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Managing the Registry Note You can t work with hive files that are already being used by the operating system or another process. You could, however, make a copy of the hive and then work with it. At the command line, type reg save followed by the abbreviated name of the root key to save and the file name to use for the hive file. For example, you could type reg save hkcu c:curr-hkcu.hiv to save HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE to a file called Curr-hkcu.hiv on drive C. Although you can save the logical root keys (HKCC, HKCR, HKCU) in this manner, you can save only subkeys of HKLM and HKU using this technique. When you are finished working with a hive, you should unload it to clear it out of memory. Unloading the hive doesn t save the changes you ve made as with any
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Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Inside Out Chapter 14 Using export and import processes to distribute Registry changes The export and import processes provide a convenient way to distribute Registry changes to users. You could, for example, export a subkey with an important configuration change and then mail the associated .reg file to users so they could import it simply by double-clicking it. Alternately, you could copy the .reg file to a network share where users could access and load it. Either way, you have a quick and easy way to distribute Registry changes. Officially, however, distributing Registry changes in this manner is frowned upon because of the potential security problems associated with doing so. The preferred technique is to distribute Registry changes through Group Policy as discussed in Part 7. Loading and Unloading Hive Files Just as you sometimes must import or export Registry data, you ll sometimes need to work with individual hive files. The most common reason for doing this, as discussed previously, is when you must modify a user s profile to correct an issue that prevents the user from accessing or using a system. Here, you would load the user s Ntuser.dat file into Registry Editor and then make the necessary changes. Another reason for doing this would be to change a particular part of the Registry on a remote system. For example, if you needed to repair an area of the Registry, you could load the related hive file into the Registry of another machine and then repair the problem on the remote machine. Loading and unloading hives affects only HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS, and you can perform these actions only when one of these root keys is selected. Rather than replacing the selected root key, the hive you are loading then becomes a subkey of that root key. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS are of course used to build all the logical root keys used on a system, so you could in fact work with any area of the Registry. After you select either HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_USERS in Registry Editor, you can load a hive for the current machine or another machine by selecting Load Hive on the File menu. Registry Editor then prompts you for the location and name of the previously saved hive file. Select the file, and then click Open. Afterward, enter a name for the key under which the hive will reside while it is loaded into the current system s Registry, and then click OK. 432 Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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Managing the Registry To export Registry data, right-click the branch or key you want to export, and then select Export. You can also right-click the root node for the computer you are working with, such as My Computer for a local computer, to export the entire Registry. Either way, you ll see the Export Registry File dialog box as shown in Figure 14-8. Use the Save In selection list to choose a save location for the .reg file, and then type a file name. The Export Range panel shows you the select branch within the Registry that will be exported. You can change this as necessary or select All to export the entire Registry. Then click Save to create the .reg file. Chapter 14 Figure 14-8. Exporting Registry data to a .reg file so that it can be saved and, if necessary, imported on this or another computer. Tip Want to export the entire Registry quickly? You can export the entire Registry at the command line by typing regedit /e SaveFile, where SaveFile is the complete file path to the location where you want to save the copy of the Registry. For example, if you wanted to save a copy of the Registry to C:Corpsvr06regdata.reg, you would type regedit /e C:corpsvr06-regdata.reg. Importing Registry data adds the contents of the Registry script file to the Registry of the computer you are working with, either creating new keys and values if they didn t previously exist or overwriting keys and values if they did previously exist. You can import Registry data in one of two ways. You can double-click the .reg file, which starts Registry Editor and prompts you as to whether you want to import the data. Or you can select Import on the File menu, then use the Import Registry File dialog box to select and open the Registry data file you want to import. Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Chapter 14 Once you connect, you get a new icon for the remote computer under your My Computer icon. Double-click this icon to access the physical root keys on the remote computer (HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS). The logical root keys aren t available because they are either dynamically created or simply pointers to subsets of information from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS. You can then edit the computer s Registry as necessary. When you are done, you can select Disconnect Network Registry on the File menu and then choose the computer from which you want to disconnect. Registry Editor will then close the Registry on the remote computer and break the connection. When working with remote computers, you can also load or unload hives as discussed in the section Loading and Unloading Hives later in this chapter. If you re wondering why you would do this, the primary reason is to work with a specific hive, such as the hive that points to Jo Brown s user profile because she inadvertently changed the display mode to an invalid setting and can no longer access the computer locally. With her user profile data loaded, you could then edit the Registry to correct the problem and then save the changes so that she can once again log on to the system. Importing and Exporting Registry Data Sometimes you might find that it is necessary or useful to copy all or part of the Registry to a file. For example, if you ve installed a service or component that requires extensive configuration, you might want to use it on another computer without having to go through the whole configuration process again. So, instead, you would install the service or component baseline on the new computer, then export the application s Registry settings from the previous computer, copy them over to the other computer, and then import the Registry settings so that the service or component is properly configured. Of course, this technique works only if the complete configuration of the service or component is stored in the Registry, but you can probably see how useful being able to import and export Registry data can be. By using Registry Editor, it is fairly easy to import and export Registry data. This includes the entire Registry, branches of data stemming from a particular root key, and individual subkeys and the values they contain. When you export data, you create a .reg file that contains the designated Registry data. This Registry file is a script that can then be loaded back into the Registry of this or any other computer by importing it. Note Because the Registry script is written as standard text, you could view it and, if necessary, modify it in any standard text editor as well. Be aware, however, that double-clicking the .reg file launches Registry Editor, which prompts you as to whether you want to import the data into the Registry. If you are concerned about this, save the data to a file with the .hiv extension because double-clicking files with this extension won t start Registry Editor. Files with the .hiv extension must be manually imported (or you could simply change the file extension to .reg when it is time to use the data). 430 Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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Managing the Registry You add new keys as subkeys of a selected key. Access the key with which you want to work, and then add the subkey by right-clicking the key and selecting New, Key. Registry Editor creates a new key and selects its name so that you can set it as appropriate. The default name is New Key #1. The new key has a default value entry associated with it automatically. The data type for this default value is REG_SZ. Just about every key in the Registry has a similarly named and typed value entry, so don t delete this value entry. Either set its value by double-clicking it to display the Edit String dialog box, or create additional value entries under the selected key. To create additional value entries under a key, right-click the key, then select one of these values: . String Value Used to enter a fixed-length string of Unicode characters; type REG_SZ . Binary Value Used to enter raw binary data without any formatting or parsing; type REG_BINARY . DWORD Value Used to enter binary data type in which 4-byte integer values are stored; type REG_DWORD . Multi-String Value Used to enter a multiple-parameter string; type REG_MULTI_SZ . Expandable String Value Used to enter a variable-length string that can include environment variables that are to be expanded when the data is read; type REG_EXPAND_SZ Creating a new value adds it to the selected key and gives it a default name of New Value #1, New Value #2, and so on. The name of the value is selected for editing so that you can change it immediately. After you change the value name, double-click the value name to edit the value data. Removing Keys and Values Removing keys and values from the Registry is easy but should never be done without careful forethought to the possible consequences. That said, you delete a key or value by selecting it, and then pressing the Delete key. Registry Editor will ask you to confirm the deletion. Once you do this, the key or value is permanently removed from the Registry. Modifying the Registry of a Remote Machine You can modify the Registry of remote computers without having to log on locally. To do this, select Connect Network Registry on the File menu in Registry Editor, then use the Select Computer dialog box to specify the computer with which you want to work. In most cases, all you must do is type the name of the remote computer and then click OK. If prompted, you might need to enter the user name and password of a user account that is authorized to access the remote computer. Chapter 14 Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Chapter 14 Figure 14-6. Using the Edit Multi-String dialog box. Figure 14-7 shows the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, which