There are six main branches of the Registry. Each one contains a specific piece of the information stored there. These branches are...
Registry Editing
The Registry Editor ( REGEDIT.EXE ) is included in Win95 to make it possible for you to view and edit the contents of the
Registry. When open, you will see a window that is divided into two panes...the left side shows a tree with folders...and the right side shows the contents / values of the currently selected folder.
To expand a specific branch, simply click on the plus sign ( + ) to the left hand side of any folder. Or you may simply double-click on the specific folder, either way will work.
To display the contents of a key / folder, click the desired key and look at the values listed on the right hand side. New keys or values can be added by
selecting New from the Edit menu. You can also rename any value and almost any key with the same method used to rename files...that is, right-click on any item and choose rename or simply click it twice. At finally, you may delete a key or value by clicking on it and pressing Delete on your keyboard.
Registry Back-Up
Seeing as the Registry consists of two files, USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT, they can be copied manually to a floppy diskette or another directory on your
hard drive. Notice and note that when you shut down Win95, two backup files are created automatically...USER.DA0 and SYSTEM.DA0. If the Registry becomes corrupted, then Win95 will automatically try to replace them with the DA0 backups.
Please note: All four of these files are hidden. Unless you have Explorer configured to view 'hidden files', then you won't see them.
Any backup program that you use must be made just for Win95 so that it will support the long filenames and backup the Registry as well. There is a utility on the Win95 CD-Rom that will do this called ( CFGBACK.EXE ), but doing a backup and restoring with this DOS program isn't any easier or better than doing it as described above.
In DOS mode, you may copy these files with the COPY command but you need to unhide them with the ATTRIB command first.
Applying Patches, Importing and Exporting
Even though you can edit the Registry with the Registry Editor, you can also perform changes by using Registry patches. This is simply a text file with the .REG extension that contains one or more of the keys / values.
When a .REG file is double-clicked, the patch is applied to the Registry. Using this method, you can share or backup small pieces / portions of the Registry for later use on your own PC or someone else's. This is much easier and less perilous than manually editing the Registry.
Here's how to create a Registry patch...open the Registry Editor, select a branch and choose Export from the File menu.
Specify a filename and then click OK. The Registry patch file can then be viewed by opening it in Notepad ( right-click on it and select Edit ). Just double-click on a Registry patch file ( or use Import in the Registry Editor's File menu ) to apply it to the Registry. Sound confusing? All will become clear in time.
Corrupted Registry--What To Do
If somehow the Registry becomes corrupted, damaged or hosed by another program...you may not be able to start Win95 at all. This tips will help set you straight again:
- Before: Back-Up your Registry on a regular basis. This is not time consuming and is easy to do. Just putting it on floppy will
save you many hours of re-installs, setups and head-aches.
- After: Win95 automatically makes backups of the Registry files in USER.DA0 and SYSTEM.DA0. IF the original files are damaged, it will try to use these backups. If this does not happen, try renaming them manually with the REN command ( after you have unhidden them ). Finally, there should be a file in the root directory of your
boot drive ( commonly C:\ ) called SYSTEM.1ST which is the original registry from when you last installed Win95. Go ahead and copy this file to the Windows directory and then rename it to SYSTEM.DAT. When neither the DA0 or the 1ST files succeed, then it's a no go.
Compact The Registry
The Registry can become quite large. This is because deleted items aren't always removed from the Registry files. In time your Registry can become bloated with
empty space. When you compact, it rewrites the entire file with only the information that is currently
being used...but the unwanted or unneeded entries are not removed. This will result in a much smaller file and faster boot time.
This is how to compact the Registry...
- Warning: Back-Up Your Registry 1st.
- Open the Registry Editor.
- Select the 'root' ( commonly My Computer ), and select Export from the File menu.
- Change to the 'root' directory ( commonly C:\ ) and then specify a filename with the REG extension ( if you have configured
Win95 to show the extensions ), such as COMPACT.REG and then click OK.
- Restart Windows in MS-DOS MODE ( or you can Exit to DOS ).
- Switch to the Windows directory using the CD command ( most cases just type 'CD\WINDOWS' at the prompt ).
- Unhide the Registry files by typing the commands below:
ATTRIB -r-a-s-h SYSTEM.DAT
ATTRIB -r-a-s-h USER.DAT
- At this point, have REGEDIT rebuild your Registry by typing the following command making sure that you replace
COMPACT.REG with whatever you have typed above:
REGEDIT /C C:\COMPACT.REG
- Note: If you receive an error message, such as 'CAN'T ACCESS REGISTRY'...see below.
- That is all. You should now be able to restart Win95 and notice a marked difference how much smaller the Registry has become.
If you received an error message...
- Don't have a panic attack. If the Registry has been backed-up, then you can still recover it. But you might be able to start Win95 in it's current condition.
- If, by chance, you are able to get back into Win95, simply open Explorer and find the COMPACT.REG file that was created and then double-click on it. In a few seconds you should be able to
see a message like or similar to, 'Information in C:\COMPACT.REG has been successfully entered into the Registry'. As soon ( and if ) you see this...immediately restart Win95 and all should be well.
- If you still can't get back into Win95, then you will need to restore the backup you made before.
Disclaimer: This article is provided as an information-only guide for most users. Do not attempt any Registry editing unless you are confident in your ability to do so. Spider-Boy.com cannot offer tech support for those that hose their Registry due to the
existence of this page. Please practice safe & sane computing. Thanks!
