The Windows 2000 Registry is the repository for all
hardware, software, and application configuration settings,
and Managing the Windows 2000 Registry is the system
administrator's guide to maintaining, monitoring, and
updating the Registry database. The book, which is an
update of Managing the Windows NT Registry,
addresses four main areas:
- What is the Registry? Where does it live on disk? How
do system services access and use it? What do you do if
it's damaged or corrupted? Every 2000 administrator faces
questions like this, often in a desperate attempt to fix
something that's broken.
- What tools are available? Detailed descriptions of
Regedit, RegEdt32, the System Policy Editor, Group Policy
Editor and selected Resource Kit utilities explain how to
edit and secure the Registry both on local and on remote
computers.
- How can I access the Registry from a program? Regularly
monitoring the Registry's contents is one way to preclude
unpleasant surprises. Using examples in C++, Visual Basic,
and Perl, Managing the Windows 2000 Registry
demonstrates how to create Registry-aware tools and
scripts.
- What's in the Registry? Not all Registry keys are
adequately documented by Microsoft or by the other vendors
who store configuration data in the Registry. Managing
the Windows 2000 Registry offers a guided tour of some
of these undocumented keys.
This book is a "must have" for every 2000 system manager
or administrator.
Preface
1. A Gentle Introduction to the Registry
A Brief History of the Registry
What Does the Registry Do?
Advantages Offered by the Registry
Registry Zen
2. Registry Nuts and Bolts
How the Registry Is Structured
What Goes in the Registry
Getting Data In and Out
3. In Case of Emergency
Don't Panic!
Safety Strategies
All About Emergency Repair Disks
Backing Up the Registry
Restoring a Backed-up Registry
4. Using RegEdit
Know Your Limitations
Learning the RegEdit Interface
"Just Browsing, Thanks"
Connecting to Other Machines' Registries
Searching for Keys and Values
Printing Registry Contents
Working with Keys and Values
Exporting and Importing Data
RegEdit Command-Line Options
5. Using RegEdt32
How RegEdt32 and RegEdit Differ
Learning the RegEdt32 Interface
Browsing with RegEdt32
Remote Registry Editing
Searching for Keys
Saving and Loading Registry Keys
Printing Registry Contents
Editing Keys and Values
Registry Security Fundamentals
Securing Registry Keys in Windows 2000
Securing Registry Keys in Windows NT
6. Using the System Policy Editor
All About System Policies
Introducing the System Policy Editor
Managing Policies with POLEDIT
Distributing Policies
What's in the Standard Policy Templates
Picking the Right Policies
7. Using Group Policies
What Are Group Policies?
Introducing the Group Policy Snap-in
Managing Policies
Distributing Policies
What's in the Standard Policy Templates?
8. Programming with the Registry
The Registry API
The Shell Utility API Routines
Programming with C/C++
Programming with Perl
Programming with Visual Basic
9. Administering the Registry
Setting Defaults for New User Accounts
Using Initialization File Mapping
Limiting Remote Registry Access
Fixing Registry Security ACLs in Windows NT
Adding Registry ACLs to Group Policy Objects
Encrypting HKLMSAM with SYSKEY
Miscellaneous Good Stuff
Using the Resource Kit Registry Utilities
reg: The One-Size-Fits-All Registry Tool
Spying on the Registry with RegMon
10. Registry Tweaks
User Interface Tweaks
Filesystem Tweaks
Security Tweaks
Performance Tweaks
Network Tweaks
Printing Tweaks
11. The Registry Documented
What's Here and What's Not
HKLMHARDWARE
HKLMSOFTWARE
HKLMSYSTEM
HKU
HKCR
HKCU
HKCC
HKDD
A. User Configuration Group
Policy Objects
B. Computer Configuration
Group Policy Objects
Index