The Windows Registry is an extensive database of settings that control every component, peripheral, and application that runs on your Windows system. The entire system hangs or falls on the information therein, but it is one of the least understood portions of Windows NT or Windows 95. Magazines featuring optimization "tips" invariably include registry changes; documented bug fixes from Microsoft's online Knowledge Base often require changes to the registry; and every time you install an application or adjust Windows basic features, the registry changes. If you want to be a real Windows "guru," you'll have to dig into the registry at some point, and Troubleshooting and Configuring the Windows NT/95 Registry is an excellent resource to use as you begin your path to enlightenment.

If you're unfamiliar with the registry, I'd suggest that you start at the front of the book and work your way through the first three chapters at a minimum. In chapters 1 and 2, Johnson introduces you to the registry and details its structure. He also discusses the inherent differences between the registry implementations of Windows NT and Windows 95. These chapters are a necessary introduction to the discussion that follows, primarily because the book works best if you then use it to look at the areas that you may be most interested in pursuing. For example, if you are most interested in customizing or troubleshooting Network functions, you might want to jump directly to Part V on Networking.

Chapter 3 is the first chapter of an important section that should give you cause for caution. Protecting the Registry is meant to instill the level of caution that Microsoft intends when it states: " WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk." This is the disclaimer that Microsoft includes with every posted bug fix that involves editing the registry, and Johnson devotes an entire section of the book to the "care and feeding" of a healthy registry so that the dire consequences of a corrupt registry can be avoided. If you only read chapter 3 of this section, you at least will have the benefit of being warned!

The section that I found most useful in my situation was the detailed information on Advanced Registry Management, especially the information on the System Policy Editor, one of the most needed but underused tools for the remote administration of NT and Windows 95 systems. An understanding of the power of this tool to edit the registry will continue to be beneficial in the future as Microsoft has based much of the "Zero Administration Kit" on System Policies. NT 5.0 is expected to make extensive use of system policies to provide many of the distributed features of that new version as well.