REG: Subsystems Entries, PART 1

Last reviewed: May 8, 1997
Article ID: Q102971

The information in this article applies to:

Windows NT operating system version 3.1
Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

The article contains REGISTRY entries for Subsystems, Part 1. These subgroups are included:

Microsoft OS/2 Version 1.x Software Registration Entries
Windows Software Registration Entries
WOW Software Registration Entries
Windows NT Software Registration Entries

This is the first of two articles on these entries; for the other entries, see "Registry Entries for Subsystems, Part 2".

REGISTRY ENTRIES FOR SUBSYSTEMS

This section describes software registration entries related to Windows NT subsystems.

MICROSOFT OS/2 VERSION 1.X SOFTWARE REGISTRATION ENTRIES

The basic software information for the Microsoft OS/2 version 1.x subsystem is found in the following Registry path:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OS/2 Subsystem for NT

The OS/2 Subsystem key contains several subkeys, but initially only the \config.sys subkey contains an entry. This subkey contains the OS/2 CONFIG.SYS information stored after an OS/2 application has been run on the system.

If there is no OS/2 CONFIG.SYS file, this subkey contains this entry:

   PROTSHELL=C:\os2\pmshell.exe c:\os2\os2.ini c:\os2\os2sys.ini
             %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe
   SET COMSPEC=%SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe

The Os2 subkey under CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\SubSystems defines the path to the executable file used to start the OS/2 subsystem. The Os2LibPath value under the Session Manager\Environment subkey defines the directory path for the OS/2 library.These entries are described in the article "CurrentControlSet\Control Subkeys".

To disable the OS/2 subsystem, set the value of GlobalFlag to 20100000 in the following subkey:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager

WINDOWS SOFTWARE REGISTRATION ENTRIES

The Windows subkey under the following path defines some values used by applications created to run under Windows for MS-DOS:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows

AppInit_DLLs   REG_SZ

Default:

Causes all the specified DLLs (one or many) to be attached to all Windows- based applications. This means that once this is set for a session, upon restarting the system, all the Windows-based applications that run in that session will load the specified DLLs. For example, an applications developer can use it to attach the Microsoft Call/Attributive Profiler to all Windows-based applications by calling CAPSETUP.EXE, which sets the AppInit_DLLs so the user doesn’t have to do it through Registry Editor.

DeviceNotSelectedTimeout   REG_SZ   Seconds

Default: 15

Specifies how much time the system waits for a device to be switched on. If the device is not switched on during this time, the system won’t print to the device. For some devices, the system immediately posts an error message if the device is not already switched on. This entry only defines the system default value. To change the value for a particular printer, use Print Manager.

Spooler   REG_SZ   Boolean

Default: Yes

Specifies whether output to the printer is to be sent through Print Manager. Changing this value to No turns off Print Manager. Used by applications that look for this value in WIN.INI.

swapdisk   REG_SZ   drive:directory

Provides the name of the disk drive and directory to which Windows for MS- DOS in standard mode swaps non-Windows-based applications. Default: The directory pointed to by the TEMP environment variable; if there is no TEMP variable, the default is the boot directory of your first hard disk (usually C:).

TransmissionRetryTimeout   REG_SZ   Seconds

Default: 45

Specifies the default amount of time for attempted transmission retries. If a successful transmission does not occur during this time, Print Manager displays a message stating that the printer is not receiving characters. This setting serves only as the system default value. To change the value for a particular printer, use Print Manager.

WOW SOFTWARE REGISTRATION ENTRIES

Software registration values for the WOW subsystem appear under the following Registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WOW

The WOW subkeys have the same names as headings in the SYSTEM.INI file, and the values are the same items as were contained in the Windows for MS-DOS SYSTEM.INI file. All are REG_SZ value types.

The information provided here is for troubleshooting only.

WOW asubkey         Description and defaults

Boot                Lists drivers and Windows 3.x modules, with these
                    entries and default values to map Windows 3.x drivers
                    to Windows NT.
                    <<Provided for applications that seek this information.
                    Mostly ignored, but drivers are loaded from this
                    source, such as MMSYSTEM.DLL.
                       comm.drv = comm.drv
                       display.drv = vga.drv
                       drivers = mmsystem.dll
                       fixedfon = vgafix.fon
                       keyboard.drv = keyboard.drv
                       language.dll = (empty)
                       mouse.drv = mouse.drv
                       network.drv = lanman.drv
                       oemfonts.fon = vgaoem.fon
                       shell = progman.exe
                       sound.drv = sound.drv
                       system.drv = system.drv
boot.description       Provided for applications that seek this
                       information. Not actually used by the WOW subsystem.
                       Lists names of devices that can be changed using
                       Windows 3.x Setup, with these kinds of entries and
                       default values.
                          display.drv = VGA
                          keyboard.typ = Enhanced 101/102 key U.S. and
                          non U.S. keyboards
                          language.dll = English (American)
                          network.drv = LAN support
                          system.drv = MS-DOS or PC-DOS System
Compatibility          Used to translate 16-bit Windows APIs and messages
                       to 32-bit equivalents.
                          MAILSPL = 0x40000000 (for MS Mail)
                          SHOPPER = 0x20000000  (for Clip-Art Windows
                          Shopper)
                          SHADOW = 0x10000000  (for BeyondMail
                          installation)
                          WINPROJ = 0x80000000  (for Microsoft Project)
                          ESCAPES = 0x1000000 (for Micrographix Escapes)
                          HIRES=0x00100000 (fro HIRES display cards
Keyboard               Contains information about the keyboard, provided
                       for applications that seek this information, with
                       these kinds of entries and default values:
                          keyboard.dll = (empty)
                          subtype = (empty)
                          type=4
NonWindowsAPP          Contains information used by non-Windows- based
                       applications. This is handled automatically by
                       Windows NT. Unless you manually added values to
                       SYSTEM.INI in Windows 3.x, this subkey is empty.
Standard               Contains entries specific to running Windows 3.x in
                       standard mode. Unless you manually added values to
                       SYSTEM.INI in Windows 3.x, this subkey is empty.

The [386Enh] section is read from the SYSTEM.INI file for 16-bit Windows- based applications that need it. There is no Registry equivalent, because Windows NT ignores this information.

WINDOWS NT SOFTWARE REGISTRATION ENTRIES

Printing and fonts are described in separate sections. Other software registration entries for Windows NT are found in this Registry path:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
   CurrentBuild, CurrentType, and CurrentVersion    REG_SZ
   Descriptionsr Identifies the current version of the Windows NT.

InstallDate   REG_DWORD   Number

Describes the installation date for Windows NT.

PathName    REG_SZ   Pathname

Default: C:\winnt

Defines the path where Windows NT system files are saved.

RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner    REG_SZ   Name

Defines the registered organization and owner, as specified during Setup.

SoftwareType   REG_SZ   Type

Default: SYSTEM

Defines the type of software for this version.

SourcePath   REG_SZ

Default: Path for installation media during Setup.

Defines the source of the Setup files.

SystemRoot   REG_SZ

Default: Specified during Setup (typically, C:\winnt)

Defines the path for the directory containing the Windows NT files.

Reference: "The Windows NT Resource Kit for Operating System Version 3.1".

Additional query words: prodnt
Keywords : kbother ntregistry
Version : 3.1
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: May 8, 1997
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