Registry
Editor is a useful utility in Windows which allows users to easily change
advanced Windows settings by altering registry keys present in a hierarchical
arrangement called the Windows Registry. Despite being such a powerful tool,
Registry Editor is not totally error-proof.
A simple virus infection is all it takes to render it useless. Or, there are times when your administrator has actually disabled Registry Editing. When you try to open the Registry Editor in one such computer, you are likely to receive the “Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator” error. Due to this error, it is impossible to remove this restriction using Registry Editor itself.
A simple virus infection is all it takes to render it useless. Or, there are times when your administrator has actually disabled Registry Editing. When you try to open the Registry Editor in one such computer, you are likely to receive the “Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator” error. Due to this error, it is impossible to remove this restriction using Registry Editor itself.
This article suggests some workarounds for re-enabling Registry editing in a computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003/ 2008, Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Enable Registry Editor Using Group
Policy Editor
1.
Click
on Start. Go to Run. Users running Windows 8, Windows 7 or Vista, go to Search.
2.
Type
gpedit.msc and press Enter.
3.
Navigate
to User Configuration/ Administrative Templates / System.
4.
In
the work area, double click on "Prevent Access to registry editing tools".
5.
In
the popup window, encircle Disabled and click on OK.
6.
Normally, Registry
Editor will be immediately accessible. If it is not, restart your PC.
Group
Policy Editor is not available on home editions of Windows.
Related: Enable Task Manager Disabled by Administrator or Virus
Enabling Registry Editor using
UnHookExec.inf from Symantec
Symantec has created a small .inf file which can be installed
to remove restrictions on modifying registry keys at the click of a mouse. Most
viruses, spywares, Trojans or worms normally affect the
shell\open\command keys which allows them to run each time when a file of
specific type is executed. Normally, they associate their execution with .exe
files. UnHookExec.inf not only enables registry editing but also removes such
associations.
Just save UnHookExec.inf and install it by right clicking and selecting install. Installing the file will not show any popup or notice box.
Just save UnHookExec.inf and install it by right clicking and selecting install. Installing the file will not show any popup or notice box.
Enable Regedit by simply running a CMD Command
1.
Open
Notepad.
2.
Copy
the code given below and paste it.
reg add
"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /t
Reg_dword /v DisableRegistryTools /f /d 0
3.
Save
the file as EnableRegistry.bat. Run this file as Administrator if you use
Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows Vista. In Windows XP, simply open the file. CMD
will flash for a second and then disappear. This indicates successful
execution.
4.
Log
Off and Log Back On.
Visual Basic Script to Enable/ Disable
Registry Editor
Doug Knox has
created a VBS Script which allows users to easily enable and disable
Registry Editor. Just download regedit tools.vbs and double click on
it. This script reverses the current state of Registry Editor. If registry
editing is set to enabled, this script will disable it and if it is disabled,
it will enable it.
If the above link does not work, copy the code given below in Notepad and save the file as *.vbs or Registry Editor.vbs.
If the above link does not work, copy the code given below in Notepad and save the file as *.vbs or Registry Editor.vbs.
Option
Explicit
Dim WSHShell, n, MyBox, p, t, mustboot, errnum, vers
Dim enab, disab, jobfunc, itemtype
Set WSHShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
p = "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\"
p = p & "DisableRegistryTools"
itemtype = "REG_DWORD"
mustboot = "Log off and back on, or restart your pc to" & vbCR & "effect the changes"
enab = "ENABLED"
disab = "DISABLED"
jobfunc = "Registry Editing Tools are now "
t = "Confirmation"
Err.Clear
On Error Resume Next
n = WSHShell.RegRead (p)
On Error Goto 0
errnum = Err.Number
if errnum <> 0 then
WSHShell.RegWrite p, 0, itemtype
End If
If n = 0 Then
n = 1
WSHShell.RegWrite p, n, itemtype
Mybox = MsgBox(jobfunc & disab & vbCR & mustboot, 4096, t)
ElseIf n = 1 then
n = 0
WSHShell.RegWrite p, n, itemtype
Mybox = MsgBox(jobfunc & enab & vbCR & mustboot, 4096, t)
End If
Dim WSHShell, n, MyBox, p, t, mustboot, errnum, vers
Dim enab, disab, jobfunc, itemtype
Set WSHShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
p = "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\"
p = p & "DisableRegistryTools"
itemtype = "REG_DWORD"
mustboot = "Log off and back on, or restart your pc to" & vbCR & "effect the changes"
enab = "ENABLED"
disab = "DISABLED"
jobfunc = "Registry Editing Tools are now "
t = "Confirmation"
Err.Clear
On Error Resume Next
n = WSHShell.RegRead (p)
On Error Goto 0
errnum = Err.Number
if errnum <> 0 then
WSHShell.RegWrite p, 0, itemtype
End If
If n = 0 Then
n = 1
WSHShell.RegWrite p, n, itemtype
Mybox = MsgBox(jobfunc & disab & vbCR & mustboot, 4096, t)
ElseIf n = 1 then
n = 0
WSHShell.RegWrite p, n, itemtype
Mybox = MsgBox(jobfunc & enab & vbCR & mustboot, 4096, t)
End If
After running the VBS file, if Registry Editing is not
enabled, try restarting your PC.
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