Microsoft DOS reg command
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About reg
Availability
Syntax
Examples
About reg
Command line registry tool that enables you to change, display, update, and otherwise manipulate the registry from the prompt.
Availability
The reg.exe command is an external command that is available in the below Microsoft operating systems.
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
Syntax
Console Registry Tool for Windows - version 3.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1981-2001. All rights reserved
REG Operation [Parameter List]
Operation [ QUERY | ADD | DELETE | COPY | SAVE | LOAD | UNLOAD | RESTORE | COMPARE | EXPORT | IMPORT ]
Return Code: (Except of REG COMPARE)
0 - Succussful
1 - Failed
REG QUERY
REG QUERY KeyName [/v ValueName | /ve] [/s]
KeyName |
[\Machine\]FullKey |
Machine |
Name of remote machine, omitting defaults to the current machine
Only HKLM and HKU are available on remote machines |
FullKey |
in the form of ROOTKEY\SubKey name
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKCU | HKCR | HKU | HKCC ]
SubKey - The full name of a registry key under the selected ROOTKEY |
/v |
query for a specific registry key |
ValueName |
The name, under the selected Key, to query if omitted, all values under the Key are queried |
/ve |
query for the default value or empty value name <no name> |
/s |
queries all subkeys and values |
REG ADD
REG ADD KeyName [/v ValueName | /ve] [/t Type] [/s Separator] [/d Data] [/f]
KeyName |
[\\Machine\]FullKey |
Machine |
Name of remote machine - omitting defaults to the current
machine Only HKLM and HKU are available on remote machines |
FullKey |
ROOTKEY\SubKey
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKCU | HKCR | HKU | HKCC ]
SubKey The full name of a registry key under the selected ROOTKEY |
/v |
The value name, under the selected Key, to add |
/ve |
adds an empty value name <no name> for the key |
/t RegKey |
data types
[ REG_SZ | REG_MULTI_SZ | REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN | REG_DWORD | REG_BINARY | REG_DWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN | REG_NONE | REG_EXPAND_SZ ]
If omitted, REG_SZ is assumed |
/s |
Specify one charactor that you use as the separator in your data
string for REG_MULTI_SZ. If omitted, use "\0" as the separator |
/d |
The data to assign to the registry ValueName being added |
/f |
Force overwriting the existing registry entry without prompt |
REG DELETE
REG DELETE KeyName [/v ValueName | /ve | /va] [/f]
KeyName |
[\\Machine\]FullKey |
Machine |
Name of remote machine - omitting defaults to the current machine
Only HKLM and HKU are available on remote machines |
FullKey |
ROOTKEY\SubKey
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKCU | HKCR | HKU | HKCC ]
SubKey The full name of a registry key under the selected ROOTKEY
|
ValueName |
The value name, under the selected Key, to delete
When omitted, all subkeys and values under the Key are deleted |
/ve |
delete the value of empty value name <no name> |
/va |
delete all values under this key |
/f |
Forces the deletion without prompt |
REG COPY
REG COPY KeyName1 KeyName2 [/s] [/f]
KeyName |
[\\Machine\]FullKey |
Machine |
Name of remote machine - omitting defaults to the current machine
Only HKLM and HKU are available on remote machines |
FullKey |
ROOTKEY\SubKey
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKCU | HKCR | HKU | HKCC ]
SubKey The full name of a registry key under the selected ROOTKEY |
/s |
Copies all subkeys and values |
/f |
Forces the copy without prompt |
REG SAVE
REG SAVE KeyName FileName
KeyName |
ROOTKEY\SubKey
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKCU | HKCR | HKU | HKCC ]
SubKey The full name of a registry key under the selected ROOTKEY |
FileName |
The name of the disk file to save. If no path is specified, the file is created in the current folder of the calling process |
REG RESTORE
REG RESTORE KeyName FileName
KeyName |
ROOTKEY\SubKey (local machine only)
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKCU | HKCR | HKU | HKCC ]
SubKey The full name of a registry key to restore the hive file into.
