Mastering Windows 2000 Registry

The Registry is probably one of the most misunderstood, praised, and cursed portions of the Windows operating system today. This book on the Windows 2000 Registry covers areas such as optimization, fixing problems and disaster recovery in addition to the traditional information on Keys, Entries and Data Types. You will find that Hipson tends to take the "official" Microsoft position on many items. However, there are many third party alternatives out there to help resolve problems. For example, as consultants our company often has to work on a system that we did not set up. So, since security is often messed up, the registry has problems, etc. we find ourselves in the position of having to boot the system in DOS and access the NTFS drive to repair a problem (and, No, I am not going to explain here how to reset the Administrator password this way). Hipson indicates that it can't be done (the official Microsoft position). However, there are many third party utilities out there in the real world that make this a no-brainer to do. While this book contains a great deal of very good and very detailed information on the registry, the text actually is written in a very choppy manner. It is an exceptional text to have around to help resolve a problem but not a particularly easy one to read from beginning to end. In short, a better reference than a read, but an exceptional reference at that.

Great book! Coming from an NT4 background with a reasonable knowledge of it's registry, this book built on that and explained all the new additions and formats in Win2K. It was a great help getting to grips with all the new features and clearly explained the unexplainable - The Registry...

The Windows Registry, the nervous system for Windows 95, 98, and NT, is a complex and misunderstood element of the Microsoft Operating System architecture. Just as absorbing all the facets of the human nervous system is difficult, covering the topic of Registry from all the aspects is too gigantic undertaking to be practical in market today. I feel this book is better than 98 series in terms of organization, cross references and security information. As for me, the extent of usefulness was limted because I wanted some specific information regarding registry- setting multiple icons(superimposed) on my company's system. At places, I wanted the counterparts in NT, but I think that was too much to ask. Nonetheless, the author strives to put in some good tricks.Unlike the books that are just for beginners( too slow paced books, I mean), this book is ok for experienced Windows(and novices) users moving to the 2000 platform, power users, administrators who manage Windows 2000 and maintain clients, and programmers interested in manipulating the Registry( better luck with the information you are looking for)Better luck with Registry.