is displayed when you modify REG_DWORD values. In this example, the value is displayed in hexadecimal format. Typically, you won t need to worry about the data format. You will simply enter a new value as you ve been directed. For example, if the Count value entry represented a flag, the data entry of 1 would indicate the flag is on (or true). To turn off the flag (switch it to false), you would replace the 1 with a 0. Figure 14-7. Using the Edit DWORD Value dialog box. Tip Copy and paste using the Clipboard to get values right The Windows Clipboard is available when you are working with Registry Editor. This means you can use copy, cut, and paste just as you do with other Windows programs. If there is a value in a Knowledge Base article that s difficult to type, you might want to copy it to the Clipboard and then paste it into the Value Data box of the Edit dialog box. Adding Keys and Values As noted previously, you can add or remove keys in most areas of the Registry. The exceptions pertain to the root node, the root keys, and areas of the Registry where permissions prohibit modifications. 428 Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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Managing the Registry After you make your selections, click Find Next to begin the search. If Registry Editor finds a match before reaching the end of the Registry, it selects and displays the matching item. If the match isn t what you re looking for, press F3 to search again from the current position in the Registry. Modifying the Registry When you want to work with keys and values in the Registry, you typically are working with subkeys of a particular key. This allows you to add a subkey and define its values and to remove subkeys and their values. You cannot, however, add or remove root keys or insert keys at the root node of the Registry. Default security settings within some subkeys might also prohibit you from working with their keys and values. For example, by default you cannot create, modify, or remove keys or values within HKLMSAM and HKLMSECURITY. Modifying Values The most common change you ll make to the Registry is to modify an existing value. For example, a Knowledge Base article might recommend that you change a value from 0 to 1 to enable a certain feature in Windows Server 2003 or from 1 to 0 to disable it. To change a value, locate the value in Registry Editor, and then in the right pane double-click the value name. This opens an Edit dialog box, the style of which depends on the type of data you are modifying. The most common values you ll modify are REG_SZ, REG_MULTI_SZ, and REG_DWORD. Figure 14-5 shows the Edit String dialog box, which is displayed when you modify REG_SZ values. In the dialog box, you would typically replace the existing value with the value you need to enter. Chapter 14 Figure 14-5. Using the Edit String dialog box. Figure 14-6 shows the Edit Multi-String dialog box, which is displayed when you modify REG_MULTI_SZ values. In this example, there are four separate string values. In the dialog box, each value is separated by a new line to make the values easier to work with. If directed to change a value, you would typically need to replace an existing value, making sure you don t accidentally modify the entry before or after the entry you are working with. If directed to add a value, you would begin typing on a new line following the last value. Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Both tools can be used to view and manage the Registry. Keep in mind that although both tools are considered editors, any changes you make are applied immediately. Thus, any change you make is applied automatically to the Registry without you having to save the change. Chapter 14 Caution As an administrator, you have permission to make changes to most areas of the Registry. This allows you to make additions, changes, and deletions as necessary. However, before you do this, you should always make a backup of the system state along with the Registry first, as discussed in the section Choosing a Backup Method for the Registry later in this chapter. This will help ensure that you can recover the Registry in case something goes wrong when you are making your modifications. Searching the Registry One of the common tasks you ll want to perform in Registry Editor is to search for a particular key. You can search for keys, values, and data entries using the FIND command on the Edit menu (see the following screen). Don t let the simplicity of the Find interface fool you there is a bit more to searching the Registry than you might think. So, if you want to find what you re looking for, do the following: . The Find function in the Registry searches from the current node forward to the last value in the final root key branch. So, if you want to search the complete Registry, you must select the My Computer node in the left pane before you select Find on the Edit menu or press Ctrl+F. . Type the text you want to find in the Find What box. You can search only for standard American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) text. So, if you re searching for data entries, Registry Editor will search only string values (REG_SZ, REG_EXPAND_SZ, and REG_MULTI_SZ) for the specified text. . Use the Look At options to control where Registry Editor looks for the text you want to find. You can search on key names, value names, and text within data entries. If you want to match only whole strings instead of searching for text within longer strings, select Match Whole Strings Only. 426 Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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Managing