many ppl hav warned about editing registry unless user is an expert.. many ppl hav used the term 'machine unusable'..etc..well if registry is corrupt, what is the worst thing that can happen.. hardware damage or OS failure? in case of OS failure, OS can again be installed, cant? so the only fear is about loosing all data.. is there anything else that can go wrong if registry gets corrupt while editing? pls explain..
thank you!
2006-10-29 08:05:08 · 12 answers · asked by makey010 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Software
Back up your registry before editing it. That way, if you do something to corrupt the registry, you can always use System Restore to retrieve the working copy. That's a lot easier than trying to reinstall the operating system.
2006-10-29 08:14:45 · answer #1 · answered by Michael 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you edit the registry and you don't know what you are doing, the absolute worse thing that can happen it that you will have to re-install your Operating System (OS) and all of your applications like MS Office, Nero, Spybot, whatever.
Do you have the CD's with the registration keys for this?
Editing the registry will NOT harm your hardware.
Hey, go for it!
But keep in mind that you may have to format / reload EVERYTHING including your hardware drivers.
Do you have all of the CD's / Floppies along with ALL of the subscription / registration information?
If your registry is corrupt, there are some fairly good programs available to try to fix it.
If you don't know what you are doing, I wouldn't advise using regedit or regedit32. I would just format and re-load.
On the other hand, this would be a good way to learn!
If you have all of the CDs necessary to restore, I say GO FOR IT.
That's how I learned! But it was a hard lesson!
Any documents, pictures, movies, and anything else could be lost!
Make a back-up first, if you can. And document EVERYTHING that you change!
Most registry changes won't take effect until you re-boot.
2006-10-29 08:36:06 · answer #2 · answered by troydowning 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It with only damage the OS if you edit the registry. I suggest you get a second hard drive and use programs like Aconis True Image to do daily backups then you can recover the harddrive if their is a failure in the OS. And it is quicker then using the built in backup software. It will also recover from many of the issues that the windows built-in recovery tools can't fix. Then you can damage your OS as much as you want. This is what I do.
2006-10-29 08:38:14 · answer #3 · answered by John T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The worst that can happen is OS failure. You won't lose your data. You can always reinstall OS. Also you have to reinstall any software that has been damaged by registry manipulation.
2006-10-29 08:42:49 · answer #4 · answered by netwalker01 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A LOT OF PEOPLE DONT UNDER STAND THE REGESTRY AND I ALWAYS WARN NOT TO MESS WITH THIS IF YOU DONT THE REGISTRY EFFECTS THE WAY YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM FUNCTIONS IF YOU CHANGE OR DELETE A PART OF THE REGISTRY IT WILL EFFECT THE SOFTWARE INVOLVED IT WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR HARDWARE .
BUT YOU MUST MAKE SURE BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING TO THE REGISTRY YOU HAVE A OP SYS DISC LIKE XP IN CASE YOU HAVE TO DO A FULL INSTALL.
IF YOU DONT NEED TO TOUCH LEAVE IT ALONE MY ADVICE.
YEARS AGO A FRIEND BOUGHT A 486 COMPUTER BRAND NEW COST 1000 POUNDS HAD A 250 MEG HARD DISK .
SOMEONE MENTIONED FORMATING THE HARD DISK AND LIKE A IDIOT HE FORMATTED C DRIVE JUST TO SEE IF HE COULD HE DID BUT HE DIDNT HAVE THE DISK OR THE EXPERIANCE TO PUT IT RIGHT AND ENDED UP WITH AN EXPENSIVE PLASTIC AND METAL BOX WE SORTED IT BUT THATS JUST A WARNING IF IT ISNT BROKE DONT FIX IT AND IF YOUR GONNA MESS WITH IT BACK IT UP
2006-10-29 08:24:30 · answer #5 · answered by tonyinspain 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nothings gonna happen to the hardware, only the OS mite get fucked up, but you can always reinstall it, so experiment away. Thats the only way you can find out what those registries really do.
2006-10-29 08:17:38 · answer #6 · answered by KandyMan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The worst thing is OS failure. However most people would prefer not to reinstall the OS.
2006-10-29 08:07:34 · answer #7 · answered by no one 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The worst thing that can happen is that you start to get interested in the registry for its own sake; you discover tweaks and experiment with hacks and eventually you become so knowledgeable on registry hives, control sets and data strings people yawn as soon as they see you...
2006-10-29 08:58:22 · answer #8 · answered by zoomjet 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, the OS can be corrupted, and if you are unable to reinstall or it goes wrong, not only might you mess up the hard disk but also you might have to buy Windows again - v. pricey. Otherwise you can't damage hardware.
Did I mention about your files..!
2006-10-29 08:13:46 · answer #9 · answered by Tom 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I got only one word for you "backup" (or is it two words). Well, registry is windows database to keep record of actions on the machine...and so, if the registry is curupt, then windows is unable to understand what to do..it freaks out and crashes....
So, back up your registry and then change it...if you kill it...go back in safe mode and restore the registry...
Guys back me up on this...dont do anything before you backup !!!
2006-10-29 08:15:50 · answer #10 · answered by cuteniceprty 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