19th March 2002
Forever have I been plagued with not knowing how to remove Registry keys via REG files; merging them is not a problem. Recently, folks have been trying to clear Microsoft's Windows Media Player History with ease. A quick download of the free "Windows Media Bonus Pack" from WINDOWSMEDIA.COM will give you a tool to clear the MRU list quickly, but here's a way to do it without any additional software. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ MediaPlayer \ Player \ RecentFileList - and export this "Selected branch" to a REG file. Now, edit that REG file in your favorite text editor, insert a minus sign between the opening bracket and the "H" in "HKEY." This should effectively remove the branch (and all subkeys) whenever the REG file is "merged." Create a shortcut to it, add the "/S" switch to the Target field to "silence" the task, then place it in your Startup folder to clear "the list" every time you boot into Windows. Another key which may hold an MRU: HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Software \ Microsoft \ MediaPlayer \ Player \ RecentFileList. NOTE: be very careful when employing this tactic. Messing with the Registry is NOT for the faint of heart. You could hose your system in one quick click, slick.