Modifying a registry key

  • Thread starter Thread starter Amila Chandrasekera
  • Start date Start date
How can I modify a registry key(s) using a bach script ?

Amila
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reg.exe from the support tools on the the 2000 CD or built into later versions
of Windows.

Performs add, change, import, export and other operations on registry subkey
information and values in registry entries.

The reg commands include:

reg add

Adds a new subkey or entry to the registry.

Syntax
reg add KeyName [{/v ValueName | /ve}] [/t DataType] [/s Separator] [/d Data]
[/f]

Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey or entry to be added. For specifying
remote computers, include the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as
part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to
the local computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys
are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid
root keys are HKLM and HKU.
/v ValueName
Specifies the name of the registry entry to be added under the specified subkey.
/ve
Specifies that the registry entry that is added to the registry has a null
value.
/t Type
Specifies the type for the registry entry. Type must be one of the following:

REG_SZ

REG_MULTI_SZ

REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN

REG_DWORD

REG_BINARY

REG_DWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN

REG_LINK

REG_FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTOR

REG_EXPAND_SZ

/s Separator
Specifies the character to be used to separate multiple instances of data when
the REG_MULTI_SZ data type is specified and more than one entry needs to be
listed. If not specified, the default separator is "\0".
/d Data
Specifies the data for the new registry entry.
/f
Adds the registry entry without prompting for confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg add at the command prompt.
Remarks
Subtrees cannot be added with this operation. This version of Reg does not ask
for confirmation when adding a subkey.
The following table lists the return values for the reg add operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

For key types of REG_EXPAND_SZ, use the caret symbol ( ^ ) with "%" inside the
/d parameter.
Examples
To add the key HKLM\Software\MyCo on remote machine ABC, type:

REG ADD \\ABC\HKLM\Software\MyCo

To add a registry entry to HKLM\Software\MyCo with the options of ValueName:
Data, Type: REG_BINARY, and ValueData: fe340ead, type:

REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v Data /t REG_BINARY /d fe340ead

To add a multivalued registry entry to HKLM\Software\MyCo with the options of
ValueName: MRU, DataType: REG_MULTI_SZ, and ValueData: fax\0mail\0\0, type:

REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v MRU /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d fax\0mail\0\0

To add an expanded registry entry to HKLM\Software\MyCo with the options of
ValueName: Path, DataType: REG_EXPAND_SZ, and ValueData: %systemroot%, type:

REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v Path /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d ^%systemroot^%

reg compare

Compares specified registry subkeys or entries.

Syntax
reg compare KeyName1 KeyName2 [{/v ValueName | /ve}] [{/oa | /od | /os | on}]
[/s]

Parameters
KeyName1
Specifies the full path of the first subkey to be compared. For specifying
remote computers, include the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as
part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to
the local computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys
are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid
root keys are HKLM and HKU.
KeyName2
Specifies the full path of the second subkey to be compared. For specifying
remote computers, include the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as
part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to
the local computer. Specifying only the computer name in KeyName2 causes the
operation to use the path to the subkey specified in KeyName1. The KeyName must
include a valid root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC.
If a remote computer is specified, valid root keys are HKLM and HKU.
/v ValueName
Specifies the value name under the subkey to compare.
/ve
Specifies that only entries that have a value name of null should be compared.
[{/oa | /od | /os | on}]
Specifies how to display the results of the compare operation. The default is
/od. The following table lists each of the options. Value Description
/oa Specifies that all differences and matches are displayed. By default, only
the differences are listed.
/od Specifies that only differences are displayed. This is the default behavior.
/os Specifies that only matches are displayed. By default, only the differences
will be listed.
/on Specifies that nothing is displayed. By default, only the differences will
be listed.

/s
Compares all subkeys and entries recursively.
/?
Displays help for reg compare at the command prompt.
Remarks
The following table lists the return values for reg compare. Value Description
0 The comparison is successful and the result is identical.
1 The comparison failed.
2 The comparison is successful and differences were found.

The following table lists the symbols displayed in the results. Symbol
Description
= KeyName1 data is equal to KeyName2 data
< KeyName1 data is less than KeyName2 data
KeyName1 data and is greater than KeyName2 data
Click to expand...

