Microsoft® Windows® Internals: Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000, 4th Edition

The Registry

The registry plays a key role in the configuration and control of Windows systems. It is the repository for both systemwide and per-user settings. Although most people think of the registry as static data stored on the hard disk, as you'll see in this section, the registry is also a window into various in-memory structures maintained by the Windows executive and kernel. This section isn't meant to be a complete reference to the contents of the Windows registry. That kind of in-depth information is documented in the "Technical Reference to the Windows 2000 Registry" help file in the Windows 2000 resource kits (Regentry.chm), and for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 that information can be found online as part of the Windows Server ...