My Favourite Registry Enhancements
October 30, 2006
My friend Tom (See the Cycle Man post… pics, movies, and speed – you should check it out) asked about a registry setting I use this morning and I was able to do a quick look up of it and send it off his way. Well we all have settings that we carry from one PC to another… I just happen to have them in one place and commented profusely…
This file is what I vandalize any PC with that will be mine for any period of time. “Like a tom cat making his mark”, to quote The Bob’s song “Spray”, I’ll spray the registry with my scent.
Are there any I’ve missed? Which settings do you prefer?
Note that a Semicolon comments out MANY of the settings that I think some users may not prefer. The rest of them add to windows and simply make it better.
You may download the file in its entirety here:
TheCodeCave_RegistryEnhancements_public.txt
Save it as a reg file if you like or just rename it later if you want to use it.
I have it saved as a text file because Microsoft has been harrassed into changing their email program so that it assumes most users are idiots and will corrupt their registry if some one sends them a registry file as an attachment. So it prevents the people from even openning the reg file. I usually just rename files to things like “TheFile.exe_StupidMicrosoft” and tell people to “Get rid of “_StupidMicrosoft” to get it to work. But that’s really not fair to MS. Yes, you can say that sentence and not be struck by lightening (I hope). I hate it that so many features have been labeled as security holes in MS software. I should be able to attach and receive anything I want through email. But so many people made a fuss about how you could do that in Outlook that it had to be removed. Sometimes MS can’t win for losing, but that’s a rant for another day… This is one of the few topics that just get me goin’! It’s part of the price we pay for computers and the internet now being in EVERYONE’s homes. There were some nice things about computers being only for geeks… Of course back then I (me mom actually) paid $1600 for a PC XT and now I can go to good will and get it for $10 at good will and a modern equiv for $300. So there are some benifits too – Oi now I’m rambling again…
Here are those registry settings…
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; This file has my standard options. Note that some sections are entirely commented out.
; THESE ARE MY PREFERRED VALUES. YOU MAY OR MAY NOT LIKE HOW THIS CHANGES XP'S BEHAVIOR
; You must go through this whole file and enable or disable the sections you prefer.
; To do this remove or add a leading semicolon to each line.
;
;Brian Layman
;www.thecodecave.com
;This will add "Services" to the right-click menu of "My Computer"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\services]
@=hex(2):53,00,65,00,72,00,76,00,69,00,63,00,65,00,73,00,00,00
"SuppressionPolicy"=dword:4000003c
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\services\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,77,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,69,00,72,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73, 00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6d,00,6d,00,63,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00, 65,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,20,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52, 00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00, 32,00,5c,00,73,00,65,00,72,00,76,00,69,00,63,00,65,00,73,00,2e,00,6d,00,73, 00,63,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,00,00
;This adds the "Open Command Window Here" on the right-click menu for folders
;[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd]
;@="Open Command Window Here"
;[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd\command]
;@="cmd.exe /k \"cd %L\""
;This adds the "Open Z-Tree Here" on the right-click menu for folders
;[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd]
;@="Open Z-Tree Here"
;[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd\command]
;@="C:\Utils\ZTree\ZTW.EXE "%L""
;Disable Windows Picture and Fax Viewer
;[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers\ShellImagePreview]
;Disable Automatic Restart in the event of a BSOD
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl]
"AutoReboot"=dword:00000000
;Disable the Desktop Cleanup Wizard
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\CleanupWiz]
"NoRun"=dword:00000001
;Search assistant settings
;Turn off the animation, and use Ozzar instead of the puppy if you must.
