Eternal BlissCrash Course on Registry.Thu Dec 17 18:20:04 1998 Hi to All,In this project, everyone is so interested about how to registry works.I searched through my files and found this piece of info that will be of interest. Words in bold are my comments. A few points after the article as well.-------------------------------------The Windows 95 Registry is a unified database for storing system andapplication configuration data in a hierarchical form.Its role is to replace the .INI files used by older Windows 3.xxversions. All data from the system initialization files: SYSTEM.INI,WIN.INI, CONTROL.INI etc., is now contained into the Registry, togetherwith most of the other system settings.All Windows 95 specific programs (32bit applications) now store theirinitialization data into the Registry instead of into .INI files.The actual Registry files are: SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT (and theirautomatically created backups from the last successful Win95 startup:SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0), located in the Windows 95 folder (default isWindows). For write-protection purposes, all these four files have thefollowing attributes: hidden, read-only and system. Registry StructureWhen you run the Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe, located in your Windowsfolder), you'll see the following Registry expandable subtrees under the"My Computer" header:+ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT: Contains software settings about drag-and-drop operations, handles shortcut information, and other user interface information. There is a subkey here for every file association that has been defined.+ HKEY_CURRENT_USER: Contains information regarding the currently logged-on user (see also HKEY_USERS below). + AppEvents: Settings for assigned sounds to play for system and applications sound events. + Control Panel: Control Panel settings, similar to system.ini, win.ini and control.ini in Windows 3.xx. + InstallLocationsMRU: Contains the paths for the Startup folder programs. + Keyboard layout: Specifies current keyboard layout. + Network: Network connection information. + RemoteAccess: Current log-on location information, if using Dial-Up Networking. + Software: Software configuration settings for the currently logged-on user.+ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE: Contains information about the hardware and software settings that are generic to all users of this computer. Subkeys include: + Config: Configuration information/settings. + Enum: Hardware device information/settings. + Hardware: Serial communication port(s) information/settings. + Network: Information about network(s) the user is currently logged onto. + Security: Network security settings. + Software: Software specific information/settings. + System: System startup and device driver information and operating system settings.+ HKEY_USERS: Contains information about desktop and user settings for each user that logs onto the same Windows 95 system. Each user will have a subkey under this heading. If there is only one user, the subkey is ".default".Therefore, HKEY_USERS is some sort of mirror to HKEY_CURRENT_USER+ HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG: Contains information about the current hardware configuration, pointing to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.Therefore, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG is some sort of mirror to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE+ HKEY_DYN_DATA: Contains dynamic information about the plug-and-play devices installed on the system. The data here changes if devices are added or removed on-the-fly.* BEWARE: When you add/delete/modify a Registry item/value/key/string by running RegEdit, IT WILL NOT PROMPT YOU FOR CONFIRMATION ON SAVING THE CHANGES OR BEFORE CLOSING THE REGISTRY EDITOR!-------------------------------------Sandman:"It's highly possible that some software author WILL find a way to doinsert this 'second duplicate key' without requiring the original key, in which case REGMON,REGVIEW won't show this!!.."So, it is impossible for anyone to create the 2nd duplicate key because it willbe mirrored to HKEY_CURRENT_USER.I've tried adding a key to HKEY_USERS.DEFAULTSoftwareNetscapeNetscapeNavigatorand it appears automatically in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. 8)Also, if you notice in Reg Crawler, you can either search in HKEY_CURRENT_USER orHKEY_USERS but NOT both.Merry Christmas!Registry Changes by Cronos , Thu Dec 17 19:07