Using Notepad to Search the Registry for Values and Keys

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system, version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server, version 3.1

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

Searching for a particular value in the Windows NT Registry can be very time consuming. Registry Editor provides a Find Key function to search for a particular key, but it has its limitations. You may know the value you want, but have no idea what key to look under.

For example, you want to remove an entry which loads an application each time you log onto Windows NT. You know that in Windows 3.x the filename would be on the LOAD= line of the WIN.INI file. However, you do not know what key it would be under in the Windows NT Registry. Using the Find Key option doesn't help because you don't know what key to look for. The following procedure uses Notepad to help you search the Registry database:

1. Start Registry Editor from the Administrative Tools group.

2. Select the desired subtree, such as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

3. Select the main key you want to search. If you want to search the entire subtree, select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

4. From the Registry menu and choose Save Subtree As.

5. Type a filename such as SEARCH.TXT.

6. Open SEARCH.TXT with Notepad.

7. Open the Search menu and choose Find.

8. Enter the key, value, or text to search for.