Windows Registry

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The registry is stored as USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT in the %WINDIR% directory, and also CLASSES.DAT in Windows ME. There may also be separate USER.DAT files in user profile directories.
 
The registry is stored as USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT in the %WINDIR% directory, and also CLASSES.DAT in Windows ME. There may also be separate USER.DAT files in user profile directories.
  
* [http://www.forensicswiki.org/wiki/Windows_9x_Registry_File_%28CREG%29 Forensics Wiki: Windows 9x Registry File (CREG)]
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* [{{ForensicsWikiURL|windows_9x_registry_file_%28creg%29}} Forensics Wiki: Windows 9x Registry File (CREG)]
  
 
== Windows NT and up ==
 
== Windows NT and up ==
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The registry is stored in binary files in %SystemRoot%\System32\Config\.
 
The registry is stored in binary files in %SystemRoot%\System32\Config\.
  
* [http://www.forensicswiki.org/wiki/Windows_NT_Registry_File_%28REGF%29 Forensics Wiki: Windows NT Registry File (REGF)]
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* [{{ForensicsWikiURL|windows_nt_registry_file_%28regf%29}} Forensics Wiki: Windows NT Registry File (REGF)]
  
 
== .REG files ==
 
== .REG files ==
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== Links ==
 
== Links ==
 
* [https://github.com/libguestfs/hivex hivex]
 
* [https://github.com/libguestfs/hivex hivex]
* [http://www.forensicswiki.org/wiki/Windows_Registry Forensics Wiki: Windows Registry]
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* [{{ForensicsWikiURL|windows_registry}} Forensics Wiki: Windows Registry]
 
* [[Wikipedia:Windows Registry|Wikipedia: Windows Registry]]
 
* [[Wikipedia:Windows Registry|Wikipedia: Windows Registry]]
 
* [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724871.aspx MSDN registry reference]
 
* [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724871.aspx MSDN registry reference]

Revision as of 14:47, 4 September 2023

File Format
Name Windows Registry
Ontology
Extension(s) .dat, .reg
Kaitai Struct Spec regf.ksy

The Windows Registry is used in various versions of Microsoft Windows to hold a number of configuration settings that affect how Windows and programs running under Windows run. Registry contents are stored in several separate files called hives, whose location and format differ by version of Windows.

Contents

Windows 3.11

The registry file is called REG.DAT and is in the %WINDIR% directory (the directory configured as the one holding system files).

Windows 9x, ME

The registry is stored as USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT in the %WINDIR% directory, and also CLASSES.DAT in Windows ME. There may also be separate USER.DAT files in user profile directories.

Windows NT and up

The registry is stored in binary files in %SystemRoot%\System32\Config\.

.REG files

Registry entries can be exported in a text-based, INI-like format as .REG files. In Windows 2000 and later, the file begins with "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00", while earlier versions began with "REGEDIT4".

Sample files

Links

Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
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