All You Need To Know About The Windows Registry

All the data and settings of your operating system are stored in the Windows Registry. All the Windows Registry entries contain a specific value that determines the characteristics of a setting or program. According to Windows tech support, you can make changes to the registry entries using the tool Registry Editor. However, changing the registry entries to the wrong values or deleting an important registry entry can affect the operating system and could even lead to its crash.

Many errors show up in the computer due to a change in the registry entries or due to wrong registry entries. In such situations, you can open the Registry Editor, navigate to the corresponding wrong entry and change it. This will fix most of the issues associated with the program. In this post, we will find out how to use this tool to change the registry entries.

First, let us find out how to launch the Registry Editor program.

• If you are a Windows XP user, select the Start button and choose the option Run. If you are using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, press the Windows key and R together to open the Run window. 
• In the Run window, type regedit and click the button OK. 
• If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you will receive a window that asks you to confirm your selection. Choose the option Continue to launch the Registry Editor window.

As per Windows tech support blogs, registry entries are very important for the smooth running of the operating system and a change made to any of the critical operating system files could lead to its crash. Therefore, the next step is to take a back up of the registry. Follow the steps below to take registry backup.

• Choose the option File from the menu.
• From the drop down box, select Export.
• The above step opens a window for Export Registry File. Choose any location on your computer, enter a file name and select Save. This will create a copy of registry entries, which can be used to restore if the changes made by you to the registry create troubles.

If you are in search of a particular registry entry, you may press the keys Ctrl and F together and search for the entry using the keyword. If you know the location of the registry entry, you may use the arrow keys in the keyboard to navigate to the location of the entry.