9.8 Using the Resource Kit Registry Utilities

Microsoft offers a separate package of tools, documentation, and utilities called for each of its operating systems. There are different resource kits for Windows NT Server and Workstation, Windows 2000 Server and Professional,^[5] 98, and 95 (not to mention separate kits for other products, including Exchange and IIS). The resource kits offer a wealth of useful tools and documentation; even though some of the tools are only partly functional, and most are poorly documented, the resource kit for whichever OS you're running is well worth the US$150 or so it costs, since many of its tools are unavailable from any other source.^[6]

^[5] The Server kit includes everything in the Professional kit, so you don't need to buy both.

^[6] Of course, you could argue that these tools should be included with the OS itself. I'd agree with that, but then Microsoft would have to clean up, document, and test the tools, most of which are only of interest to support professionals, system administrators, and the like.

9.8.1 The Windows 2000 Resource Kit

The Windows 2000 resource kit contains only a few Registry-related tools; the primary tool is reg.exe. However, this version of reg.exe does everything that its NT predecessor did, plus what all the other Windows NT resource kit registry tools did. If the old version was like a Swiss Army knife, the Windows 2000 version is more like one of those nifty Leatherman Wave tools that has everything except a hammer in it. There are some other useful items in the Windows 2000 kit, too:

• regentry.chm is a help file that lists most of the interesting Windows 2000 Registry keys and values; it also provides some general introductory guidance to the Registry and its care and feeding.

• gp.chm contains information about the local and domain GPOs available. (You can find the same information, usually in more detail, in Appendix A, and Appendix B.)

• dureg.exe is a nifty tool that produces a size estimate showing how much data is actually in the Registry.

• regback.exe and regrest.exe, covered in Chapter 3, allow you to back up and restore the Registry, or portions thereof.

• regini.exe allows you to change the Registry via an INI-style file.

• regfind.exe is a Registry search tool discussed in Section 9.9.4, later in this chapter; the Windows 2000 version also can search and replace Registry keys and values.

• scanreg.exe allows you to grep the Registry.

9.8.2 The Windows NT Resource Kit

The NT 4.0 resource kit CD has a variety of tools and documents on it. Table 9.4 summarizes items that have something to do with the Registry. Most of these tools originally shipped with the by-now-ancient NT 3.1 Resource Kit. In Summer 1997, Microsoft issued an update to the resource kit (available from ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/reskit/nt40), which adds a new tool, reg.exe. reg supersedes a number of other tools, even though they still appear on the resource kit CD. I've noted the superseded tools in the table so you'll know which ones you can safely skip over.

Table 9.4. Resource Kit Registry Tools

Tool	What It Does	Notes
compreg.exe	Compares contents of two Registry values you specify; like diff	See Section 9.9.3 later in this chapter.
reg.exe	Everything: add, remove, or change keys; load and unload hives, and lots more	See Section 9.9.
regback.exe and regrest.exe	Backs up and restores Registry keys, values, and hives; can restore all or part of a damaged Registry	Covered in Chapter 3.
regchg.exe	Changes a single value from the command line	Superseded by reg.exe.
regdel.exe	Deletes the specified subkey of HKLM from the command line	Superseded by reg.exe.
regdir.exe	Provides a directory-style listing of a specified tree or subkey
regdmp.exe	Dumps the specified key, plus its subkeys and values, in text form
regentry.hlp	Documents many of NT's keys and values
regfind.exe	Searches the Registry for a specified value; works like grep or the search function in RegEdit	See Section 9.9.4 later in this chapter.
regini.exe	Adds, removes, or changes keys based on a command script you write
regkey.exe	Offers a GUI to set several trivial parameters (auto-logon, number of cached user profiles, etc.)	Better to use system policies.
regread.exe	Reads the specified subkey of HKLM and returns its values	Superseded by reg.exe.
regsec.exe	Sets security descriptors on a key and its subkeys; useful for undoing needlessly permissive default ACLs	See Section 9.4 earlier in this chapter.
restkey.exe	Restores a key saved by SAVEKEY	Superseded by reg.exe.
rktools.hlp	Gives a brief description of each tool in the Resource Kit
rregchg.exe	Changes a key's value on a remote machine	Superseded by reg.exe.
savekey.exe	Saves a key's values for later reloading	Superseded by reg.exe.