Download Center
Home > Denkfabrik > What is the Registry?
July 5, 2016
What is the Registry?
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that contains all of the configurations and settings used by components, services, applications, and pretty much everything in Windows.
The registry has two basic concepts to be aware of: Keys and Values. Registry Keys are objects that are basically folders, and in the interface even look exactly like folders. Values are a bit like the files in the folders, and they contain the actual settings.
When you open the Registry Editor for the first time, you’ll see a treeview on the left-hand pane that contains all of the keys, with values on the right-hand side. It’s about as simple as an interface gets.
The root-level keys that you see in the left-hand side of the screenshot are important. Each one houses a different set of information, so depending on what you are trying to do, you’ll need to know which section to browse down into.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Windows uses this section to manage file type associations, and it is usually abbreviated HKCR when being referenced in documentation. This key is actually just a link to HKLMSoftwareClasses.
You can also use this section if you want to tweak the context menu for a particular file type.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Holds the user settings for the currently logged in user, and is usually abbreviated HKCU This is actually just a link to HKEY_USERS. The most important sub-key in here is HKCUSoftware, which contains user-level settings for most of your software.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
All of the system-wide settings are stored here, and it is usually abbreviated as HKLM. You’ll mostly use the HKLMSoftware key to check machine-wide settings.
HKEY_USERS
Stores all of the settings for all users on the system. You’ll typically use HKCU instead, but if you need to check settings for another user on your computer, you can use this one.
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
Stores all of the information about the current hardware configuration. This one isn’t used very often, and it just a link to HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetHardware ProfilesCurrent.
The registry has two basic concepts to be aware of: Keys and Values. Registry Keys are objects that are basically folders, and in the interface even look exactly like folders. Values are a bit like the files in the folders, and they contain the actual settings.
When you open the Registry Editor for the first time, you’ll see a treeview on the left-hand pane that contains all of the keys, with values on the right-hand side. It’s about as simple as an interface gets.
The root-level keys that you see in the left-hand side of the screenshot are important. Each one houses a different set of information, so depending on what you are trying to do, you’ll need to know which section to browse down into.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Windows uses this section to manage file type associations, and it is usually abbreviated HKCR when being referenced in documentation. This key is actually just a link to HKLMSoftwareClasses.
You can also use this section if you want to tweak the context menu for a particular file type.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Holds the user settings for the currently logged in user, and is usually abbreviated HKCU This is actually just a link to HKEY_USERS
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
All of the system-wide settings are stored here, and it is usually abbreviated as HKLM. You’ll mostly use the HKLMSoftware key to check machine-wide settings.
HKEY_USERS
Stores all of the settings for all users on the system. You’ll typically use HKCU instead, but if you need to check settings for another user on your computer, you can use this one.
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
Stores all of the information about the current hardware configuration. This one isn’t used very often, and it just a link to HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetHardware ProfilesCurrent.