SUMMARY
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide
problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of
Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.
This article describes the different data types for key values in the
Windows NT Registry:
- REG_BINARY
- REG_DWORD
- REG_EXPAND_SZ
- REG_MULTI_SZ
- REG_SZ
REG_BINARY
This is the raw binary data. Most hardware component information is
stored as binary data, and can be displayed in Registry Editor in
hexadecimal format, or displayed in WinMSD in an easy-to-read format.
For example:
Component Information : REG_BINARY : 00 00 00...
REG_DWORD
This is data represented by a number that is four bytes long. Many
parameters for device driver and services are this type, and can be
displayed in Registry Editor in binary, hexadecimal, or decimal
format. For example, entries for service error controls are this type:
ErrorControl : REG_DWORD : 0x1
REG_EXPAND_SZ
An expandable data string that is text containing a variable to be
replaced when called by an application. For example, for the following
value, the string "%SystemRoot%" will replaced by the actual location
of the directory containing the Windows NT system files:
File : REG_EXPAND_SZ : %SystemRoot%\file.exe
REG_MULTI_SZ
This is a multiple string. Values that contain lists or multiple
values in human readable text are usually this type. Entries are
separated by NULL characters. For example, the following value entry
specifies the binding rules for a network transport:
bindable : REG_MULTI_SZ : dlcDriver dlcDriver non non 50
REG_SZ
This is a sequence of characters representing human readable text. For
example, a component's description is usually this type:
DisplayName : REG_SZ : Messenger