Summary

138 IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software Companion GuideTable 5-4Registry KeysKeyHKEY_CLASSES_ROOTHKEY_CURRENT_USERHKEY_USERSHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEHKEY_CURRENT_CONFIGDescriptionInformation about which file extensions map to a particularapplicationInformation, such as desktop settings and history, relatedto the current user of a PCInformation about all users who have logged on to asystemInformation relating to the hardware and softwareInformation relating to all active devices on a systemEach user has a unique section of the registry. The Windows login process pulls system settingsfrom the registry to reconfigure the system to the state that it was in the last time thatthe user turned it on.NT KernelAt this point, the NT kernel, the heart of the Windows operating system, takes over. Thename of this file is ntoskrnl.exe. It starts the login file called winlogon.exe and displays theXP welcome screen.NoteIf a SCSI drive will boot the computer, Windows will copy the ntbootdd.sys file during installation.This file will not be copied if SCSI drives are not being used.Describe How to Manipulate Operating System FilesAfter you have installed Windows XP, you might want to make changes to the configuration.The following applications are used extensively for postinstallation modifications:■Msconfig: This boot configuration utility allows you to set the programs that will run atstartup and to edit configuration files. It also offers simplified control over WindowsServices, as shown in Figure 5-16. To access Msconfig, choose Start > Run, typemsconfig, and press Enter.■ Regedit: This application allows you to edit the registry, as shown in Figure 5-17.NoteREGEDT32 was used with Windows NT. In Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, theREGEDT32 file is nothing more than a shortcut to the regedit.exe program. In Windows XP, you canenter regedt32.exe or regedit.exe; both commands run the same program.