Registry Editor

Windows 95 designers decided to combine all initialization information into a single registration file, called the registry.

All the information necessary to access your system and programs is defined in this file. This is why you need to be very careful when attempting to change any values. A typo may cripple your system, or prevent it from even starting Windows 95.

To view or edit this file, start the editor, by clicking on the [Start] button, then click the [Run] button, and type regedit.exe, finally click the [Ok] button.

Exporting Registry

Before attempting any editing, you should save the current registry file. This can be done by clicking [Registry], [Export Registry File...], then type in a name for the saved file (choose a name you can easily remember!). Make certain the Export range is set to All. Remember the save location of the file, the safest location is on a floppy disk, or in the root directory; C:\

Another way to export the registry is with the command regedit /e regtest. This exports the registry to a file named regtest.

With this file it is possible to test the registry with the command regedit /c regtest. This will attempt to compile the file, if it makes it to 100%, then your resgistry is OK. If it stalls before 100%, you probably need to re-install Windows 95.

Registry Files

The Registry resides in 2 hidden, system files in the Windows folder. If you feel more comfortable working with files instead of using the Regedit program, you can copy these 2 files System.dat and User.dat to a safe location. To locate these files, use Windows search utility (press F3 while viewing the desktop). Type *.dat in the Named: field. Then copy each to another folder or a floppy.

Ready To Go

Now that you have a copy of the file, you can try a few modifications to customize your system.