Overwriting the existing key's values and subkeys |
FileName |
The name of the hive file to restore
You must use REG SAVE to create this file |
REG LOAD
REG LOAD KeyName FileName
KeyName |
ROOTKEY\SubKey (local machine only)
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKU ]
SubKey The key name to load the hive file into. Creating a new key |
FileName |
The name of the hive file to load
You must use REG SAVE to create this file |
REG UNLOAD
REG UNLOAD KeyName
KeyName |
ROOTKEY\SubKey (local machine only)
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKU ]
SubKey The key name of the hive to unload |
REG COMPARE
REG COMPARE KeyName1 KeyName2 [/v ValueName | /ve] [Output] [/s]
KeyName |
[\\Machine\]FullKey
Machine Name of remote machine - omitting defaults to the current machine
Only HKLM and HKU are available on remote machines
FullKey ROOTKEY\SubKey
If FullKey2 is not specified, FullKey2 is the same as FullKey1
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKCU | HKCR | HKU | HKCC ]
SubKey The full name of a registry key under the selected ROOTKEY |
ValueName |
The value name, under the selected Key, to compare
When omitted, all values under the Key are compared |
/ve |
compare the value of empty value name <no name> |
/s |
Compare all subkeys and values |
Output |
[/oa | /od | /os | /on]
When omitted, output only differences
/oa Output all of differences and matches
/od Output only differences
/os Output only matches
/on No output
Return Code:
0 - Succussful, the result compared is identical
1 - Failed
2 - Successful, the result compared is different |
REG EXPORT
REG EXPORT KeyName FileName
Keyname |
ROOTKEY\SubKey (local machine only)
ROOTKEY [ HKLM | HKCU | HKCR | HKU | HKCC ]
SubKey The full name of a registry key under the selected ROOTKEY
|
FileName |
The name of the disk file to export |
REG IMPORT
REG IMPORT FileName
FileName |
The name of the disk file to import (local machine only) |
Examples
Each of the below examples are the examples Microsoft has listed in each of the command help menus available through the /? switch on this command.
Reg query examples:
REG QUERY HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit /v Version
Displays the value of the registry value Version
REG QUERY HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit\Nt\Setup /s
Displays all subkeys and values under the registry key Setup
Reg add Examples:
REG ADD \\ABC\HKLM\Software\MyCo
Adds a key HKLM\Software\MyCo on remote machine ABC
REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v Data /t REG_BINARY /d fe340ead
Adds a value (name: Data, type: REG_BINARY, data: fe340ead)
REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v MRU /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d fax\0mail
Adds a value (name: MRU, type: REG_MUTLI_SZ, data: fax\0mail\0\0)
REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v Path /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d %%systemroot%%
Adds a value (name: Path, type: REG_EXPAND_SZ, data: %systemroot%)
Notice: Use the double percentage ( %% ) inside the expand string
Reg delete examples:
REG DELETE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp\Timeout
Deletes the registry key Timeout and its all subkeys and values
REG DELETE \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo /v MTU
Deletes the registry value MTU under MyCo on ZODIAC
Reg copy examples:
REG COPY HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp HKLM\Software\MyCo\SaveMyApp /s
Copies all subkeys and values under the key MyApp to the key SaveMyApp
REG COPY \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo HKLM\Software\MyCo1
Copies all values under the key MyCo on ZODIAC to the key MyCo1
on the current machine
Reg save examples:
REG SAVE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp AppBkUp.hiv
Saves the hive MyApp to the file AppBkUp.hiv in the current folder
Reg restore examples:
REG RESTORE HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit NTRKBkUp.hiv
Restores the file NTRKBkUp.hiv overwriting the key ResKit
Reg load examples:
REG LOAD HKLM\TempHive TempHive.hiv
Loads the file TempHive.hiv to the Key HKLM\TempHive
Reg unload examples:
REG UNLOAD HKLM\TempHive
Unloads the hive TempHive in HKLM
Reg compare examples:
REG COMPARE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp HKLM\Software\MyCo\SaveMyApp
Compares all values under the key MyApp with SaveMyApp
REG COMPARE HKLM\Software\MyCo HKLM\Software\MyCo1 /v Version
Compares the value Version under the key MyCo and MyCo1
REG COMPARE \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo \\. /s
Compares all subkeys and values under HKLM\Software\MyCo on ZODIAC
with the same key on the current machine
Reg export examples:
REG EXPORT HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp AppBkUp.reg
Exports all subkeys and values of the key MyApp to the file AppBkUp.reg
Reg import examples:
REG IMPORT AppBkUp.reg
Imports registry entrys from the file AppBkUp.reg |