;Always look for all files not just docs
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Search Assistant]
"SocialUI"=dword:00000000
"Actor"="C:\\WINDOWS\\msagent\\chars\\Ozzar.acs"
"UseAdvancedSearchAlways"=dword:00000001
;Adds search keywords to Internet Explorer (in this order: Microsoft Knowledge Base, Altavista, Google, MSN, FileMirrors)
;This little used feature basicaly provides internet explorer 1 line batch files. I've provided some examples
;Example: ggl searchkey
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\MSKB]
@="http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=%s"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\AV]
@="http://www.altavista.com/sites/search/web?q=%s"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\GGL]
@="http://www.google.com/search?q=%s"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\MSN]
@="http://search.msn.com/results.asp?q=%s"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\FM]
@="http://www.filemirrors.com/search.src?file=%s"
;Example: tcc music
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\TCC]
@="http://www.thecodecave.com/%s"
;Example: tww forums
;Example: tww webmail
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\TWW]
@="http://%s.the-WildWest.com/"
;Prevents Internet Explorer windows from being reused
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"AllowWindowReuse"=dword:00000000
;Removes Language Bar
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{540D8A8B-1C3F-4E32-8132-530F6A502090}]
@="Language bar"
"MenuTextPUI"="@%SystemRoot%\\System32\\msutb.dll,-325"
;Populate the Favorites menu in Regedit. This will allow you to get to many common places in RegEdit easily.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Regedit\Favorites]
"Network Parameters"="My Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\lanmanserver\\parameters"
"Winlogon"="My Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\Winlogon"
"TypedURLs"="My Computer\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\TypedURLs"
"History"="My Computer\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Google\\NavClient\\1.1\\History"
;UserAssist is Microsoft's log of everything you do, many places you visit in ie and more. It is encrypted by default.
"UserAssist"="My Computer\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\UserAssist"
"ProfileList"="My Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\ProfileList"
"RunMRU"="My Computer\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\RunMRU"
"Theme Application Rules"="My Computer\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Plus!\\Themes\\Apply"
"Uninstall"="My Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall"
"CU Run"="My Computer\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run"
"LM Run"="My Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run"
;"CU DSI"="My Computer\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\DSI"
;"LM DSI"="My Computer\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\DSI"
"CU RealPlayer Preferences"="My Computer\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\RealNetworks\\RealMediaSDK\\6.0\\Preferences"
"CR RealPlayer Preferences"="My Computer\\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\Software\\RealNetworks\\RealMediaSDK\\6.0\\Preferences"
;Turn off the UserAssist encryption for new entries. Then you can see what is being tracked.
;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\UserAssist]
;"NoEncrypt"=dword:00000001
;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\UserAssist\Settings]
;"NoEncrypt"=dword:00000001
;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\UserAssist\{5E6AB780-7743-11CF-A12B-00AA004AE837}]
;"NoEncrypt"=dword:00000001
;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\UserAssist\{5E6AB780-7743-11CF-A12B-00AA004AE837}\Count]
;"NoEncrypt"=dword:00000001
;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\UserAssist\{75048700-EF1F-11D0-9888-006097DEACF9}]
;"NoEncrypt"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\UserAssist\{75048700-EF1F-11D0-9888-006097DEACF9}\Count]
"NoEncrypt"=dword:00000001
;Max your Internet Explorer's simultaneous downloads to 10 (default was 2)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings]
"MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:0000000a
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:0000000a
;Remove Shared Documents from My Computer
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}]
;Remove Shortcut Arrows
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile]
"IsShortcut"=-
;Allow renaming of Recycle Bin
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
"Attributes"=hex:50,01,00,20
"CallForAttributes"=dword:00000000
;Disables Windows Tour bubble popup
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Tour]
"RunCount"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Tour]
"RunCount"=dword:00000000
;This will allow you to autologin.
;Replace InsertName value with the Username you want to autologin with.
;Replace InsertPassword value with the password corresponding to the Username specified.
;[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
;"DefaultUserName"="InsertName"
;"DefaultPassword"="InsertPassword"
;"AutoAdminLogon"="1"
;NoLowDiskSpaceChecks won't check if you are low on diskspace or pop-up a balloon telling you.
;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
;"NoLowDiskSpaceChecks"=dword:00000001
;NoRecentDocsmenu removes the recent documents from the start menu.
