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Edit the registry offline

O&O RegEditor opens the registry of the Windows installation on the disk. You change it as if that Windows were running, for example to remove a startup entry or correct a setting that stops Windows from starting.

Prerequisites: O&O BlueCon is started and the Windows installation is selected as the target system.

Open the registry of the target system​

  1. Click Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > O&O RegEditor.

O&O RegEditor loads the registry of the target system. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS show the keys of that installation, not those of the recovery environment.

If no target system is known, O&O RegEditor asks for the Windows folder of the installation, for example C:\Windows.

Find keys in the offline registry​

No user is signed in to the Windows installation on the disk, and Windows is not running. Some keys you know from a running Windows therefore look different:

In a running WindowsIn O&O RegEditor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERNot shown. The settings of each user are under HKEY_USERS.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTNot shown. Use HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSetNot shown. Windows keeps numbered copies, such as ControlSet001. The value Current under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select names the one Windows uses; it is usually 1, that is ControlSet001.

To get to a key quickly:

  • Edit > Find… searches keys, values and data, optionally for whole words or with a regular expression.
  • Edit > Go to… opens a key by its path. View > Toolbars > Address bar shows the path of the selected key and accepts a path you type.

Change a value​

  1. Export the key you want to change: select it and click File > Export…. Save the .reg file on a drive of the computer or on a USB drive, not on X:.
  2. Change the value.
  3. Close O&O RegEditor. The registry of the target system is unloaded.
  4. Restart the computer from its disk.
Changes are saved at once

O&O RegEditor writes every change directly into the registry of the installation on the disk. There is no automatic backup; export the key before you change it.

Undo a change​

Import the exported file again with File > Import…. The .reg files are compatible with the Windows Registry Editor.

The O&O RegEditor manual describes the program in detail.

Next steps​

Deactivate a driver or service