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How to Open Registry Editor in Windows

Detailed steps on opening Registry Editor in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 21, 2022 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

In This Article

Expand Jump to a Section How to Open Registry Editor More Help With Registry Editor Frequently Asked Questions

What to Know

Right-click or tap-and-hold Start > Run. Type regedit > Enter. Safely add, change, or delete registry keys and values. It's a good idea to back up the registry before you edit it.
All manual changes to the Windows Registry occur in Registry Editor, a tool included in all versions of Windows. Registry Editor lets you view, create, and modify the registry keys and registry values that make up the entire Windows Registry. There isn't a shortcut for the tool in most versions of Windows, so the best way to open it is by executing it from a command line. 0:31

How to Open Registry Editor

Access Registry Editor by following this procedure: In Windows 11, Windows 10, or Windows 8.1, right-click or tap-and-hold the Start button and then choose Run. Prior to Windows 8.1, the Run dialog box is most easily available from the Apps screen. In Windows 7 or Windows Vista, select Start. In Windows XP, select Start and then Run. One quick way you can open the Run dialog box in any of these Windows versions is to use the keyboard shortcut Win+R. In the search box or Run window, type the following, followed by Enter:
regedit Depending on your version of Windows, and how it's configured, you may see a User Account Control dialog box where you'll need to confirm that you want to open Registry Editor. Registry Editor will open. If you've used Registry Editor before, it'll open up to the same location you were working in last time. If that happens, and you don't want to work with the keys or values at that location, just continue to minimize the registry keys until you've reached the top level, listing the various registry hives. You can minimize or expand registry keys by selecting the small > icon next to the key. In Windows XP, the + icon is used instead. You can now make whatever changes you need to make to the registry, which probably shouldn't be done unless you're versed in how to safely add, change, or delete registry keys and values. Make sure, whatever you do, that you only affect the narrow registry areas that you intend to. Considering the significance of the registry on your Windows-based computer, we strongly recommend that you back up the registry, either the whole thing or even just the areas you're working in, before you do anything.

More Help With Registry Editor

It's important to know how to restore the Window's Registry before using Registry Editor. This lets you add a REG file backup into the registry should something go wrong during editing. Even though Registry Editor is open and ready to be used, it's not always wise to make changes yourself, manually, especially if a program or automated service can do it for you. For example, if you're using Registry Editor to clear up residual or junk registry entries, you shouldn't do it yourself unless you're very sure that you know what you're doing. Instead, use a free registry cleaner if you want to clear out common registry junk automatically. The same regedit command can be executed from Command Prompt. After opening Command Prompt, just type out the command and press Enter. Although the circumstance would have to be rare, yet another way to launch this tool is from Task Manager. To do that, open Task Manager though Ctrl+Shift+Esc, go to Run new task at the top (or File > Run new task), and type regedit, followed by OK. You might open it that way if you can't access the standard Run dialog box as described in Step 1 above, or if Explorer or Command Prompt won't open for some reason. If you find yourself opening this tool often, you can make a Registry Editor shortcut on your desktop. Right-click the desktop, go to New > Shortcut, type regedit, and press Next and then Finish. In some versions of Windows, you can drag the shortcut onto your taskbar for even quicker access. Connecting to a remote Windows Registry is a bit different of a process than the one described above for a local registry. After opening a regular Registry Editor window, there's an additional step to find the remote registry. FAQ How do I turn off network access to the Windows registry? To turn off network access to the Windows registry, select Win+R > enter services.msc > OK. In the Windows Service Manager, double-click Remote Registry, select the General tab > Disabled. Where is the Windows system registry hive? Registry hives appear as folders in the left pane in the Windows Registry Editor when all other keys have been minimized. All keys that are considered hives begin with HKEY and are at the top of the registry hierarchy. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Open Command Prompt (Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, etc.) How to Remove Write Protection on a Micro SD Card How to Open Disk Management From Command Prompt How to Access Device Manager From the Command Prompt How to Back up the Windows Registry How to Restore the Registry (Windows 11, 10, 8, 7...) How to Open an Elevated Command Prompt in Windows How to Remove the Recycle Bin From a Windows Desktop What Is a Registry Value? How to Move IE Temporary Internet Files Folder to Default Location 28 Best Free Registry Cleaner Programs (October 2022) How to Properly Reboot (Restart) a Windows Computer How to Delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters Values How to Create a Password in Windows What Is a Registry Hive? How to Enable or Disable the Administrator Account in Windows Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies