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Whether you've tweaked your Windows XP setup to the nth degree or have never even emptied your Recycle Bin, there are many ways for you to make Windows work faster, smarter, and safer. All it takes is a willingness to brave the OS's vast repository of settings: the Registry.

All Registry modifications must be done with extreme caution. Careless changes can cause Windows to behave strangely, or even make logging in to your account impossible. Before you do anything, back up your current Registry settings; Stan Miastkowski explains how in "Care and Feeding of the Windows Registry."

Here's the quick version: Click Start, Run, type regedit, and press <Enter> to open the Registry Editor. Then choose My Computer in the folder pane on the left, click File, Export, give the file a name, and select a location to store it (preferably on a CD-RW or other type of removable media). The resulting text file may be huge, and restoring your Registry from it may take a while. If your computer is generally behaving itself, you may be protected well enough by the Registry backup that Windows creates automatically when you make a new System Restore point.

If something goes wrong, consult Lincoln Spector's September 2003 Answer Line column, "How Do I Restore My Windows Registry?"

In this story you'll also learn about some terrific third-party Registry tools, and see a list of our favorite Registry resources on the Web.

In This Article:

• Put Start Menus Into Overdrive; Close Stuck Apps Faster
• Resize Your Wallpaper; Find Every File
• Unhide the Administrator; Speed Your Switches
• Retitle Internet Explorer; Share Your Tweaks
• Rework System Restore; Edit Registries From Afar
• Registry Toolkit
• Webistry: Online Resources for Registry Tweakers

Plus: Learn more about the upcoming, revamped Windows in "Windows Hacks: Vista Comes Into View"