Internet provider and do not use; 2 is what I use daily; and 3 is a catch-all trash bin to me that I rarely use. The number of email ids you have is totally different from the number of computer accounts. The two are unrelated, one does not influence the other. On this puter in a Documents/User folder (can't recall correct name) there are different Folders, i.e., "Administrator", "All Users", "All Users.WINNT", "Default User", "Default User.WINNIT", etc. Makes me crazy because I am the ONLY person who uses computer. As a single user, the Documents and Settings folder is expected to have a folder each for: "Administrator", "All Users", "Default User" (hidden), "Local Service" (hidden), "Network service" (hidden), plus one folder each for each additional account you may have created. EITHER of the '.WINNT' folders OR the 'plain name' folders hail from the failed install you had. Which copy of your Win2000 OS is the working one can probably be deduced by seeing which folder in your C drive is bigger in size: "Windows" or "WINNT". I think I sort of have 2 of everything because quite a while back I re-installed Win2000Pro and thought I messed up, so did a re-install again. No, really did not know what I was doing entirely so this is why I'm thinking I got two of everything. [The following is purely my personal experience:] For me, Windows repair somehow never works out, I have had occasion to do reinstalls often. What i do is as follows: - I have set up my C drive as a 10GB partition, only for the Operating software and software program files - I install and store all my documents, multimedia, games etc. on a separate partition. - Whenever reinstalling the Windows, i choose to DELETE the existing C Drive, FORMAT the unpartitioned space, and THEN reinstall the Windows. By doing this, i have no trace remaining of any previous Windows installs. [CAUTION: Do not try this if you do not know about partitioning. You will lose all data on the C drive] But DID learn I should always keep "Administrator" and make no changes using this one. Hence, I think I'm using another one, but do not know which one. It all works for me, and that really is what matters. Buzz on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73270 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:28:00 +0000 Buzz 73270@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Easiest of all <img src="http://i48.tinypic.com/zujgjb.jpg"> GMMan, A+, Game Modder on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73265 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:44:59 +0000 GMMan, A+, Game Modder 73265@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ @goodgotd: Good explanation. I just wrote up a really fast one and it may be confusing. (I know the stuff, except I just keep it inside for reference when needed. It doesn't get out very clear, though.) goodgotd on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73263 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:36:57 +0000 goodgotd 73263@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ <blockquote>To goodgotd: Okay, teach me please. You used the words "Windows NT-based". Have seen "NT" on my computer and am clueless what this is all about, or what these letters represent.</blockquote> ok, here goes a modest explanation of why the win9x/NT division is important. Ask further, I'll try to answer. Windows 95-ME all share one thing in common with windows 3.xx- they are based on a version (a more advanced version) of MS-DOS 'under the hood' with the "windows" part running after the DOS boot has concluded. DOS stands for Disk Operating System, the essential interface between the user and the storage subsytem- floppy and hard disks and CD drives, etc. ME simply hid the access to dos, so most people didn't think it was part of the windows 95 series of operating systems. all of these back to the original MS-DOS series of OS's allowed direct access to the actual hardware of the computer, which made them both easier and harder to program for, as one could take shortcuts bypassing the windows interface- if the program could work directly with the particular hardware in a particular computer. having the DOS as the base 'under' windows also led directly to limitations on multitasking (running more than one program at a time) and made it far more prone to instability, as one crashed app could take the whole thing down. the underlying DOS was 16-bit, the shell (windows) on top was 32 bit. (the # of bits was the length of data codes that it could handle, in hardware terms it was the width of parallel-mode data buses) Windows NT was microsoft's version of entirely doing away with DOS and making the Windows part and parcel of an operating system- they called it "New Technology", we who were involved with IBM's OS/2 2.x-OS/2 Warp called it 'Nice Try', as unlike OS/2 2 it retained some of the limiting bits from the older windows versions- but it was still an entirely separate parallel development track from windows 3 and 9x. see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT_4.0">wikipedia Windows_NT_4.0</a> for more about the actual NT 4.0 as originally released, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT">wikipedia Windows_NT</a> for more info on NT successors like win2000 and XP. The biggest difference was that there was not supposed to be *any* direct access to hardware, all access was through the os's virtual hardware interface. WinME was (afaik) an attempt to force people to get used to accepting the NT based systems like 2k coming up. <blockquote> Please tell me. Also, have seen the words "32-bit" and "64-bit".