The article contains REGISTRY entries for the CurrentControlSet\Control
Subkeys Part 2--Session Manager entries.
For listings of the other control subkeys under CurrentControlSet, see the
articles:
CurrentControlSet Part 1, containing:
- BootVerificationProgram
- ComputerName
- DisplayDriver
- GroupOrderList
- HiveList
- KeyboardLayout
- Lsa
- NetworkProvider
- Nls
- PriorityControl
- ProductOptions
- ServiceGroupOrder
CurrentControlSet Part 3, containing:
- Setup
- TimeZoneInformation
- VirtualDeviceDrivers
- Windows
- WOW
CURRENTCONTROLSET\CONTROL SUBKEYS ENTRIES
This key contains parameters that control system startup, such as
subsystems to load, the size and location of paging files, and so on.
NOTE: The system must be restarted for any changes in the Control key to
take effect.
SESSION MANAGER CONTROL ENTRIES
The Session Manager subkey contains the global variables used by the
Session Manager. These values are stored under the following Registry path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
BootExecute REG_MULTI_SZ
Default: autocheck autochk *
Specifies programs to run during startup. For example, if CONVERT.EXE has
been used to convert the file system on a hard disk drive, this value is
added to BootExecute so that conversion occurs when the system is
restarted: BootExecute = autocheck autoconv \DosDevices\x: /FS:NTFS
CriticalSectionTimeout REG_DWORD
Default: 0x278d00
Specifies the deadlock time-out for critical sections. Usually, retail
installations of Windows NT will not time-out and detect deadlocks.
GlobalFlag REG_DWORD
Default: 0x21100000
Controls various Windows NT internal operations. You can change this value
to disable the OS/2 subsystem if you want to run bound applications in a
VDM, rather than under the OS/2 subsystem. Set this value to 20100000 to
disable the OS/2 subsystem.
ObjectDirectories REG_MULTI_SZ
Default: \DosDevices
\Windows
\RPC Control
Lists the object directories to create during startup. Do not edit these
entries.
RegisteredProcessors REG_DWORD
Default: 0x4
ResourceTimeoutCount REG_DWORD
Default: 0x9e340
The number of 4-second ticks that need to transpire before a resource time-
out occurs. Retail installations of Windows NT will never time-out.
DOS Devices Control Entries
The DosDevices subkey lists the built-in symbolic links to create at
startup. The values are stored under this subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet
\Control\Session Manager\DOS Devices
Entries in this key have the data type of REG_SZ. The following list shows
the default entries under this key.
AUX=\DosDevices\COM1
MAILSLOT=\Device\MailSlot
NUL=\Device\Null
PIPE=\Device\NamedPipe
PRN=\DosDevices\LPT1
TELNET=\Device\Telnet
UNC=\Device\Mup
Environment Control Entries
The Environment subkey defines environment variables that the system
creates and that are used by Windows NT Logon and Program Manager.
CAUTION: Use extreme care in changing these entry values. If the operating
system cannot find the files specified for a subsystem, you will not be
able to run non-Windows NT applications.
The Registry path for these values is:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet
\Control\Session Manager\Environment
ComSpec REG_EXPAND_SZ Filename
Default: %systemRoot%\SYSTEM32\CMD.EXE
Defines the path and filename for the Windows NT command interpreter (the
equivalent of MS-DOS COMMAND.COM).
Os2LibPath REG_EXPAND_SZ Filename
Default: %systemRoot%\SYSTEM32\os2\dll
Defines the path for the Microsoft OS/2 version 1.x library.
Path REG_EXPAND_SZ Filename
Default: %systemRoot%\SYSTEM32; %SystemRoot%
Defines the path variable for Windows NT logon and Program Manager.
Windir REG_EXPAND_SZ Filename
Default: %systemRoot%\SYSTEM32\CMD.EXE
Defines the path for the executable for WOW, as used by Windows NT logon
and Program Manager.
FileRenameOperations Entries
Entries for the FileRenameOperation support the MoveFileEx delayed-rename
and delayed-delete capabilities. Entries are stored under this Registry
path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet
\Control\Session Manager\FileRenameOperations
These entries should be maintained only by the system.
