Windows Me Annoyances

Registry Tools

The Registry Editor is included with Windows for viewing and changing the contents of the Registry. Unfortunately, this utility is quite limited, especially when compared with some of the other tools available. The following is a list of a few software utilities intended for use with the Registry, available at the time of this writing. Naturally, you’ll want to back up your Registry before playing with an unfamiliar tool. See http://www.annoyances.org for more information on downloadable software:

Registry Search and Replace

This is a full-featured tool used to make a global search and replace in the Registry much easier and quicker. Its interface could use a little streamlining, but otherwise it’s fine.

Norton Utilities

This commercial package comes with an enhanced Registry Editor, as well as many other tools. It’s commercial software, so no freebees here. The Norton Registry Editor is similar to the Windows Registry Editor, but comes with several perks, such as a utility that tracks changes in the Registry, a search-and-replace utility, and other stuff.

TweakUI

The options in this little Control-Panel add-on make certain Windows settings more accessible, settings that would otherwise require editing the Registry. TweakUI is available from http://www.annoyances.org. See Appendix A for details.

Creative Element Power Tools

This collection of tools for Windows Me and Windows 2000 includes a bunch of context-menu add-ons that aren’t otherwise possible with simple changes ...