Examples
To compare all values under the key MyApp with all values under the key
SaveMyApp, type:

REG COMPARE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp HKLM\Software\MyCo\SaveMyApp

To compare the value for Version under the key MyCo and the value for Version
under the key MyCo1, type:

REG COMPARE HKLM\Software\MyCo HKLM\Software\MyCo1 /v Version

To compare all subkeys and values under HKLM\Software\MyCo on the machine ZODIAC
with all subkeys and values under HKLM\Software\MyCo on the current machine,
type:

REG COMPARE \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo \\. /s

reg copy

Copies a registry entry to a specified location in the local or remote computer.

Syntax
reg copy KeyName1 KeyName2 [/s] [/f]

Parameters
KeyName1
Specifies the full path of the subkey to copy. For specifying remote computers,
include the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as part of the
KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys are HKLM,
HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid root keys
are HKLM and HKU.
KeyName2
Specifies the full path of the subkey destination. For specifying remote
computers, include the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as part of
the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to the
local computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys are
HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid root
keys are HKLM and HKU.
/s
Copies all subkeys and entries under the specified subkey.
/f
Copies the subkey without prompting for confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg copy at the command prompt.
Remarks
Reg does not ask for confirmation when copying a subkey.
The following table lists the return values for the reg copy operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Examples
To copy all subkeys and values under the key MyApp to the key SaveMyApp, type:

REG COPY HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp HKLM\Software\MyCo\SaveMyApp /s

To copy all values under the key MyCo on the machine ZODIAC to the key MyCo1 on
the current machine, type:

REG COPY \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo HKLM\Software\MyCo1

reg delete

Deletes a subkey or entries from the registry.

Syntax
reg delete KeyName [{/v ValueName | /ve | /va}] [/f]

Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey or entry to be deleted. For specifying
remote computers, include the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as
part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to
the local computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys
are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid
root keys are HKLM and HKU.
/v ValueName
Deletes a specific entry under the subkey. If no entry is specified, then all
entries and subkeys under the subkey will be deleted.
/ve
Specifies that only entries that have no value will be deleted.
/va
Deletes all entries under the specified subkey. Subkeys under the specified
subkey are not deleted with this parameter.
/f
Deletes the existing registry subkey or entry without asking for confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg delete at the command prompt.
Remarks
The following table lists the return values for the reg delete operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Examples
To delete the registry key Timeout and its all subkeys and values, type:

REG DELETE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp\Timeout

To delete the registry value MTU under HKLM\Software\MyCo on the machine ZODIAC,
type:

REG DELETE \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo /v MTU

reg export

Copies the specified subkeys, entries, and values of the local computer into a
file for transfer to other servers.

Syntax
reg export KeyName FileName [/y]

Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey. The export operation works only with the
local computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys are
HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC.
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file to be created during the operation. The
file must have a .reg extension.
/y
Overwrites any existing file with the name FileName without prompting for
confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg export at the command prompt.
Remarks
The following table lists the return values for the reg export operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Examples
To export the contents of all subkeys and values of the key MyApp to the file
AppBkUp.reg, type:

reg export HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp AppBkUp.reg

reg import

Copies the contents of a file containing exported registry subkeys, entries, and
values into the registry of the local computer.

Syntax
reg import FileName

Parameters
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file whose contents will be copied into the
registry of the local computer. This file must be created beforehand using reg
export.
/?
Displays help for reg import at the command prompt.
Remarks
The following table lists the return values for the reg import operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Examples
To import registry entries from the file named AppBkUp.reg, type:

reg import AppBkUp.reg

reg load

Writes saved subkeys and entries into a different subkey in the registry.
Intended for use with temporary files used for troubleshooting or editing
registry entries.

Syntax
reg load KeyName FileName

Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey to be loaded. For specifying remote
computers, include the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as part of
the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to the
local computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys are
HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid root
keys are HKLM and HKU.
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file to be loaded. This file must be created
beforehand with the reg save operation using a .hiv extension.
/?
Displays help for reg load at the command prompt.
Remarks
The following table lists the return values for the reg load operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Examples
To load the file named TempHive.hiv to the key HKLM\TempHive, type:

REG LOAD HKLM\TempHive TempHive.hiv

reg query

Returns a list of the next tier of subkeys and entries located under a specified
subkey in the registry.

