LKBEN10710: Howto make Changes to a NTUSER.DAT


Symptom

Although NTUSER.DAT is a registry file, it cannot be edited by Regedit.exe

Cause

NTUSER.DAT contains Current User Settings of a certain profile and is loaded upon login time of appropriate user

Solution

If you need to change settings in a windows registry other than your own, it's possible to import the Registry Hive, make changes and export it:
- Open Registry editor with "regedit.exe" (in Systems older than Windows XP / Windows Server 2003 use "regedt32.exe")
- make a new key in a part of Registry your are authorized to make changes (for instance in the Current User - Hive "HKCU")
- mark the new key and open the wanted Registry file over the file-open context through menu "File"-->"import..."
- a warning appears, that everything under the selected key will be overwritten (watch out, that you selected the new (and empty) key!!!)
- after a short period, you'll receive a message that the file has been imported
--> now approprate changes can be made under the new key.

- after changes have been made, the complete Key must be exportet.

Disclaimer:

The information provided in this document is intended for your information only. Lubby makes no claims to the validity of this information. Use of this information is at own risk!

About the Author

Author: Wim Peeters - Keskon GmbH & Co. KG

Wim Peeters is electronics engineer with an additional master in IT and over 30 years of experience, including time spent in support, development, consulting, training and database administration. Wim has worked with SQL Server since version 6.5. He has developed in C/C++, Java and C# on Windows and Linux. He writes knowledge base articles to solve IT problems and publishes them on the Lubby Knowledge Platform.