Special Edition Using Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, Third Edition

Chapter 32. The Registry

In this chapter

• What Is the Registry?

• How the Registry Is Organized

• Registry Contents

• Backing Up and Restoring the Registry

• Using Regedit

• Other Registry Tools

• Registry Privileges and Policies

• Troubleshooting

• Tips from the Windows Pros: Deploying Registry Settings with REG Files

What Is the Registry?

The Windows XP Registry is a database in which Windows and application programs store startup information, hardware settings, user preferences, file locations, license and registration information, last-viewed file lists, and so on. In addition, the Registry stores the associations between file types and the applications that use them. For example, the Registry holds the information that tells Windows to use Media Player when you click ...