Syntax
reg query KeyName [{/v ValueName | /ve}] [/s][/se Separator] [/f Data] [{/k |
/d}] [/c] [/e] [/t Type] [/z]

Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey. For specifying remote computers, include
the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as part of the KeyName.
Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to the local computer.
The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR,
HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid root keys are HKLM and
HKU.
/v ValueName
Specifies the registry value name to be queried. If omitted, all value names for
KeyName are returned. ValueName for this parameter is optional if the /f option
is also used.
/ve
Queries for value names that are empty.
/s
Specifies to query all subkeys and value names recursively.
/se Separator
Specifies the single value separator for which to search in value names of type
REG_MULTI_SZ. If Separator is not specified, "\0" is used.
/f Data
Specifies the data or pattern for which to search. Use double quotes if a string
contains spaces. If not specified, a wildcard ("*") is used as the search
pattern.
/k
Specifies to search in key names only.
/d
Specifies to search in data only.
/c
Specifies that the query is case sensitive. By default, queries are not case
sensitive.
/e
Specifies to return only exact matches. By default, all the matches are
returned.
/t Type
Specifies registry types to search. Valid types are: REG_SZ, REG_MULTI_SZ,
REG_EXPAND_SZ, REG_DWORD, REG_BINARY, REG_NONE. If not specified, all types are
searched.
/z
Specifies to include the numeric equivalent for the registry type in search
results.
/?
Displays help for reg query at the command prompt.
Remarks
The following table lists the return values for the reg query operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Examples
To display the value of the name value Version in the
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit key, type:

REG QUERY HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit /v Version

To display all subkeys and values under the key
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit\Nt\Setup on remote machine ABC, type:

REG QUERY \\ABC\HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit\Nt\Setup /s

To display all the subkeys and values of type REG_MULTI_SZ using "#" as the
separator, type:

REG QUERY HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit\Nt\Setup /se #

To display the key, value and data for exact and case sensitive matches of
"SYSTEM" under the HKLM root of data type REG_SZ, type:

REG QUERY HKLM /f SYSTEM /t REG_SZ /c /e

To display the key, value and data for matches of "0F" in data under the HKCU
root key of data type REG_BINARY.

REG QUERY HKCU /f 0F /d /t REG_BINARY

TO display the value and data for value names of null (Default) under
HKLM\SOFTWARE, type:

REG QUERY HKLM\SOFTWARE /ve

reg restore

Writes saved subkeys and entries back to the registry.

Syntax
reg restore KeyName FileName

Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey to be restored. The restore operation
works only with the local computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key.
Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC.
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file that whose contents be written into the
registry. This file must be created beforehand with the reg save operation using
a .hiv extension.
/?
Displays help for reg restore at the command prompt.
Remarks
Before editing any registry entries, save the parent subkey with the reg save
operation. If the edit fails, restore the original subkey with the reg restore
operation.
The following table lists the return values for the reg restore operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Examples
To restore the file named NTRKBkUp.hiv into the key
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit, overwriting the existing contents of the key,
type:

REG RESTORE HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit NTRKBkUp.hiv

reg save

Saves a copy of specified subkeys, entries, and values of the registry in a
specified file.

Syntax
reg save KeyName FileName [/y]

Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey. For specifying remote computers, include
the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as part of the KeyName.
Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to the local computer.
The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR,
HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid root keys are HKLM and
HKU.
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file that is created. If no path is
specified, then the current path is used.
/y
Overwrite any existing file with a name of FileName without prompting for
confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg save at the command prompt.
Remarks
The following table lists the return values for the reg save operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Before editing any registry entries, save the parent subkey with the reg save
operation. If the edit fails, restore the original subkey with the reg restore
operation.
Examples
To save the hive MyApp into the current folder as a file named AppBkUp.hiv,
type:

REG SAVE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp AppBkUp.hiv

reg unload

Removes a section of the registry that was loaded using the reg load operation.

Syntax
reg unload KeyName

Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey to be unloaded. For specifying remote
computers, include the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as part of
the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\ causes the operation to default to the
local computer. The KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid root keys are
HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid root
keys are HKLM and HKU.
/?
Displays help for reg unload at the command prompt.
Remarks
The following table lists the return values for the reg unload operation. Value
Description
0 Success
1 Failure

Examples
To unload the hive TempHive in HKLM, type:

REG UNLOAD HKLM\TempHive



Jerold Schulman
Windows: General MVP
JSI, Inc.
http://www.jsiinc.com
 
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