Registry

Significance of Windows^® Registry

 

Whenever you install an operating system the registry is created so that you can store various information of the hardware devices, software and other kind of information. Registry is a database used to store the system information and using this information you can change the configuration settings.

Following points may help in knowing role and functionality Windows registry:

• About Windows registry
• Role and functionality of Windows registry
• Points to keep in mind before making changes in the registry entries

About Windows registry

Registry is a database that is used to store settings and various other information, needed by the system. It also contains information and settings for all the hardware, software, users and preference of the computer. Whenever you make changes to the settings of the configuration, or file association, system policies or installed software these changes are reflected in the database of the registry of the system. For accessing the registry and to modify it, open the ‘Start’ menu and choose ‘Run’ and type “regedit” in the box and press ‘Enter’. After that you can be displayed with the structure of the registry and they are made up of keys. For example, consider registry for the hard drives where hard drive is a registry, folders is keys and files are the values.

Role and functionality of Windows registry

The role of the registry is to create the database that can store all the information that is needed for the system and this information is about hardware, software, user profile and so on. Whatever changes you make to the settings of the system these changes is recorded in the registry database. The function of the registry is to create a specific registry key and then associate it with the transaction.

Points to keep in mind before making changes in the registry entries

It is not recommended to make changes to the registry as this may damage the system and may cause the operating system to fail and hence the computer may not start. So, it is suggested that if you are a professional, aware about the changes that can be made, then only make changes to the registry. Always keep a backup so that you can restore the default registry if there is any problem. By using the editor tool you can make changes to the registry. Whatever changes you do to the system is automatically saved on the registry and you can then make changes using the editor tool.