How to open and edit the Windows registry

Fixing Windows errors, tweaking Windows features, or completely removing a program can sometimes require you to edit the Windows registry. This page provides help with opening and viewing the Windows registry, editing, and deleting registry values.

How to open the Windows registry

To open the Windows registry, follow the steps below for your version of Windows.

Windows 11

1. On the Windows taskbar, click the magnifying glass icon.

2. In the text field at the top of the search window, type regedit and press Enter.
3. If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes to open the Registry Editor.
4. The Windows Registry Editor window should open and look similar to the example shown below.

Windows 10

1. Type regedit in the Windows search box on the taskbar and press Enter.
2. If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes to open the Registry Editor.
3. The Windows Registry Editor window should open and look similar to the example shown below.

Windows 8

1. Type regedit on the Start screen and select the regedit option in the search results.
2. If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes to open the Registry Editor.
3. The Windows Registry Editor window should open and look similar to the example shown below.

Windows 7 and earlier

1. Click Start or press the Windows key.
2. In the Start menu, either in the Run box or the Search box, type regedit and press Enter. In Windows 8, you can type regedit on the Start screen and select the regedit option in the search results. In Windows 10, type regedit in the Search box on the taskbar and press Enter.
3. If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes to open the Registry Editor.
4. The Windows Registry Editor window should open and look similar to the example shown below.

How to browse the Windows registry

When most users edit their registry, they're given the location or path of where the registry value is located and what to change. Below is an example path for a commonly accessed registry subkey. To browse this location, start by opening the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key (folder). In this key, you see the SOFTWARE folder, then Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, and finally the Run folder.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

After navigating to the registry path above, you see a window similar to the example below. In this example, you can see four different string value keys, which point to the programs that run each time the computer is turned on or restarted.

How to edit a Windows registry value

To edit a registry value, double-click the name of the value you want to edit. For example, if we double-click the 'IntelliPoint' value in the example above, a new window appears that would allow us to change the data value. In this case, we could change the file path of where the "ipoint.exe" file is located for the IntelliPoint driver.

How to delete a Windows registry value

To delete a registry value, highlight any registry Name and press the Del key on the keyboard. For example, if we did not want the IntelliPoint program to load each time Windows starts, we could highlight IntelliPoint and press Del.

Windows registry shorthand and abbreviations

In some documentation and online forums, the registry values may be abbreviated. For example, instead of saying "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE," it is easier to say and write "HKLM." For a listing of registry terms and shorthand, see our registry definition.