How do I monitor what changes in my registry?

By Leo Notenboom

All I want to do is: make a copy of the registry, install a program, make another copy of the registry, and compare to see the changes.

Monitoring what happens in the registry can sometimes be a very useful thing.

I think that in general, you’ll be very surprised at how much activity happens in the registry, particularly for an install.

There are a couple of ways to do what you’re suggesting: comparing before and after snapshots of the registry and monitoring the changes as they happen.

I’ll discuss both.

Comparing Registry Snapshots

Before you run the installation program, run the Registry Editor. Use the Run item on the Start menu, or press the Windows key plus the letter R, and then type in “regedit” and click OK.

Make sure that the top-level item – “Computer” – is selected as shown above.. Just click it once.

Now click File, and then Export…

Article Continued Here

This post is excerpted with permission from Leo Notenboom.

About Leo Notenboom

Leo A. Notenboom is the owner of Puget Sound Software, LLC and the Leo in Ask Leo!. Leo has been in the personal computer and software industry since 1979, as a software engineer, a manager of software engineers, and as a consultant. In 1983 Leo joined what was then a medium sized local company called Microsoft and spent the next 18 years in a wide variety of groups working on a wide variety of software. If you're running Microsoft Windows, if you've used a Microsoft development tool or Microsoft Money, or if you've ever purchased a ticket through Expedia, there's a good chance you've been touched by some of his work. And of course, since 2003, Leo has been answering your tech questions on Ask Leo!

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