In your forays through the Windows registry you may have noticed a peculiar key, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths, that has subkeys named like executables. Here is what it looks like on my machine:
How to do safer registry editing in windows
Your PC always creates entries but sometimes does not delete them even if they are not in use any more. It will accumulate unused and junk registry entries which can affect the performance of the system.
Editing your computer's registry can cause serious errors on your computer. Always create a backup before making any changes. If you need assistance, you can view the Help file by clicking Help > Help Topics on the Registry Editor window.
Registry keys are important to the functionality of your computer and its installed programs. Accidental removal of an essential registry entry may damage the system of your PC. Having a backup allows you to recover accidentally deleted entries.
Installed applications create many registry keys that are essential for their functionality. It is important to locate and delete entries of uninstalled software if they have not yet been removed before.
Manual deletion of applications and programs will only delete the programs and their files, but it will not automatically remove their created registry entries. These entries will stay there until they are removed.
In general, it is possible to start any additional services and drivers in safe mode. To do that, you need to start some registry editor such as REGEDIT and select the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot, which has sub-keys of Minimal and Network. Minimal is for safe mode, Network is for safe mode with networking. To allow a service or driver in the corresponding safe mode, add a key for the service or driver short name, then a string for type.
You should always be very careful not to modify parts of the registry other than those expressly mentioned. Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. It cannot be guaranteed that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved.
You can set the permissions for only the selected registry key, or you can set permissions on the subkeys also. To apply the same permissions to the selected registry key and down the keys hierarchy to all the the child subkeys, check the Replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object box.
If you think you might have to adjust your permissions for this registry key again, you can uncheck the Full Control box under Allow in the Permissions box instead of removing your user name completely. Then, you can just return to the Permissions dialog box for the registry key and check the Full Control box under Allow again for your user name.
Microsoft is doing all it can to hide details about the registry and often uses keys ten levels deep to stop anyone spotting just how much privacy is being broken but I have written code that audits all the changes to the registry using SHA1 on value/data and then saving the results in an XML file and I can tell you now that windows seven even on a rebuild has over 400,000 keys and holds something like 3,000,000 bits of data.
I was trying to edit the registry on an old Windows Small Business Server 2003 and the DOS prompt, right click, run as administrator, regedit gave me the same lack of permission error (it even prevented me from backing up the registry key to the desktop or my documents before trying to make changes) . I tried several different things like verify I am logged in as administrator, check permissions etc with no success. I then tried to do the regedit without first right click run as administrator permission and then everything worked. Apparently the right click run as administrator is different than the login as administrator then run regedit normally.
Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP a long time ago. There are plenty of other websites that show how to introduce hacks into the registry to try and get free support without having to bring this to the groovypost forums.
I have an issues with a key that is owned by system. The only way I could change permissions was to edit the registry in SAFE mode. However, when rebooting I once again cannot edit the key even though I have permissions to now do so. I expect that when the system is running it is somehow protecting this key from being changed.
An alternative way to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10 or 11 is to use the registry. For this, you will also need to boot into safe mode. Follow step 1 from the previous chapter to boot into safe mode.
Thank you so much for this. I used the registry example from above and it perfectly disabled Windows Defender under the latest build of Windows 11. I have been trying for hours to find a way to do this and your article did the trick. ?
I have a duel boot computer with ZorinI started Zorin and deleted windows defender folders in Program files, Program files x86 & Program data. (be sure to open Microsoft folders and delete defender folders there)
When you are using this method you need to be careful what registry keys you are deleting. If you are inexperienced there is a high chance that you can damage your system. That is why we recommend using 3rd-party applications such as Revo Uninstaller Pro that will safely guide you through the process.
One of the most common ploys of modern Trojan infections is that they hijackthe program executable function of the PC. In such cases, all attempts at launchingprograms either produce no results or they start of series of popup windowsurging the user to buy a phony anti-virus program. Even attempts at anti-virusscans are in vain. The reason for this problem is that the Trojan has writtena few simple values into the Windows Registry to redirect program behavior.Fortunately, there is a relatively simple way to restore the proper values andreturn the PC to proper functionality.
In the example below, the Data value has been changed by a Trojan whose filenameis "pqx.exe," located in the hidden "C:\Users\\AppData\Local"folder. What this insertion in the registry accomplishes is that, for everyprogram that is attempted to be launched on this machine, the Trojan is launchedinstead.
Unfortunately, if a Trojan has written one value into the Registry, it haslikely written several more. Based on the information found in the "exefile"data, above, a search should be done to clean out all other matching entries.In this example, a search for "pqx.exe" will locate all places in the registrywhere references to the Trojan program file need to be deleted.
Microsoft introduced the registry back in Windows 3.1, but it was initially used only for certain types of software. In the Windows 3.1 era, Windows applications frequently stored settings in .INI configuration files that were scattered across the OS. The registry can now be used by all programs, and it helps bring together the settings that would otherwise be scattered in many different locations across the disk.
We generally recommend backing up the registry (and your computer, which you should always have backups of!) before editing the registry, just in case. But if you follow legitimate instructions properly, you will not have a problem.
Better yet, you can make your own registry hack files. A .reg file can contain multiple different settings, so you could create a .reg file that automatically applies all your favorite registry hacks and configuration tweaks to a Windows PC when you run it.
One of the most critical things to remember is that the registry is a very fragile component of your computer. If you mess with it too much or incorrectly, it can essentially destroy Windows. With that being said, it is essential to exercise caution while cleaning your registry, especially if you are doing it manually.
Microsoft, thankfully, is aware that if this conundrum and has provided at least two ways to block Command Prompt in Windows 10. You can simply deactivate Command Prompt via GPO (the Group Policy Editor) or make a quick registry tweak. 2ff7e9595c