Saturday, April 11, 2009 Windows Registry, a Mystery to Most, and Where Most Fear to Tread.           I am going to show you how to edit the registry and fix some common problems. These simple fixes can be huge to you though because it means you can avoid the computer repair shop and save some money. This is a must read article so be ready to print, copy, or take notes!             What is the registry? I hear it most referred to as a hive. To me it is kind of like a three-dimensional spider web. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the architecture here. Just imagine that it is a complex threadwork of pathways that your computer takes on its’ search for a particular file. Over time the structure begins to break down for various reasons.              Broken links, dead ends, missing files the list goes on. Every software program on your computer has roots in the registry. As these paths are broken and accumulate what you have is your computer searching for files that “no longer exist at the specified location.” You are now at the point where you need to use a registry program to regain functionality and speed up your computer. Once your registry is clean and functioning properly you will be ready to edit it.            My first tip will optimize your internet performance. This tip is only for broadband and cable connections running on 2000, XP, and above. Phone modem connections will not be enhanced. The default setting for the receive buffer in windows is set too low for today’s high speed internet. Windows uses the receive buffer to temporarily store packets it receives from the internet. The faster your connection and the higher your connection’s latency, the bigger the receive buffer needs to be. To fix this we need to edit the value in the registry.               STOP! Before you proceed set a system restore point. Follow closely because incorrectly editing the registry can cause your system to become unbootable. To avoid confusion I will list the steps line by line.  Now, let’s edit. From the desktop go to:\Start\ Run\ Type in regedit.exe and choose ok.         STOP backup your registry now by clicking file then export. Name and date it and save to your hard drive. To restore the backup go through the same process except choose import instead of export. Now let’s continue. We are going to create a new registry key. Look to the left side and find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and select it: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ Parameters\  Up top choose:\ Edit\New\ DWORD Value\            Rename the new registry key to TcpWindowSize. To modify the registry setting double click on the new registry key. Change the base setting to decimal and enter the value 64240 and click ok then exit regedit. You will now need to reboot for the change to take effect.               My next tip is for those of you who have recently reinstalled the windows operating system and now have a problem with num lock coming on as the system loads. You can have num lock set to ON in the bios and it lights up on the keyboard only to go off as the operating system loads. To fix this we need to edit the registry. Even for those of you reading this that don’t have this problem you might want to keep this information somewhere for future reference.              We are going to enter the registry the same way as before so follow along. Start\Run\ Regedit.exe\   enter registry and open the following folders:\ HKEY_USER\Control Panel\ Keyboard\         In the keyboard folder find the string value named “InitialKeyboardIndicators” with a value of 0, 1, or 2.   0=off after logon,   1=Disable num lock, and   2=on after logon. The value needs to be set at 2 for num lock to be turned on as the operating system starts. Change the value just like last time if it is not.             I hope this was helpful to you. Look for more tips in my next article where I will show you how to make an MS-DOS batchfile and give you the commands to fix issues with CD drive recognition in windows, and fix windows update when it fails to work. Good Luck!                                                                    Alan Hohenbrink 10:38 pm est

2009.04.05 | 2009.03.15 | 2009.03.01 | 2009.02.01

Name:
Email address:	* required
Ask a Question:

Dont take it out on your computer. Download the tools you need.                                                        Keep it running clean and fast!!