Tackle the Windows 98 Registry
`with Confidence!
`
`A Reference for
`the Rest of Usf
`by Glenn E. Weadock
`& Mark B. Wilkins
`Coauthors of Window .. 95 Refllstry For Du"'",/ ...
`
`The Fun and Easy War
`to Edit the Reglstry_
`Safely
`Your First Aid Kit.
`for Fixing Registry
`Problems
`REGEDIT, SCANREG,
`and BATCH - Explained
`in Plain English
`
`1
`
`HP 1024
`
`

`

`Windows® 98 Registry For Dummies®
`Published by
`IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.
`An International Data Group Company
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`~I\"\·I. i dgbooks. com (lDG Books Worldwide Web site)
`W\·I~I. dummi es. com (Dummies Press Web site)
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`2
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`

`

`Introduction
`
`he Windows 98 Registry is a vitally important part of Windows 98. Every
`document we've seen that discusses the Registry invariably refers to it
`as "the heart of Windows 98." That's true; the Registry contains just about
`every bit of information that matters about the hardware and software in a
`Windows 98 PC. You probably aren't aware of it, but Windows 98 and the
`programs you run with it use the Registry tens of thousands of times in a
`typical work session. Windows 98 can't blow its virtual nose without access(cid:173)
`ing the Registry a few hundred times.
`
`For something so important, getting information about the Registry sure
`hasn't been easy. The documentation that you receive with Windows 98
`doesn't tell you anything about it. (Okay, that documentation doesn't tell
`you much of anything about anything.) The Windows 98 software package
`contains practically no online help about the Registry. Even the seemingly
`encyclopedic, 1,600-page Windows 98 Resource Kit covers the Registry very
`lightly. This, despite the fact that the Registry gets 62 pages of coverage
`versus 18 pages in the Windows 95 Resource Kit and includes some TCP/IP
`and modem settings.
`
`So, we thought that Windows 98 users could use a book like Windows 98
`Registry For Dummies, which provides the information you need to use the
`Registry safely and to protect the Registry from problems that can range
`from inconvenient to disastrous. We give you many down-and-dirty details
`on how to change the Registry so that it bends to your will, rather than
`bending you to its. We explain cool Registry features that many Windows 98
`users don't know exist, such as user profiles, hardware profiles, and system
`policies. We even tell you about a few Windows 98 bugs that you can fix by
`editing the Registry.
`
`Windows 98 Registry For Dummies is very likely the only book you need to
`read or own on the subject, unless you're a professional programmer, in
`which case you may need to buy five or six books (but read ours firstl).
`Certainly, our goal as authors is to include everything that the vast majority
`of our readers would need to know about the Registry.
`
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