KnownDLLs Control Entries
The KnownDlls key defines the set of DLLs that are first searched during
system startup. In general these are system DLLs that are loaded from disk
into a section of memory and are checked for integrity. These DLLs consume
some resources, even if no application loads them. These appear as separate
entries under this Registry path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet
\Control\Session Manager\KnownDLLs
driverName REG_SZ DLL Filename
This series of entries defines a driver name and the corresponding DLL
filename. The following shows the default entries:
advapi32=advapi32.dll olecli32=olecli32.dll
comdlg32=comdlg32.dll olesvr32=olesvr32.dll
crtdll=crtdll.dll rpcrt4=rpcrt4.dll
DllDirectory=%SystemRoot%\system32 shell32=shell32.dll
gdi32=gdi32.dll user32=user32.dll
kernel32=kernel32.dll version=version.dll
lz32=lz32.dll
Memory Management Control Entries
The Memory Management subkey defines paging options under the following
Registry path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet
\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
The paging file parameters should be defined by using the System icon in
Control Panel and choosing the Virtual Memory button.
IoPageLockLimit REG_DWORD Number of bytes
Default: 512K
Specifies the limit of the number of bytes that can be locked for I/O
operations. When this value is 0, the system uses the default (512K). The
maximum value is about the equivalent of physical memory minus pad, which
is 7 MB for a small system and grows as the amount of memory grows. For a
64 MB system, pad is about 16 MB; for a 512 MB system, pad is about 64 MB.
LargeSystemCache REG_DWORD Number
Default: 0
Specifies, for a nonzero value, that the system favor the system-cache
working set rather than the processes working set. Set this value by
choosing the Windows NT Advanced Server installation base.
NonPagedPoolSize REG_DWORD Number of bytes
Default: 0
Specifies the size of nonpaged pool in bytes. When this value is 0, the
system uses the default size (based on physical memory). The maximum amount
is about 80 percent of physical memory.
PagedPoolSize REG_DWORD 0 to 128 MB
Default: 0x3000000 (32 MB)
Specifies the size of paged pool in bytes. When this value is 0, the system
uses the default size (32 MB). See also the entry for RegistrySizeLimit at
the beginning of this section.
PagingFiles REG_MULTI_SZ System_Paging_Files
Default: C:\pagefile.sys 27
Specifies page file information set by choosing the System icon in Control
Panel.
Subsystem Startup Control Entries
The following is the Registry path for the subsystem settings established
at startup:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet
\Control\Session Manager\SubSystems
These values should only be maintained by the system. You should not need
to manually define these settings.
Debug REG_EXPAND_SZ Names
Default: (no value)
Optional REG_MULTI_SZ Subsystem names
Default: Os2 Posix
Defines subsystems that are only loaded when the user starts an application
that requires this subsystem.
Os2 REG_EXPAND_SZ Path and filename
Default: %SystemRoot%\system32\os2ss.exe
Defines the path to the executable file used to start the Microsoft OS/2
version 1.x subsystem.
Posix REG_EXPAND_SZ Path and filename
Default: %SystemRoot%\system32\psxss.exe
Defines the path to the executable file used to start the POSIX subsystem.
(There are no additional POSIX entries in the Registry.)
Required REG_MULTI_SZ Name
Default: Debug Windows
Windows REG_EXPAND_SZ Path and filename
Default: %SystemRoot%\system32\csrss.exe
ObjectDirectory=\Windows SharedSection=1024,3072
Windows=On SubSystemType=Windows ServerDll=basesrv,1
ServerDll=winsrv:GdiServerDllInitialization,4
ServerDll=winsrv:UserServerDllInitialization,3
ServerDll=winsrv:ConServerDllInitialization,2
ServerDll=mmsndsrv,5 ProfileControl=Off
MaxRequestThreads=16
Defines the path to the executable file used to start the Win32 subsystem.
Reference: "The Windows NT Resource Kit for Operating System Version 3.1".