How to Enable Regedit

How to Enable RegeditSix Methods:Changing Group Policy Settings Enabling Regedit through CMD Downloading Symantec's Script Changing Regedit.com Files Enabling Regedit with a Virtual Basic Script Enabling Regedit from the HKEY settings

In normal situations, administrator accounts should always have access to the Registry Editor on a Windows computer. If you get a message denying you access, a computer virus has probably infected your system. Always run an anti-virus scan in this situation. Even after the virus is removed, however, the change to regedit settings can persist. There are many ways to change these settings, but some viruses disable access to other tools as well, so you may need to try two or three options before you succeed.

Ad

Method 1 of 6: Changing Group Policy Settings

1.

1

Install Group Policy Edit if necessary. Users of any "Professional Edition" Windows or Windows Server can skip this step, as they should already have the file installed. Users of Windows 7 or Windows 8 "Home," "Home Premium," or "Starter" editions should follow the instructions here to download a group policy editor before continuing. Unfortunately, Windows XP Home Edition and Windows Vista Home Edition users may not be able to work around this issue, and should try an alternate method instead.[1] [2]

Ad

2.

2

Launch GPEdit.msc. Click Start → Search and type GPEdit.msc into the text field. Wait for the GPEdit.msc icon to appear, then click it. The window "Local Group Policy Editor" should appear.

o On XP Professional, instead go to Start → Run. Type GPEdit.msc and hit enter on your keyboard.

o On some operating systems, you will need to be logged in as an administrator to run this file.

3.

3

Navigate to the correct folder. In this window, look at the folders on the left sidebar. Choose "User Configuration" → "Administrative Templates" → "System" to reach the screen with the options you need.[3]

4.

4

Find the "Prevent access to the registry editor" setting. On the right side of the window, underneath the "Settings" heading, scroll down to find "Prevent access to the registry editor." Double click to open it.

5.

5

Check the "Disabled" preference. If the "Enabled" button is checked, click the radio button for either "Disabled" or "Not Configured," then click "Apply," then "OK."

6.

6

Test regedit, or restart your computer. In most cases, the registry should be accessible immediately. If not, restart your computer to see if the changes take effect.[4] If there is still an issue, try the script download instead.

Method 2 of 6: Enabling Regedit through CMD

1.

1

Open cmd.exe. Search for cmd.exe or the "Command Prompt" shortcut and open it. On Windows XP, instead navigate to Start → Run and type in cmd.exe, then hit enter. This will open the command-line interpreter. Here, depending on the permissions settings on your system, you may be able to enable Regedit from here.

o You may need to right click the shortcut and select "Run as administrator."

2.

2

Enter this command. Type this in exactly as it appears, then hit Enter on your keyboard to run the command: REG add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /t Reg_dword /v

DisableRegistryTools /f /d 0

3.

3

Test regedit or restart Windows. If you still can't access regedit, try restarting your computer and testing it again.

4.

4

Run the code from a file. If the Run command is disabled too, copy that line of code into a new Notepad file. Save it as EnableRegistry.bat and close Notepad. Right-click the file and select "Run as administrator." The command line should flash for a brief moment, as it runs the code.[5] Test regedit again, or restart your computer.

o On Windows XP, you can open the file normally instead of running as administrator.

Method 3 of 6: Downloading Symantec's Script

1.

1

Use this tool to reset the shell open command registry keys. One way viruses can gain control of your system is to modify the "shell open command" values in your registry, which put the virus in control of certain types of files. This script will reset it to its default settings.[6]

2.

2

Right click the following link and select Save Link As. Do not left-click this link, or your browser will display the code instead of downloading it: UnHookExec.inf. In the popup window, select a location to save the file, then click "OK" or "Save."

o Some browsers may use the term "Save Target As" or a similar phrase.

3.

3

Right click the file and select Install. Locate the file on your computer. Right click it and select Install from the drop-down menu. This will run the script, even though you will not see any new notices or windows. Try regedit to see if your problem is solved.

Method 4 of 6: Changing Regedit.com Files

1.

1

Search for "regedit.com" on your computer. Some viruses will add false registry files named regedit.com to trick your computer into running the wrong file when you use the Regedit command.

o This is only one way viruses can disable regedit. Scanning your computer with anti-virus software is recommended even if regedit.com is not on your computer.

2.

2

Check whether it is a real file. Right-click the file and select "Properties." In the info box that comes up, look for the "File size" line.

3.

3

Delete zero-byte files. If the file size is zero bytes, it is a dummy file. Delete it and you should have access to regedit again.[7]

4.