the Registry The data types defined include the following: . REG_BINARY Raw binary data without any formatting or parsing. You can view binary data in several forms, including standard binary and hexadecimal. In some cases, if you view the binary data, you will see the hexadecimal values as well as the text characters these values define. . REG_DWORD A binary data type in which 4-byte integer values are stored. REG_DWORD is often used to track values that can be incremented, status codes, or Boolean flags. With Boolean flags, a value of 0 means the flag is off (false) and a value of 1 means the flag is on (true). . REG_SZ A fixed-length string of Unicode characters. REG_SZ is used to store values that are meant to be read by users and can include names, descriptions, and so on, as well as stored file system paths. . REG_EXPAND_SZ A variable-length string that can include environment variables that are to be expanded when the data is read by the operating system, its components, or services, as well as installed applications. Environment variables are enclosed in percentage signs (%) to set them off from other values in the string. For example, %SystemDrive% refers to the SystemDrive environment variable. A REG_EXPAND_SZ value that defines a path to use could include this environment variable, such as %SystemDrive%Program FilesCommon Files. . REG_MULTI_SZ A multiple-parameter string that can be used to store multiple string values in a single entry. Each value is separated by a standard delimiter so that the individual values can be picked out as necessary. . REG_FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTOR A value with an encoded resource descriptor, such as a list of resources used by a device driver or a hardware component. REG_FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTOR values are associated with hardware components, such as a system s central processors, floating-point processors, or multifunction adapters. The most common data types you ll see in the Registry are REG_SZ and REG_DWORD. The vast majority of value entries has this data type. The most important thing to know about these data types is that one is used with strings of characters and the other is used with binary data that is normally represented in hexadecimal format. And don t worry, if you have to create a value entry typically because you are directed to by a Microsoft Knowledge Base article in an attempt to resolve an issue you ll usually be told which data type to use. Again, more often than not, this data type is either REG_SZ or REG_DWORD. Managing the Registry Windows Server 2003 provides several tools for working with the Registry. The main tool, of course, is Registry Editor, which is started by typing regedit or regedt32 at the command line or in the Run dialog box. Another tool for working with the Registry is the REG command. Chapter 14 Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out The remaining hive files are stored in individual user profile directories with the default name of Ntuser.dat. These files are in fact hive files that are loaded into the Registry and used to set the pointer for the HKEY_CURRENT_USER root key. When no user is logged on to a system, the user profile for the default user is loaded into the Registry. When an actual user logs on, this user s profile is loaded into the Registry. Chapter 14 Note The root keys not mentioned are HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG and HKEY_CLASSES_ ROOT. The on-disk data for HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG comes from the subkey from which it is built: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEMCurrentControlSetHardware ProfilesCurrent. Similarly, the on-disk data for HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT comes from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWAREClasses and HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREClasses. Every hive file has an associated .log file even Ntuser.dat, whose log file is Ntuser.dat.log. Windows Server 2003 uses the log files to help protect the Registry during updates. When a hive file is to be changed, the change is first written to the associated log file. It is then written to disk. The system then uses the change log to write the changes to the actual hive file. If the system were to crash while a change is being written to a hive file, the change log could later be used by the system to roll back the change, resetting the hive to its previous configuration. Inside Out How Windows Server 2003 starts over with a clean Registry Examine %SystemRoot%System32Config closely and you ll see several files with the .sav extension. These files represent the postinstallation state of the Registry. If you ever wonder how Windows Server 2003 can reset the Registry to that of a clean install after you demote a domain controller, this is the answer. By loading these files into the Registry and then writing them to disk as the original hive files, the server is returned to its postinstallation state with a clean Registry. Types of Registry Data Available When you work your way down to the lowest level of the Registry, you see the actual value entries. Each value entry has a name, a data type, and a value associated with it. Although value entries have a theoretical size limit of 1024 KB, most value entries are less than 1 KB in size. In fact, many value entries contain only a few bits of data. The type of information stored in these bits depends on the data type of the value entry. 424 Part 4: Managing Windows Server 2003 Systems
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