</blockquote> current microprocessors have internal data buses and registers of 32 bits wide (each binary bit doubles the largest number that can be expressed in one shot) like the Pentium II and Athlon, or 64 bits in the Athlon 64's/intel x64 chips and up. Operating systems and software written for a 64 bit processor will not run on a 32 bit CPU, but do gain major speed of operation on 64 bit CPU's. 32 bit operating systems typically will gain a slight speed advantage on a 64 bit CPU- but not a lot. the first consumer-acceptable processors were 8 bit- 8080's, Zilog's Z-80, and the ibm pc's used 8086's as well. the 80286 started in 8 bit mode but was able to shift to 16 bit operation, but not back. the 80386 could shift up and down between 8 and 16 bit operations without a system restart. the wider the bus, the larger the amount of memory that could be accessed and the larger the number of instructions that could be executed at the hardware level. the 80486 was essentially a 80386 with a 80387 dedicated math co-processor in the same package. there were other variants that had limitations but lower prices that I'm ignoring, plus clock-multiplied more expensive chips that ran the cpu fast, but interfaced with memory far slower. the current crop are generically referred to as 586 class for the 32 bit CPU's, but things get way muddied as the variations start comparing apples and bananas. some are 686, but generally x86's are 32 bit, x64 are 64 bit. GMMan, A+, Game Modder on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73248 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:49:05 +0000 GMMan, A+, Game Modder 73248@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ @SeniorCitizen: Definition of NT: NT stands for New Technology. It is actually the base for version 5.x of Windows. Windows 2000 and XP are both based on NT, and Vista and 7 are based on XP. In other terms, every Windows version since 5.x is based on NT. Windows NT was one of the most popular server/workstation systems back in the day. It was more stable than 4.x versions of Windows (95, 98, and ME). 32-bit vs 64-bit: They just say how much data a system can handle. 32-bit can handle less amounts of data than 64-bit. Hence the reason why 64-bit systems can accept and allocate more than 3 GB of RAM. 32-bit is most common in PCs, though 64-bit is gradually taking over. Other news: Order of data storage sizes, from lowest to highest: bit, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte (the biggest capacity hard drives around for a PC are usually of 2 TB, which is 2*1024 GB). Also in between, if you work with hex editors, are nibble (0), byte (00), word (00 00), dword (00 00 00 00), and qword (00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00). Archangel on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73241 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:20:19 +0000 Archangel 73241@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ <blockquote>Also, is "KB" a kilobyte? If so, is there anything smaller than this?</blockquote> Yes Linda a "byte" and thats the lowest LOL. If you want to watch limited TV but for us guys and gals that like sports, heres a link. <a href="http://www.atdhe.net/index.html#" rel="nofollow">http://www.atdhe.net/index.html#</a> SeniorCitizen on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73226 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:45:33 +0000 SeniorCitizen 73226@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ Since my television lines are down and can not watch it, think I'm spending too much time at GOTD forums. And though my head's spinning with new things, some room is still left. To cimmind: THANK YOU for info that is almost all understandable to me! It's funny you used the word "Administrator" as this has been somewhat of a problem to me. I am the ONLY person who uses this computer. I have 3 email addresses -- 1 is name I originally used when I went with a new Internet provider and do not use; 2 is what I use daily; and 3 is a catch-all trash bin to me that I rarely use. On this puter in a Documents/User folder (can't recall correct name) there are different Folders, i.e., "Administrator", "All Users", "All Users.WINNT", "Default User", "Default User.WINNIT", etc. Makes me crazy because I am the ONLY person who uses computer. I think I sort of have 2 of everything because quite a while back I re-installed Win2000Pro and thought I messed up, so did a re-install again. No, really did not know what I was doing entirely so this is why I'm thinking I got two of everything. But DID learn I should always keep "Administrator" and make no changes using this one. Hence, I think I'm using another one, but do not know which one. It all works for me, and that really is what matters. Your info and direction is appreciated, cimmid. Please know I enter my Registry with great caution and remove things ONLY after researching what I am considering removing. -- Linda cimmind on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73223 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:11:10 +0000 cimmind 73223@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ From Wikipedia: "Legacy systems With Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows NT, administrators can use a special file to be merged into the registry, called a policy file (POLICY.POL). The policy file allows administrators to prevent non-administrator users from changing registry settings like, for instance, the security level of Internet Explorer and the desktop background wallpaper. The policy file is primarily used in a business with a large number of computers where the business needs to be protected from rogue or careless users. The default extension for the policy file is .POL. The policy file filters the settings it enforces by user and by group (a "group" is a defined set of users). To do that the policy file merges into the registry, preventing users from circumventing it by simply changing back the settings. The policy file is usually distributed through a LAN, but can be placed on the local computer. The policy file is created by a free tool by Microsoft that goes by the filename poledit.exe for Windows 95/Windows 98 and with a computer management module for NT-based systems. The editor requires administrative permissions to be run on systems that uses permissions. The editor can also directly change the current registry settings of the local computer and if the remote registry service is installed and started on another computer it can also change the registry on that computer. The policy editor loads the settings it can change from .ADM files, of which one is included, that contains the settings the Windows shell provides. The .ADM file is plain text and supports easy localisation by allowing all the strings to be stored in one place." Nutshell: These are keys that are not meant to be changed by the user! But sometimes this creates problems. E.g. New program version may not clean install, if legacy keys remaining in the registry. A possible solution (if you really, really want to delete the legacy keys) Step 1: Are the keys causing you any trouble by being there in the registry? If yes, then go to step 2, else Stop! Let the sleeping dogs sleep. Step 2: (Taken from <a href="http://www.forums.techarena.in" rel="nofollow">http://www.forums.techarena.in</a>) "1) Start -> Run: regedt32 -> OK (logged on as administrator) 2) Now to HKLM sub-window and take the key which you want deleted. Highlight it. 3) In the Regedt32 window menu select Security -> Permissions. 4) Change the access permissions for Everyone and/or Administrators to Full Control. Apply the settings. 5) Repeat 1-4 for all keys you need deleted. 6)Close Regedt32 and open Regedit. Delete the keys you don't want anymore. Note : Administrator does not have full control over the registry. There are certain keys that only SYSTEM can touch unless an admin changes the permissions." And for good measure,"Exercise extreme care when removing registry entries. Removing incorrect entries can severely compromise your computer." SeniorCitizen on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73217 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:31:04 +0000 SeniorCitizen 73217@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ New Question: In my Registry the word *Legacy* appears a whole bunch of times, with another word after it. I think they were names of software programs. I saw one name that I had removed form my computer a long long time ago. Wanted to delete it but could not. Since this is on my mind right now, though really not important, instead of googling it and reading a lot of (what could be) useless stuff, anyone have a short, simple explanation for me of LEGACY? ... thank you. -- Linda SeniorCitizen on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73216 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:27:33 +0000 SeniorCitizen 73216@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ To pavid: If I am understanding you correctly, is the following accurate? 1 MB = 1,000 KB (rounded out, makes it easier for me [megabyte]) 1 GB = 1,000 MB (again, rounded out[gigabyte]) 1 TB = 1,000 GB (Terabyte -- NEVER saw that word before) Also, is "KB" a kilobyte? If so, is there anything smaller than this? Thank you, pavid, for yet another learning experience. -- Linda SeniorCitizen on "Can NAMES in Registry be Saved to disk?" http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/7079#post-73215 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:19:47 +0000 SeniorCitizen 73215@http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/ To wunnderful Dragan who wrote to pavid: "@ pavid: It is better to use the binary (power of 2) form like it was intended for computing rather than simplifying to decimal (power of ten) form like the hard disk vendors ... " Just luv it when you "talk dirty"! And curse you, curse you, curse you for providing oh so many links for me to check out! I'll be 103 years old before I have the time to read all of the things. LOL. On another note, SNOW. It's around 6AM New Yawk time and we've had around 24" of snow drop since yesterday. My tv is out, the snow outside is as high as my 36" white picket fence, and overhead wires are dangerously low. Put on my police scanner last evening and live wires are down throughout my Village, tree branches are blocking roads (large branch from Japanese Maple in front yard is down, sadly), and there's an eerie silence outside. ... and don't give me that stuff about you being out of breath, Paul. You're hot stuff, my wunnerful Dragon! -- Linda