Windows 7 Annoyances

Chapter 3. The Registry

The Windows registry is a bit like high school detention: nobody wants to go, but most of us end up there for one reason or another. And a few outcasts even prefer it.

The registry essentially does two things for Windows: it’s a database of settings for most of your applications and Windows itself, and it’s a repository of technical data for installed hardware devices and software components.

For instance, all of your file type associations—the links between your documents and the applications that created them—are built from registry data. Your network settings, your hardware settings, each of your applications’ customizable toolbars, and even Windows’ own Control Panel settings are all stored in the registry. The checkboxes you check or uncheck in most Options windows are saved in the registry. And the various software building blocks used by nearly every programs—including those that come with Windows—are “registered” in your registry.

But why is the storage mechanism for all these settings the least bit important?

Because software is imperfect. Windows 7 only lets you make the most basic of customizations to your file types; for more control, you’ve got to edit the registry. Not all application settings can be changed in the applications themselves; some changes can only be made in the registry. When something goes wrong with software or hardware, sometimes the only remedy is to fix a registry key. And if you want to hack Windows beyond Microsoft’s intentions—whether ...