Searching the registry from a command line in Windows 2000 Professional

by Jim Boyce | Feb 06, 2006 8:00:00 AM

Tags: Microsoft Windows, Jim Boyce, registry, Regfind.exe, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Professional Tips Newsletter

4 comment(s)

Takeaway: Jim Boyce shows us a command-line registry search alternative that will save you time and effort when working with Windows 2000 Professional.

If you work with the registry at all, it is likely that you have spent some time searching through the registry in Registry Editor, looking for keys or values. The registry can contain thousands of elements, so finding the one you seek can be time-consuming.

If you are looking for a command-line alternative to registry search, whether as an alternative to Registry Editor or to integrate in batch files or scripts, the Windows 2000 Resource Kit has a solution for you.

The Regfind.exe tool enables you to search the registry data, key names, or value names on the local or a remote computer. Regfind.exe supports numerous arguments to help you refine the registry search, such to search for specific types of values or malformed REG_SZ and REG_EXPAND_SZ values.

Besides providing search capability, Regfind.exe also enables you to replace values in the registry. This capability can be particularly useful for replacing multiple instances of a value located in different subkeys. It is a good idea to perform a search in the registry first, without using the replace argument to identify what Regfind.exe will change. Also, it is recommended that you back up the pertinent parts of the registry by exporting the key or subkey to a registry script file.