Error Messages When Saving Changes to REGEDIT.EXE

• Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.1, 3.11

SYMPTOMS

When you save changes in the Registration Information Editor (REGEDIT.EXE), you may receive one of the following error messages:

• Cannot write to file REG.DAT. Make sure there is enough space on the disk.

  -or-

• Cannot write to file REG.DAT. Make sure there is enough space on the disk. Do you want to close Registration Info Editor?

CAUSE

You may receive these errors under the following conditions even if there is sufficient disk space:

• A copy of the REG.DAT is currently open in any editor.
• The REG.DAT file has been set to read only.
• The PATH statement in you AUTOEXEC.BAT file does not contain a fully qualified reference to the Windows directory. For example:

        PATH=C:\;\WINWORD;\DOS;\WINDOWS;
  

WORKAROUND

You may receive this error message if you have a copy of REG.DAT open with any type of editor, for example, Windows Write. To resolve the problem, switch to the editor and close the REG.DAT file before making any changes to REG.DAT from REGEDIT.EXE.

If you receive an error and you have verified that there is enough available disk space and that you don't have a copy open in an editor, check the file properties of the REG.DAT file to see if the file is set to read only.

If the file is marked read only, removing the read-only attribute may eliminate the error message. To change the properties of the REG.DAT file through File Manager, do the following:

1. In File Manager, select the REG.DAT file in the Windows directory.

2. From the File menu, choose Properties.

3. Change the attributes in the Properties dialog box.

MORE INFORMATION

If removing the read-only attribute doesn't resolve the problem, you may need to rename and then rebuild REG.DAT. For more information, query on the following words here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   windows and default and REG.DAT and rebuild