Tài liệu Preparing for Registry Editing docx

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Preparing for Registry Editing
If you're a system administrator or technical-support specialist, you're certainly able to
provide many examples of situations where users called for technical support when
encountering registry problems. Sometimes (fortunately, this case isn't common), the user
encounters registry-corruption problems before he or she can start Windows for the first
time. Registry corruption is especially likely when inexperienced users modify the
registry, because they often set incorrect values or even delete necessary keys. All these
actions result in registry corruption.
Before proceeding any further, it is recommended that you study alternative methods of
modifying the registry and various techniques for registry backup and recovery. There are
several alternative methods of editing the Windows NT/2000, Windows XP, and
Windows Server 2003 registry that you can use to solve the problem or configure the
system parameters. Some of these methods were described in Chapter 1
. Some Internet
resources provide various tips on solving problems, using complicated registry-editing
procedures. Users with a sound knowledge of the functionality provided by newer
releases of Windows may find simpler and, at the same time, more elegant solutions,
since most problems can be solved using Control Panel applets and other administrative
utilities.
Caution If you make an error while modifying the registry (for example, by setting
incorrect values or deleting vital registry entries), you may prevent the system
from booting. Whenever possible, modify the system configuration using
Control Panel applets or other administrative utilities. Registry editor should be
used only as a last resort. System administrators may wish to restrict user access
to the registry in order to protect the system configuration. This topic will be
discussed in detail in Chapter 9
.
So, you need to open the registry and solve your problems by modifying it. This is a
normal situation and you'll probably edit the registry directly. Some methods of

configuring and troubleshooting the system, discussed later in this book, do require direct
editing of the registry.
However, before you go any further, you need to back up the registry. Registry backup is
the first thing that should be done before you begin editing the registry. Never start
editing the registry without backing it up. Everyone makes mistakes, and registry editor
(which will be discussed in the next chapter) doesn't have the Undo command that is
present in most programs. Don't create unnecessary problems for yourself (unless this is
the type of thing you enjoy doing). There is a ready solution, and the solution is registry
backup.
Windows XP and products of the Windows Server 2003 family provide various methods
for registry backup and recovery, along with reliability enhancements. Some of these
features were inherited from Windows NT/2000, while others were first introduced with
the newer versions of the operating system. This chapter provides detailed instructions on
performing these procedures. Here, we will try to cover nearly all of the existing methods
of registry backup.
Microsoft documentation and Microsoft Knowledge Base articles always contain
standard warnings that inform the user about the potential danger of direct registry
editing. Microsoft doesn't guarantee that problems caused by registry editing can always
be solved. If the system registry is corrupted and you have no backup copy, it's possible
that you'll need to reinstall the operating system.

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