Top three Most Useful Windows Registry Tricks

Now that we know about the basics of windows registry(from the earlier posts in this series) its time to put knowledge to some practical use. This would visibly be the last post of the series since the basic purpose of the series was to make you learn about the basics of the windows registry and the it has been fulfilled. But we will definitely keep you posted on newer and newer tips, tricks and tweaks in your windows registry in our registry category. Hence in this post you will learn to apply some of the Top Most Useful Windows Registry Tricks.

Cleaning the Registry (Top Registry cleaners) !!

In the earlier post of this series we learned to open, edit and backup the registry. Now, as we know that registry contains all the system information and that is a huge load of information. So, it is quite difficult for the computer to maintain all of it. Hence there are some unwanted elements. Windows creates a lot of new entries and never cares to delete it and with time there will be so many errors and entries that it will make your system to crawl like a snail. So, there is creation of quite a lot of unwanted entries in our system. Cleaning the registry may even speed up your computer's booting process. Efficiency of registry cleaning by windows itself is very low. So, it is very important to clean your registry from time to time. 

How to open, edit and backup the windows registry?

In the previous post of the series we learned about the Objective, basic concepts & terminologies of the registry. That surely would have increased your curiosity of knowing about how to open and edit the Windows Registry. In this post I would tell you about how to open the registry editor and also how to backup and restore the windows registry. 

But before that i would like to warn you that be extremely cautious before editing the registry as it can potentially be quite destructive. Simply deleting a registry key without thought may lead to complete dis-functioning of a software, and little unknown fault may even lead to re-installing the whole windows. So, my advice would be know what you are doing before you do it and stay away from any key that you feel strange about.

What is Registry? The Basic Concepts

We all want to customize our Personal Computers and keep them organised in our own convenient way. But there is always some kind of limitation to what can be done directly in the world, and you always have to dig down deeper to get the desired result. But to dig down deeper you need to have some kind of  tool in your hand to fulfill the purpose and on the other hand have the knowledge about the tool to get the better results. Now, when it comes to windows, Registry editor is that tool and i will tell you about the usage of the same in this series.

There are a lot of small problems in your PC come up from time to time and you have absolutely no idea how to deal with them or there are some little tweaks that you want to carry out in your PC showing a lot of software shortcuts but you do not know how to do it like  getting your pen drive write protected or cleaning your messed up context menu. Well, practically speaking you can solve 80% of those small problems just by editing your registry if you just know how to do it. In this series I will tell you how to do it and later will keep you posted with the direct steps.

DISABLE RIGHT CLICK IN WINDOWS

You may not want users to have access to the right click menu. This can be useful when you don’t want people editing the start menu or even messing up with your computer. So here is the way to Disable the right click on your computer.

[ Note : This may not work in windows 7]

HOW TO GET START MENU IN WINDOWS 8

Windows 8 has added a new bar called the charms bar instead of taskbar and it is missing the start button. This bar has changed how the the people used to navigate in windows. And most of people disapprove the absence of start button .Here is the way you can get it back you just have to make some changes in registry file.

Making changes in the registry file will also revert Windows 8 Metro UI, Windows Explorer, and Task Manager in Windows 7.

How to Clean up your Windows Context Menu

It is very irritating to see the clutter applications create in your context menu and we barely use any application from the context menu but when we right click to use some other function a huge list of unwanted programs opens up. Here is the tutorial to remove them from the context menu.

It can be done in two ways :

->> By use of software (Easy way)

->> By hacking into the registry (Geeky way)

HOW TO INSTALL WINDOWS 8 OS SIDE BY SIDE WITH OTHER OS

If you want to check out windows 8 without having to lose your own earlier windows operating system then here is the way for you. You can keep both the operating systems by simply partitioning the drive and installing the windows 8 in the other one. By this way you get to keep your old operating system and you can also check out the new windows OS thoroughly.

HOW TO MAKE BOOTALBE WINDOWS 8 USB PEN DRIVE

With the recent launch of windows 8 developer preview you must be wanting to sneak on it. So to install it you would need a Bootable device in your PC specially if you want to Install windows 8 with existing OS. If you do not want to go to market and buy a blank DVD then burn it. The easy way to do it is boot it via USB Pen drive.

How to Create Windows 7 Recovery Disc

There is always a chance of software crash with your system. Many desktop or laptop manufacturer doesn’t provides you the recovery CD/DVD . With a OS recovery disc you can recover your system from OS software crash . If you don’t have Windows installation disc or you don’t have access to the recovery options provided by your computer manufacturer then here is how you can create a system repair disc .

How to Reset Vista or Windows 7 Password

If somehow you have forgotten your vista or windows 7 password and can't find your way back in there is no need to worry. This is the simplest method of resetting the password. You only need a windows installation CD/USB to reset the password. It relies on unpatched bug in windows operating system.

Windows 8 - Review

The windows 8 consumer preview is out to public and it does feel different, rather it is different. This windows is more made with touchscreen users in mind than the PC users. This version of windows has integrated with multiple services like facebook, google, linkedin, flickr. Using these new apps and hubs with a touchscreen can be a joy. But the problem is there is no functional app store yet. Metro style interface may work good on touchscreen devices but it can definitely be a mistake on PC's. There is a difference between a tiny tablet and 27" screen and this windows is definitely going to get a rough welcome. Plus, switching between metro and desktop doesn't quite make sense. Metro is like the beautified but way less functional substitute of desktop. Personally about this whole metro thing i believe microsoft could have done what apple has on this one, make separate OS's for tablets and PC's. 

Windows 8 - Features

So, the windows 8 consumer preview is out to the public. And it definitely changes the look and feel of typical windows. There are some radical changes given to it from the previous version. It is all different from the windows that we have seen for last 25 years more designed to make it work on both PC's and touch screens.