Windows Tuning with the registry, Andre Moritz

Free download of this manual/tutorial

What is the Registry?

• Microsoft's Warning
• Hidden Information

The History of the Registry

• INI-Files – What are those again?
• Beginning with the Registry
• Advantages of the Registry Principle

The Structure of the Registry

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\
• HKEY_USERS\
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
• HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\
• HKEY_DYN_DATA\

Getting Around in the Registry Editor

• Searching in the Registry
• There's Room There for the Keys!
• Creating Bookmarks
• Making Notes
• Shortcuts to Make Your Work Go Faster

REG Files

• Tips for Working With REG Files
• The Structure of REG Files
• Can I Write REG Files Myself?
• Shutting Off the Registry Confirmation
• Comparing Registries

OLE, Drag & Drop, and CLSID

• What in the World is Drag & Drop?
• What in the World is OLE?
• What in the World is a CLSID?

First Aid for the Registry

Securing the Registry

• Copying User.dat and System.dat
• Partial Export of the Registry
• Printing Portions of the Registry Before Making Changes
• Creating a Startup Disk

Troubleshooting – Nothing Works Anymore

• Individual Errors after Startup
• Problems at Boot-Up
• Error Messages after Uninstalling a Program

System Tuning with the Registry

Making Windows Faster and Cleaning Up

• Creating a Delay in the Start Menu
• Start Menu – Slimmed Down
• Deleting the Run List
• Cleaning Up Your Uninstall List

Optical Tuning

• Displaying Bitmaps as Icons
• Placing Your Wallpaper Precisely
• Icons in 16 Bit Color
• Turning Off „Click Here to Start"
• Animation When You’re Minimizing and Maximizing
• Icon Resolution and Number of Colors Next to the Clock

Customizing Windows with the Registry

• Changing User Names
• Customizing the Setup Path
• Only Suppress the Autostart of Audio-CDs
• Preventing the Saving of Settings
• Hiding Programs that Start when Booting
• Shutting off the Protection Against Renaming the Recycle Bin
• Removing the „Log Off" and „Favorites" Entries from the Start Menu

Improving System Performance with the Registry

Customizing Context-Sensitive Menus

• Order of Menu Entries
• Adding Scandisk to the Context-Sensitive Menus of Drives
• Collapsing or Expanding the New Menu
• Adding an Antivirus Scan to the Context-Sensitive Menu of a Disk Drive
• Printing the Contents of a Folder or Saving its Contents to a File
• Expanding the Context-Sensitive Menu for the Start Button
• DOS Prompt Calls with Flexible Directories

A Toolbox for Customized DOS Mode

• CD-ROM Support for DOS
• Mouse Support for DOS
• Sound Card Support for DOS

Music Lessons for Your Programs

Example: Teaching the Editor About Sounds

Other Stuff

• Opening Unknown File Types with the Editor
• Welcome Screen with Tips

Tools for Working With the Registry

• What’s Shareware, What’s Freeware?
• Shareware and Freeware on the Internet
• TweakUI - Microsoft’s Trick Box
• Scanreg – The Registry Examiner of Windows 98
• Registry Inkognito
• WinHacker 95 – Hacking for Beginners
• Policy Editor
• ERU - Windows’ Free Security Tool
• RegClean – The Free Cleaner
• Norton Registry Editor and Registry Tracker