;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
;"NoRecentDocsMenu"=dword:00000001
;Enable certain attachments in Outlook
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Security]
"Level1Remove"=".reg;.exe;.com;.bat;.dll"
;Timestamp all certificates so that they will then not expire if they are unaltered.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VBA\Security]
"TimeStampUrl"="http://timestamp.verisign.com/scripts/timstamp.dll"
"TimeStampRetryCount"=dword:00000003
"TimeStampRetryDelay"=dword:0000001e
;Enable Explorer to open .pk3 files as any zip file. Works with find too.
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pk3]
"Content Type"="application/x-zip-compressed"
"PerceivedType"="compressed"
@="CompressedFolder"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pk3\CompressedFolder]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pk3\CompressedFolder\ShellNew]
"Data"=hex:50,4b,05,06,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pk3\OpenWithProgids]
"CompressedFolder"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pk3\PersistentHandler]
@="{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
;Renable CDRW after SiteWatch has disabled it. SW sets it to 1
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"allocatecdroms"="0"
;Minimize outlook to the tray and hid it from the task bar
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Preferences]
"MinToTray"="1"
;Do not load messenger with outlook express
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Outlook Express]
"Hide Messenger"="2"
;Set your default download directory
;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer]
;"Download Directory"="c:\MyFiles\Downloads"
;Turn off the never used button bar that comes up over pictures
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Photo Support]
"MyPics_Hoverbar"="0"
;Determines the percentage of connection bandwidth that the system can reserve for QoS.
;This value limits the combined bandwidth reservations of all programs running on the system.
;Do not set to 0 or it will revert to the default of 20. Only affects computers with programs that
;reserve bandwidth for QoS.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Psched]
"NonBestEffortLimit"="5"
;Enable Clear Type for the Current User
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"FontSmoothing"="2"
"FontSmoothingType"="2"
;Show/Conceal Hidden Devices in Device Manager
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment]
"DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES"="1"
;Tell windows where to look for your WinXP CD files e.g. "c:\I386"
;[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup]
;"SourcePath"="[Enter the location where you copied the \i386 folder]"
;*********************************************
; This next section allows you to (un)register EXEs, DLLs,
; and TLBs by right clicking on the file and chosing register
; or unregister. This might not sound useful but when
; you are debugging a MS Windows issue, reregistering
; DLLs is sometimes the only solution and using the mouse
; is easier than the command prompt in this situation.
;*********************************************
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\RegisterDLL]
@="Register DLL"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\RegisterDLL\Command]
@="c:\\Windows\\System32\\RegSvr32 \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\UnRegisterDLL]
@="Unregister DLL"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\UnRegisterDLL\Command]
@="c:\\Windows\\System32\\RegSvr32 /u \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\RegisterEXE]
@="Register EXE"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\RegisterEXE\Command]
@="c:\\Windows\\System32\\RegSvr32 \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\UnRegisterEXE]
@="Unregister EXE"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\UnRegisterEXE\Command]
@="c:\\Windows\\System32\\RegSvr32 /u \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.tlb]
@="tlbfile"
"Content Type"="application/x-msdownload"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\tlbfile]
@="Application Type Library"
"AlwaysShowExt"=""
"EditFlags"=hex:01,00,00,00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\tlbfile\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\shell32.dll,-154"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\tlbfile\shell]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\tlbfile\shell\open]
@=""
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\tlbfile\shell\RegisterTLB]
@="Register Type Library"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\tlbfile\shell\RegisterTLB\Command]
@="c:\\Windows\\System32\\tRegSvr \"%1\""
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\tlbfile\shell\UnRegisterTLB]
@="Unregister Type Library"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\tlbfile\shell\UnRegisterTLB\Command]
@="c:\\Windows\\System32\\tRegSvr -u \"%1\""
;*********************************************
; End (un)register EXEs, DLLs, and TLBs
;*********************************************
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