Microsoft KB Archive/293130

= OLEXP: About the Registry and How to Use Registry Editor =

PSS ID Number: 293130

Article Last Modified on 10/2/2002

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 98

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This article was previously published under Q293130



For information about the differences between Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express e-mail clients, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

257824 OL2000: Differences Between Outlook and Outlook Express



SUMMARY
The purpose of this article is to describe what the registry is and how to make changes to it in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe); it contains the following topics:

What is the Registry?

Risks and Warnings

Getting Help on How to Restore the Registry

Before You Begin Editing the Registry

How to Edit the Registry

Locating a Key or Subkey

Adding a Key

Adding a Value

Changing a Value

Deleting a Key or Value

Renaming a Key or Value

CAUTION: Make sure that you read and understand all sections of this article before you modify you computer's registry.



What is the Registry?
The registry is a central, hierarchical database in Microsoft Windows that contains information about how your computer runs. The registry stores information that is needed to configure Windows for users, applications, and hardware devices. Windows refers to this information while your computer is running, instructing your computer to run according to how you have configured its settings. For example, the registry contains information related to user profiles, installed applications (and the document types that each application can create), and the ports that are being used.

Registry Editor is an advanced tool for changing your computer's settings in the registry. Generally, Microsoft recommends that you use Windows controls, such as Control Panel, to change your system settings. On rare occasions, however, the best method for resolving a product issue may require editing the registry. If the issue is documented in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, an article with step-by-step instructions on how to edit the registry for that issue should be available. Always be sure to follow the instructions exactly in a Microsoft Knowledge Base article for editing the registry.

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Risks and Warnings
If you edit your computer's registry, you may cause your computer to stop functioning if you make a mistake. That is why in every article that contains a procedure involving the registry, Microsoft includes two warnings. The following warning appears at the beginning of the article:

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

The following warning appears immediately before the actual procedure for editing the registry is described:

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Heed the warnings. Proceed with caution. But know that if you do make a mistake, you can restore the registry to the same state as when you last successfully started your computer. It is important that you know how to restore the registry.

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Getting Help on How to Restore the Registry
The procedure for restoring the registry varies from operating system to operating system. While at your desktop screen, press F1 to open the Windows Help system. On the Search tab, type restore registry, and then press ENTER. View or print the instructions for restoring your registry.

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Before You Begin Editing the Registry
Before you begin editing the registry, it is very important that you back it up. You can back up the entire registry or the portion of it that you are changing.

To back up the entire registry:
 * 1) Click Start, and then click Run.
 * 2) In the Open box, type regedit.
 * 3) In the left pane, click My Computer to export all of the registry.
 * 4) On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.
 * 5) Browse to a location to store the exported file, and then type a name for the new file.

To back up a part of the registry:
 * 1) Click Start, and then click Run.
 * 2) In the Open box, type regedit.
 * 3) In the left pane, click the folder that contains the part of the registry that you want to back up.
 * 4) On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.
 * 5) Browse to a location to store the exported file, and then type a name for the new file.

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How to Edit the Registry
Editing the registry involves the following six types of procedures:
 * Locating a key or subkey
 * Adding a key
 * Adding a value
 * Changing a value
 * Deleting a key or value
 * Renaming a key or value

Knowledge Base articles identify the specific keys or values and the paths to them in the step-by-step instructions provided so that you can safely and easily perform these procedures. The following procedures are described in general terms to help you become familiar with the process.

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Locating a Key or Subkey
There are five different top-level registry keys (or hives); they each begin with &quot;HKEY,&quot; as in the following example:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{ }\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0\Mail

Technically, in this example, HKEY_CURRENT_USER is the key, and everything that follows the first backslash (\) is the subkey. In Registry Editor, you can browse through the keys and subkeys in the same way that you browse through your folders in Windows Explorer.

The keys and subkeys are listed in a folder tree in the left pane of Registry Editor, and if you click a key or subkey in the left pane, you see information about the value name, type, and data in the right pane.

As in Windows Explorer, in the left pane of Registry Editor, if a key or subkey contains subkeys, a plus sign (+) appears next to the folder icon for that key. If you click the plus sign, the folder expands, and subfolders, representing the subkeys, are displayed underneath it. Note that after you expand a key, the plus sign changes to a minus sign (-). This indicates that the key has been expanded; to collapse it, click the minus sign; the subkey folders disappear, and the minus sign changes back to a plus sign.

To locate the registry key listed in this section:
 * 1) Start Registry Editor.
 * 2) Click to expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
 * 3) Click to expand Identities.
 * 4) Click to expand { }.

NOTE: The User ID number that is the name of this subkey varies for each user that has an identity on this computer. For this example, click any of the User ID subkeys listed in your registry.
 * 1) Click to expand Software.
 * 2) Click to expand Microsoft.
 * 3) Click to expand Outlook Express.
 * 4) Click to expand 5.0.

NOTE: This subkey may have a different number in your registry depending on the operating system that your are running.
 * 1) Click Mail.

Note that the Mail subkey does not have any subkeys underneath it. When you click the Mail subkey, you see the different values and settings that it contains.

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Adding a Key

 * 1) Start Registry Editor.
 * 2) Open the registry to the place that you want to add the new key.
 * 3) Right-click the folder where you want to add the new key.
 * 4) Point to New, and then click Key. The new key appears with a temporary name.
 * 5) Type a name for the new key, and then press ENTER.
 * 6) Quit Registry Editor.

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Adding a Value

 * 1) Start Registry Editor.
 * 2) Open the registry to the folder where you want to add the new value.
 * 3) Right-click where you want to add the new value.
 * 4) Point to New, and then click the type of value that you want to add: String Value, Binary Value, or DWORD Value. The new value appears with a temporary name.

NOTE: The type of value will be listed in the Knowledge Base article instructions.
 * 1) Type a name for the new value, and then press ENTER.
 * 2) Quit Registry Editor.

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Changing a Value

 * 1) Start Registry Editor.
 * 2) In the left pane, locate the value that you want to change.
 * 3) Double-click the value that you want to change.
 * 4) In Value Data, type the new data for the value.

NOTE: The new data will be listed in the Knowledge Base article instructions.
 * 1) Quit Registry Editor.

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Deleting a Key or Value

 * 1) Start Registry Editor.
 * 2) In the left pane, find the key or value that you want to delete. You do not need to open it.
 * 3) Right-click the key or value, and then click Delete.
 * 4) Quit Registry Editor.

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Renaming a Key or Value

 * 1) Start Registry Editor.
 * 2) In the left pane, find the key or value that you want to rename. You do not need to open it.
 * 3) Right-click the key or value that you want to rename, and then click Rename.
 * 4) Type the new name, and then press ENTER.
 * 5) Quit Registry Editor.

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NOTE: If you make a mistake that results in your computer not starting properly, you can restore the registry. For instructions on how to restore the registry, refer to the &quot;Getting Help on How to Restore the Registry&quot; section.

Additional query words: oe regedit ol97 ol98 ol20 ol10 Outlook NT XP win2k winxp

Keywords: kbhowto KB293130

Technology: kbOutlookExpress500Win98 kbOutlookExpress98Search kbOutlookExpressSearch

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