Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Using the Registry Editor

You use the Registry Editor program to edit the Registry. This utility is designed for advanced configuration of the system. Usually when you make changes to your configuration, you use other utilities, such as those available in Control Panel, which we discussed in the previous section.

WARNING Only experienced administrators should use the Registry Editor. It is intended for making configuration changes that can be made directly through the Registry only. For example, you might edit the Registry to specify an alternate location for a print spool folder. Improper changes to the Registry can cause the computer to fail to boot. Use the Registry Editor with extreme caution.

Windows 7 uses the REGEDIT program as the primary utility for Registry editing in Windows 7. This program supports full editing of the Registry. To use REGEDIT, select Start and type REGEDIT in the Search dialog box.

The Registry is organized in a hierarchical tree format of keys and subkeys that represent logical areas of computer configuration. By default, when you open the Registry Editor, you see five Registry key listings and described in Table below.

Registry Keys

Registry Key	Description
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT	Configuration information that Windows Explorer uses to properly associate file types with applications.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER	Configuration information for the user who is currently logged on to the computer. This key is a subkey of the HKEY_USERS key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE	Computer hardware configuration information. This computer configuration is used regardless of the user who is logged on.
HKEY_USERS	Configuration information for all users of the computer.
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG	Configuration of the hardware profile that is used during system startup.

Another configuration that you can set is the display devices. Let's take a look at how to configure them.