My registry file is 88 MB!!!

[Loduricano]

Question #1

I'm running windows XP and had problems going on the net with all the browsers. I later found out that I was double firewalled. Before knowing this, I tried to fix windows by letting the windows instalation CD fix it. It didn't do what it was supposed to do because I had forgotten the Administrator password.

Note: XP uses a weird system of user accounts -- when you first install it, you create an account which has a user chosen name -- This is also called the Administrator account. Thereafter you can use the Control Panel, user accounts to change account and passwords, but NOT THE FIRST ACCOUNT YOU CREATED WHEN YOU INSTALLED WINDOWS, AND NEITHER CAN YOU CHANGE THE PASSWORD!

So what did happen is that The Win. instalation changed something in the system because I had forgoten the Administrator password.

Now when I log on I get past the Windows screen (the one with the green "loading" animation, and right before you get to the screen where the user names and icons are displayed I get a screen telling me that "The system could not log you on." A small window apears prompting for a password -- User name is Administrator, and then a dialog show up on top of that displaying the fallowing broken message: "Make sure your User and domain are correct, then type your password again. Letters in passwords must be" THAT'S IT!

This happens very, very fast , so I have to type return as fast as I can to get to the logon screen.

Question #2

How do I get Windows Explorer to remember that I want files displayed BY DETAILS NOT TILES! At one time it used to do that, many formats ago.... And don't tell me to change it from the CP.

 

[codexaenir]

What does this have to do with your registry?






1) Reset your windows xp password: http://8help.ohio-state.edu/747.html


2) Go to a folder, click View > Details. Then immediately go to Tools > Folder Options > View > Like Current...

 

[JohnWill]

You have to be logged into the account you create when you install to change the password, but you can change it. At least all the XP installations I've ever done I've been able to change it.

I still don't see what your message has to do with the 88mb registry, care to tell us what we missed?

 

[steamwiz]

I think the 88mb registry was to get your attention - it certainly caught mine

 

[Gary R]

If I may ask a W98SE Registry (Ver. 4.10.2222A, with no updates since Sept. 2001, & using DirectX6.1a) Question?
:
How do I find the registry size

 

[steamwiz]

The registry is principly made up of 2 files located in the C:\ windows directory......system.dat and user.dat - add them together and you have the approx size of your registry


Or Go to start\run - and type in :-

regedit /e reg.reg (copy and paste)

an icon will be placed on your desktop.

Its a backup of your registry.

right click the icon - select properties and you have the size

steam

 

[Loduricano]

I have to thank you guys for replying and solving one of my questions. Number 2 to be precise.

As to my question on changing Admin password, no luck. The link to http://8help.ohio-state.edu/747.html didn't help me a bit. It refers me to use the password recovery floppy, which I didn't create when I installed windows due to my being very upset at MS, having just formated my C: drive.

I repeat the Admin password cannot be changed from Control Panel/User Accounts because it is not listed there! There may be other accounts there with Admin privileges, but not the Administrator account!

Did you know that you cannot install windows with a user account name that contains certain curse words? Neither can you use as your name: Administrator, since this is reserved by the system -- The account I want to change the password to...

For example: My user account I chose when I installed windows on c: (I have a couple of windows instalations just in case) was F*ckBill . This account doesn't appear in User Accounts just like Administrator and as far as I know, cannot be changed. I log on as loduricano, since I changed it to this, but my settings are still in c:\Documents and Settings\F*ckbill\.

This is so stupid! MS sucks!

Thanks.

 

[Gary R]

Ok, thanks for the info re Reg.
:
I don't think I've ever looked at the Reg. in this one.... I know i didn't in the olde computer which I'd used for about 2 years. Guess if you don't need to look at it, everything's going ok -- but again, it could be just overflowing with stuff that needs deleting, too

 

[JohnWill]

Originally posted by steamwiz:
The registry is principly made up of 2 files located in the C:\ windows directory......system.dat and user.dat - add them together and you have the approx size of your registry

Actually, since we're talking W2K/XP here, the registry is actually made up of four files in \WINNT\system32\config

DEFAULT
SECURITY
SYSTEM
SOFTWARE

What you're describing is the W9x registry configuration.

 

[JohnWill]

Originally posted by Loduricano:
I repeat the Admin password cannot be changed from Control Panel/User Accounts because it is not listed there! There may be other accounts there with Admin privileges, but not the Administrator account!

And I'll repeat, since it didn't sink in the first time. You have to log into the administrator account, then hit Ctrl-Alt-Del, and then you can change the password. Do you really think there's be no way to change that after an installation?

 

[steamwiz]

johnwill

Actually, since we're talking W2K/XP here, the registry is actually made up of four files in \WINNT\system32\config

Yes you're right - but if you look at Gary R's question - he was asking about the win98 registry

If I may ask a W98SE Registry (Ver. 4.10.2222A, with no updates since Sept. 2001, & using DirectX6.1a) Question?

He asked it in the wrong forum really - but I was just answering his question

steam

 

[Loduricano]

Originally posted by johnwill:
And I'll repeat, since it didn't sink in the first time. You have to log into the administrator account, then hit Ctrl-Alt-Del, and then you can change the password. Do you really think there's be no way to change that after an installation?

And how do I do that? After I Log on I'm presented with the account names I created AFTER the windows instalation! The account with the NAME of Administrator is not there! I have administrator privileges under a different account...

As for changind the name of F*ckBill which is the default account in the registry and also the account with my settings in \documents and settings\ I can change that in registry at [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\DefaultUserName\ But what happens with all the aplications that expect that -- and believe me I have a lot of stuff installed as you can tell by the size of my registry!