Be aware, however, that careless Registry editing can make your system malfunction or even keep you from starting Windows.
Use care making changes to the Registry.
Any tip that requires direct editing of the Registry (whether using the Registry Editor or merging a .reg script) should be approached with caution. The best insurance policy in these cases is to set a Windows "restore point" before experimenting with such advice.
To set a restore point, choose Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Restore. (In Vista, you'll also have to click Open System Protection.) Follow the instructions on screen to create a restore point. If something goes wrong, launch System Restore again and restore your computer using the latest restore point. (Windows periodically creates its own restore points automatically.)
In addition, keep in mind that some Registry tips require you to restart your system (or at least log out and log in again) before you see the effect of the change.
Open a text editor, not a word processor
Regarding the AutoRun.inf tip, Gerald Ingle speaks for many when he writes:
"I tried following your instruction to prevent auto-run access. But when I try to merge the suggested file, I receive this error message: 'The specified file is not a Registry script. You can only import binary Registry files from within Registry Editor.' "
Despite what the message says about "binary Registry files," this problem occurs if the .reg file you create is in any format other than plain text. For this reason, I advised using Notepad or another text editor. Most word processors, such as Microsoft Word, will save to their own formats by default.
If you must use a word processor, take care to save your .reg file as a "Text Document," "Text Only," or a similar option.
Other readers had a different problem incorporating the NoAutoRun.reg file into the Registry. For example, Robert E. Lee writes:
"I created the file by copying the text from the Windows Secrets newsletter into an MS Word file, and saved it. I right-clicked the file in MS Explorer but did not see a 'Merge' option. Can you explain further how to merge this into my Registry?"
Unfortunately, with many word processors (including Word), just typing a name like NoAutoRun.reg in the Save As dialog box will not keep the program from adding its own extension after the .reg extension you typed. Since Windows hides extensions by default, your file may look as if it's named NoAutoRun.reg when it's really named NoAutoRun.reg.doc.
Without the .reg extension at the end, you won't see a Merge command on the file's context menu. This problem doesn't occur if you use Notepad to create .reg files.
To prevent a word processor from adding an extension when you type an extension of your own, put the entire file name in quotation marks in the Save As input box. For example, the following file name will not receive an additional .doc on the end when saved in Word:
"NoAutoRun.reg"
To see the actual extensions on your file names, open Windows Explorer and choose Tools, Options. (In Vista, first press Alt to see the menu bar.) Click the View tab and uncheck Hide extensions for known file types. Click OK.
If you take all these steps and still don't see a Merge command on your context menu when you right-click your .reg file, you can add a .reg file to the Registry using the following steps:
Step 1. In XP, click Start, Run. In Vista, just click Start.
Step 2. Type regedit and press Enter.
Step 3. Choose File, Import.
Step 4. Locate and select your NoAutoRun.reg file and click Open.
Removing the NoAutoRun fix from the Registry
A few readers suggested it would be a good practice to tell how to undo any tip. As David Edwards wrote:
"So if we experiment and run the following, how do we reverse the situation if we find that we do not like it and are prepared to take risks like everyone else?"
To remove the information that NoAutoRun.reg adds to the Registry, do the following:
Step 1. Choose Start, Run. (In Vista, just choose Start.)
Step 2. Type regedit and press Enter.
Step 3. Use the tree pane on the left to navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ IniFileMapping
Step 4. If necessary, click the plus sign (+) next to IniFileMapping to see the icons nested beneath. Right-click the AutoRun.inf icon and choose Delete.
Step 5. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.
Use care making changes to the Registry.
Any tip that requires direct editing of the Registry (whether using the Registry Editor or merging a .reg script) should be approached with caution. The best insurance policy in these cases is to set a Windows "restore point" before experimenting with such advice.
To set a restore point, choose Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Restore. (In Vista, you'll also have to click Open System Protection.) Follow the instructions on screen to create a restore point. If something goes wrong, launch System Restore again and restore your computer using the latest restore point. (Windows periodically creates its own restore points automatically.)
In addition, keep in mind that some Registry tips require you to restart your system (or at least log out and log in again) before you see the effect of the change.
Open a text editor, not a word processor
Regarding the AutoRun.inf tip, Gerald Ingle speaks for many when he writes:
"I tried following your instruction to prevent auto-run access. But when I try to merge the suggested file, I receive this error message: 'The specified file is not a Registry script. You can only import binary Registry files from within Registry Editor.' "
Despite what the message says about "binary Registry files," this problem occurs if the .reg file you create is in any format other than plain text. For this reason, I advised using Notepad or another text editor. Most word processors, such as Microsoft Word, will save to their own formats by default.
If you must use a word processor, take care to save your .reg file as a "Text Document," "Text Only," or a similar option.
Other readers had a different problem incorporating the NoAutoRun.reg file into the Registry. For example, Robert E. Lee writes:
"I created the file by copying the text from the Windows Secrets newsletter into an MS Word file, and saved it. I right-clicked the file in MS Explorer but did not see a 'Merge' option. Can you explain further how to merge this into my Registry?"
Unfortunately, with many word processors (including Word), just typing a name like NoAutoRun.reg in the Save As dialog box will not keep the program from adding its own extension after the .reg extension you typed. Since Windows hides extensions by default, your file may look as if it's named NoAutoRun.reg when it's really named NoAutoRun.reg.doc.
Without the .reg extension at the end, you won't see a Merge command on the file's context menu. This problem doesn't occur if you use Notepad to create .reg files.
To prevent a word processor from adding an extension when you type an extension of your own, put the entire file name in quotation marks in the Save As input box. For example, the following file name will not receive an additional .doc on the end when saved in Word:
"NoAutoRun.reg"
To see the actual extensions on your file names, open Windows Explorer and choose Tools, Options. (In Vista, first press Alt to see the menu bar.) Click the View tab and uncheck Hide extensions for known file types. Click OK.
If you take all these steps and still don't see a Merge command on your context menu when you right-click your .reg file, you can add a .reg file to the Registry using the following steps:
Step 1. In XP, click Start, Run. In Vista, just click Start.
Step 2. Type regedit and press Enter.
Step 3. Choose File, Import.
Step 4. Locate and select your NoAutoRun.reg file and click Open.
Removing the NoAutoRun fix from the Registry
A few readers suggested it would be a good practice to tell how to undo any tip. As David Edwards wrote:
"So if we experiment and run the following, how do we reverse the situation if we find that we do not like it and are prepared to take risks like everyone else?"
To remove the information that NoAutoRun.reg adds to the Registry, do the following:
Step 1. Choose Start, Run. (In Vista, just choose Start.)
Step 2. Type regedit and press Enter.
Step 3. Use the tree pane on the left to navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ IniFileMapping
Step 4. If necessary, click the plus sign (+) next to IniFileMapping to see the icons nested beneath. Right-click the AutoRun.inf icon and choose Delete.
Step 5. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.
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