It wasn't so long ago that if you needed to make a Windows Registry change, technical support wouldn't give you instructions. Today, it's common to see help documents reference registry keys to fix problems or remove software. One of the biggest annoyances in editing the registry has been finding the correct Windows registry key. We found a free browser context menu extension for Internet Explorer that makes the process simple.

Although every user of Windows 95 and above has a Windows Registry, not everyone understands the concept. The registry is a hierarchical database that contains thousands of settings about your computer, software and hardware. These setting are stored in your user.dat and system.dat files.

Knowing which registry key to edit is half the battle. The other battle is navigating to the specific key. The concept is pretty clear. You get to the required key by drilling down from the folder level to the keys and sub keys using a tool like the Registry Editor.

As you click the plus signs to expand the branch, more entries display. It's not uncommon to get overwhelmed. You quickly learn to focus on the bottom bar to see if you're in the correct area.

Open in Regedit

While reading Daniel Petri's site, I read an article about a utility Shay Levy wrote. The utility is called Open in Regedit and allows you to navigate to the correct key by highlighting the entry from a web page. One caveat is that this utility only works with Internet Explorer.

For example, you might search Microsoft's Knowledgebase and see a solution that requires a change to a registry key. The example below is from a support page outlining the keys needed to fix a mail problem. Rather than having to run Regedit and click through to find the correct key, you can highlight it, right click and select Open in Regedit. It doesn't get much easier.

Backing up Windows Registry

One item I want to stress is that regardless of how you navigate to a registry, please use caution. The registry is one of those places that if you're not careful, you could cause more problems. My suggestion is to always backup the registry or the key you're changing before editing. Some people get carried away and delete items because they don't think they need the items. I've heard of people deleting entries for Apple Computer because they were using Windows and then wondered why iTunes had problems.

There are some good help resources in addition to the Registry Editor help. Symantec has a help page and online tutorials on backing up the registry which is useful. The Microsoft page is more technical, but also has links to backup instructions.

Additional Windows Registry Resources

• Open in Regedit (v 1.3)
• Symantec Article on Backing up Windows Registry
• Microsoft Description of Windows Registry