4

Rename larger files. If the file has actual content, it may be your original regedit file, renamed. Rename it back to regedit.exe and access should be restored.[8]

Method 5 of 6: Enabling Regedit with a Virtual Basic Script

1.

1

Open a new Notepad document. We'll use this to make a Virtual Basic Script (.vbs) file, which will run a program to enable the registry editor.

o This script was written by former Microsoft Valued Professional Doug Knox.[9]

2.

2

Copy the following into the Notepad document. Copy-paste the following into your text file:[10]

Option ExplicitDim WSHShell, n, MyBox, p, t, mustboot, errnum, versDim enab, disab, jobfunc, itemtypeSet WSHShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")p = "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\"p = p & "DisableRegistryTools"itemtype = "REG_DWORD"mustboot = "Log off and back on, or restart your pc to" & vbCR & "effect the changes"enab = "ENABLED"disab = "DISABLED"jobfunc = "Registry Editing Tools are now "t = "Confirmation"

Err.ClearOn Error Resume Nextn = WSHShell.RegRead (p)On Error Goto 0errnum = Err.Numberif errnum <> 0 thenWSHShell.RegWrite p, 0, itemtypeEnd IfIf n = 0 Thenn = 1WSHShell.RegWrite p, n, itemtypeMybox = MsgBox(jobfunc & disab & vbCR & mustboot, 4096, t)ElseIf n = 1 thenn = 0WSHShell.RegWrite p, n, itemtypeMybox = MsgBox(jobfunc & enab & vbCR & mustboot, 4096, t)End If

3.

3

Save the file as "Registry Editor.vbs". Alternatively, saving it as "*.vbs" should work as well.

4.

4

Open the file to run the script. Close Notepad and open the file you just saved to run the script. It should appear for a brief moment on screen, but you might not notice this.

o This script will switch the registry editor's disabled/enabled setting. Do not run it a second time, or the registry editor will be disabled again.

5.

5

Use regedit. Enabling regedit with this script shouldn't require a restart, although using it to disable regedit will.

Method 6 of 6: Enabling Regedit from the HKEY settings

1.

1

Open cmd.exe. See "Enabling Regedit with CMD" for how to access this. Try that method first, since it is faster. If the CMD line responds with an error message, follow the instructions below.

o This process should work for Windows 7, 8, and Vista.

2.

2

Enable an administrator account. Type net user administrator /active:yes and hit enter. We'll use this account to gain access to HKEY_USERS without having to use the registry editor.

3.

3

Find your SID. Type wmic useraccount where name='%username%' get sid and hit enter. (You may replace %username% with your account name, but it shouldn't be necessary).[11] You should see a long "Secure ID" number, beginning with something similar to S-1-5-. Write down the entire ID, or at least enough numbers to uniquely identify it (for instance, the first character after each – mark).

4.

4

Switch users to the new "Administrator" account. Go to "Switch users" in the Start menu. Leave your ordinary account logged in.

5.

5

Navigate to HKEY_USERS. This should be located in your Computer folder.

6.

6

Open the folder with your SID. Open the folder whose name is the SID you wrote down. This will contain the settings for your normal account.

7.

7

Navigate to the following folder. Go to \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System inside your SID folder.

8.

8

Change your Disable Registry Tools setting. Double click on DisableRegistryTools. In the "Value Data" field, change the text to a "0" instead of a "1."[12] This should enable registry editing.

9.

9

Try Regedit on your ordinary account. Switch back to your ordinary account and try to access Regedit again. Restart your computer and try again if necessary.

10.

10

Disable the administrator account. Return to cmd.exe on your ordinary account and enter net user administrator /active:no . This will disable the administrator account. In general, that "hidden" administrator account should be disabled whenever it isn't being actively used, as a mistake in the files it has access to could cause catastrophic damage.

o If you decide to leave the account enabled, change its settings to add a password.

Ad

We could really use your help!

Can you help usrate articles?

Can you tell us abouthardwood floors? Can you tell us aboutsugar rockets? Can you tell us aboutRome Total War?

Video

Tips

Disabling Regedit is a regular trick used by viruses and spyware programs that infect your computer. If your Regedit program becomes unexpectedly disabled, use an anti-virus program to scan your system for viruses.

For temporary access to the registry editor, you can try disabling all your non-essential Startup items, creating a desktop shortcut to C:\Windows\regedit.exe, and opening that shortcut as soon as the computer starts up.[13] If you're lucky, you may gain access before the computer has checked for policies. This will not permanently fix the problem.