SUMMARY
This is the first of two articles on these entries; for the other entries,
see "Registry Entries for Subsystems, Part 2".
REGISTRY ENTRIES FOR SUBSYSTEMS
This section describes software registration entries related to Windows NT
subsystems.
MICROSOFT OS/2 VERSION 1.X SOFTWARE REGISTRATION ENTRIES
The basic software information for the Microsoft OS/2 version 1.x subsystem
is found in the following Registry path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OS/2 Subsystem for NT
The OS/2 Subsystem key contains several subkeys, but initially only the
\config.sys subkey contains an entry. This subkey contains the OS/2
CONFIG.SYS information stored after an OS/2 application has been run on the
system.
If there is no OS/2 CONFIG.SYS file, this subkey contains this entry:
PROTSHELL=C:\os2\pmshell.exe c:\os2\os2.ini c:\os2\os2sys.ini
%SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe
SET COMSPEC=%SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe
The Os2 subkey under CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\SubSystems
defines the path to the executable file used to start the OS/2 subsystem.
The Os2LibPath value under the Session Manager\Environment subkey defines
the directory path for the OS/2 library.These entries are described in the
article "CurrentControlSet\Control Subkeys".
To disable the OS/2 subsystem, set the value of GlobalFlag to 20100000 in
the following subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
WINDOWS SOFTWARE REGISTRATION ENTRIES
The Windows subkey under the following path defines some values used by
applications created to run under Windows for MS-DOS:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
AppInit_DLLs REG_SZ
---------------------
Default:
Causes all the specified DLLs (one or many) to be attached to all Windows-
based applications. This means that once this is set for a session, upon
restarting the system, all the Windows-based applications that run in that
session will load the specified DLLs. For example, an applications
developer can use it to attach the Microsoft Call/Attributive Profiler to
all Windows-based applications by calling CAPSETUP.EXE, which sets the
AppInit_DLLs so the user doesn't have to do it through Registry Editor.
DeviceNotSelectedTimeout REG_SZ Seconds
-------------------------------------------
Default: 15
Specifies how much time the system waits for a device to be switched on. If
the device is not switched on during this time, the system won't print to
the device. For some devices, the system immediately posts an error message
if the device is not already switched on. This entry only defines the
system default value. To change the value for a particular printer, use
Print Manager.
Spooler REG_SZ Boolean
--------------------------
Default: Yes
Specifies whether output to the printer is to be sent through Print
Manager. Changing this value to No turns off Print Manager. Used by
applications that look for this value in WIN.INI.
swapdisk REG_SZ drive:directory
------------------------------------
Provides the name of the disk drive and directory to which Windows for MS-
DOS in standard mode swaps non-Windows-based applications. Default: The
directory pointed to by the TEMP environment variable; if there is no TEMP
variable, the default is the boot directory of your first hard disk
(usually C:).
TransmissionRetryTimeout REG_SZ Seconds
-------------------------------------------
Default: 45
Specifies the default amount of time for attempted transmission retries. If
a successful transmission does not occur during this time, Print Manager
displays a message stating that the printer is not receiving characters.
This setting serves only as the system default value. To change the value
for a particular printer, use Print Manager.
WOW SOFTWARE REGISTRATION ENTRIES
Software registration values for the WOW subsystem appear under the
following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WOW
The WOW subkeys have the same names as headings in the SYSTEM.INI file, and
the values are the same items as were contained in the Windows for MS-DOS
SYSTEM.INI file. All are REG_SZ value types.
The information provided here is for troubleshooting only.
WOW asubkey Description and defaults
--------------------------------------------
Boot Lists drivers and Windows 3.x modules, with these
entries and default values to map Windows 3.x drivers
to Windows NT.
<<Provided for applications that seek this information.
Mostly ignored, but drivers are loaded from this
source, such as MMSYSTEM.DLL.
comm.drv = comm.drv
display.drv = vga.drv
drivers = mmsystem.dll
fixedfon = vgafix.fon
keyboard.drv = keyboard.drv
language.dll = (empty)
mouse.drv = mouse.drv
network.drv = lanman.drv
oemfonts.fon = vgaoem.fon
shell = progman.exe
sound.drv = sound.drv
system.drv = system.drv
boot.description Provided for applications that seek this
information. Not actually used by the WOW subsystem.
Lists names of devices that can be changed using
Windows 3.x Setup, with these kinds of entries and
default values.
display.drv = VGA
keyboard.typ = Enhanced 101/102 key U.S. and
non U.S. keyboards
language.dll = English (American)
network.drv = LAN support
system.drv = MS-DOS or PC-DOS System
Compatibility Used to translate 16-bit Windows APIs and messages
to 32-bit equivalents.
MAILSPL = 0x40000000 (for MS Mail)
SHOPPER = 0x20000000 (for Clip-Art Windows
Shopper)
SHADOW = 0x10000000 (for BeyondMail
installation)
WINPROJ = 0x80000000 (for Microsoft Project)
ESCAPES = 0x1000000 (for Micrographix Escapes)
HIRES=0x00100000 (fro HIRES display cards
Keyboard Contains information about the keyboard, provided
for applications that seek this information, with
these kinds of entries and default values:
keyboard.dll = (empty)
subtype = (empty)
type=4
NonWindowsAPP Contains information used by non-Windows- based
applications. This is handled automatically by
Windows NT. Unless you manually added values to
SYSTEM.INI in Windows 3.x, this subkey is empty.
Standard Contains entries specific to running Windows 3.x in
standard mode. Unless you manually added values to
SYSTEM.INI in Windows 3.x, this subkey is empty.
The [386Enh] section is read from the SYSTEM.INI file for 16-bit Windows-
based applications that need it. There is no Registry equivalent, because
Windows NT ignores this information.
WINDOWS NT SOFTWARE REGISTRATION ENTRIES
Printing and fonts are described in separate sections. Other software
registration entries for Windows NT are found in this Registry path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
CurrentBuild, CurrentType, and CurrentVersion REG_SZ
Descriptionsr Identifies the current version of the Windows NT.
InstallDate REG_DWORD Number
---------------------------------
Describes the installation date for Windows NT.
PathName REG_SZ Pathname
-----------------------------
Default: C:\winnt
Defines the path where Windows NT system files are saved.
RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner REG_SZ Name
------------------------------------------------------------
Defines the registered organization and owner, as specified during Setup.
SoftwareType REG_SZ Type
-----------------------------
Default: SYSTEM
Defines the type of software for this version.
SourcePath REG_SZ
-------------------
Default: Path for installation media during Setup.
Defines the source of the Setup files.
SystemRoot REG_SZ
-------------------
Default: Specified during Setup (typically, C:\winnt)
Defines the path for the directory containing the Windows NT files.