Access another user's HKEY_CURRENT_USER Registry branch












21














I am looking for a way to access the registry of other users on a computer so I can copy them.



The idea is that I am trying to get a complicated Delphi app to compile and run on more than one profile.



I found a way once to do it with some Windows management tool, but I can't find it now.



I don't know the other user's password, so I can't log in as them or do a "run as".










share|improve this question





























    21














    I am looking for a way to access the registry of other users on a computer so I can copy them.



    The idea is that I am trying to get a complicated Delphi app to compile and run on more than one profile.



    I found a way once to do it with some Windows management tool, but I can't find it now.



    I don't know the other user's password, so I can't log in as them or do a "run as".










    share|improve this question



























      21












      21








      21


      2





      I am looking for a way to access the registry of other users on a computer so I can copy them.



      The idea is that I am trying to get a complicated Delphi app to compile and run on more than one profile.



      I found a way once to do it with some Windows management tool, but I can't find it now.



      I don't know the other user's password, so I can't log in as them or do a "run as".










      share|improve this question















      I am looking for a way to access the registry of other users on a computer so I can copy them.



      The idea is that I am trying to get a complicated Delphi app to compile and run on more than one profile.



      I found a way once to do it with some Windows management tool, but I can't find it now.



      I don't know the other user's password, so I can't log in as them or do a "run as".







      windows-registry






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Dec 10 at 16:29









      Twisty Impersonator

      17.7k136395




      17.7k136395










      asked Sep 24 '09 at 19:42









      Vaccano

      2,967185268




      2,967185268






















          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          21














          you can use regedit for this. Open regedit and select HKEY_USERS then go to File->Load Hive. Browse to the users Hive file, usually NTUSER.DAT located at %userprofile%.



          This of course requires you to be admin or have access to the users hive file.






          share|improve this answer

















          • 3




            It's worth noting that the Load Hive menu option is only enabled when the HKEY_USERS or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key is selected.
            – Richard Everett
            Feb 21 '14 at 15:52












          • Regedit says that the file is in use (of course it is). What should I do now?
            – mahmoodvcs
            Aug 19 '15 at 6:03










          • @mahmoodvcs: Sounds like it's already loaded – likely somewhere under the same HKEY_USERS.
            – grawity
            Nov 19 '15 at 13:39










          • Thank yoooouuuuu!!! This just saved my day. I had an entry in my Run that restarts Windows immediately (I was using it for some testing). Using this technique I could delete that entry from startup. Thanks again.
            – Sнаđошƒаӽ
            May 10 '16 at 9:21






          • 1




            Aah it exists C:Users<username>NTUSER.DAT but it is not visible even when invisible files are visible.
            – Dalvik VM
            Jun 7 '16 at 9:15



















          1














          If you are looking to do a basic profile copy, I prefer using the user profile copy feature in windows XP. To do this you will need two accounts. I usually use my own account and a generic local admin account. You first configure your own account with all the registry settings and fixes you want. Then, restart your computer (to force all programs to release control of the ntuser.dat file) and log into the generic admin account. Once into windows, right click on My computer and go to properties. Under the Advanced tab, you will see the "User Profile" section with a settings button. When you press that button, a list of all locally stored profiles will come up. From here, you can copy one profile onto another. All you do is put in the location of the ntsuer.dat file "C:Documents and Settingsexampleuser".



          This tool works surprisingly well for how simple it is. I find it's a great way to implement default registry settings. You can copy your profile to the "default user" and then all future users will have those settings given to them. I usually use something like delprof to purge all users, copy my profile to default user, and then have other users log back on. Make sure to backup any locally stored data before you start.



          It's a lot less dangerous then using regedit since you take a working profile and copy it. The main downside is that some programs still won't work correctly even after this. Though that is mainly due to badly designed code.



          Hope this helps






          share|improve this answer





























            0














            Use regedit, if you have administrative rights to the remote computer you can select File... Connect Network Registry, and type the name or search for the computer that you want to connect to.






            share|improve this answer





















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              3 Answers
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              3 Answers
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              21














              you can use regedit for this. Open regedit and select HKEY_USERS then go to File->Load Hive. Browse to the users Hive file, usually NTUSER.DAT located at %userprofile%.



              This of course requires you to be admin or have access to the users hive file.






              share|improve this answer

















              • 3




                It's worth noting that the Load Hive menu option is only enabled when the HKEY_USERS or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key is selected.
                – Richard Everett
                Feb 21 '14 at 15:52












              • Regedit says that the file is in use (of course it is). What should I do now?
                – mahmoodvcs
                Aug 19 '15 at 6:03










              • @mahmoodvcs: Sounds like it's already loaded – likely somewhere under the same HKEY_USERS.
                – grawity
                Nov 19 '15 at 13:39










              • Thank yoooouuuuu!!! This just saved my day. I had an entry in my Run that restarts Windows immediately (I was using it for some testing). Using this technique I could delete that entry from startup. Thanks again.
                – Sнаđошƒаӽ
                May 10 '16 at 9:21






              • 1




                Aah it exists C:Users<username>NTUSER.DAT but it is not visible even when invisible files are visible.
                – Dalvik VM
                Jun 7 '16 at 9:15
















              21














              you can use regedit for this. Open regedit and select HKEY_USERS then go to File->Load Hive. Browse to the users Hive file, usually NTUSER.DAT located at %userprofile%.



              This of course requires you to be admin or have access to the users hive file.






              share|improve this answer

















              • 3




                It's worth noting that the Load Hive menu option is only enabled when the HKEY_USERS or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key is selected.
                – Richard Everett
                Feb 21 '14 at 15:52












              • Regedit says that the file is in use (of course it is). What should I do now?
                – mahmoodvcs
                Aug 19 '15 at 6:03










              • @mahmoodvcs: Sounds like it's already loaded – likely somewhere under the same HKEY_USERS.
                – grawity
                Nov 19 '15 at 13:39










              • Thank yoooouuuuu!!! This just saved my day. I had an entry in my Run that restarts Windows immediately (I was using it for some testing). Using this technique I could delete that entry from startup. Thanks again.
                – Sнаđошƒаӽ
                May 10 '16 at 9:21






              • 1




                Aah it exists C:Users<username>NTUSER.DAT but it is not visible even when invisible files are visible.
                – Dalvik VM
                Jun 7 '16 at 9:15














              21












              21








              21






              you can use regedit for this. Open regedit and select HKEY_USERS then go to File->Load Hive. Browse to the users Hive file, usually NTUSER.DAT located at %userprofile%.



              This of course requires you to be admin or have access to the users hive file.






              share|improve this answer












              you can use regedit for this. Open regedit and select HKEY_USERS then go to File->Load Hive. Browse to the users Hive file, usually NTUSER.DAT located at %userprofile%.



              This of course requires you to be admin or have access to the users hive file.







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered Sep 24 '09 at 19:50









              Paxxi

              6,79211624




              6,79211624








              • 3




                It's worth noting that the Load Hive menu option is only enabled when the HKEY_USERS or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key is selected.
                – Richard Everett
                Feb 21 '14 at 15:52












              • Regedit says that the file is in use (of course it is). What should I do now?
                – mahmoodvcs
                Aug 19 '15 at 6:03










              • @mahmoodvcs: Sounds like it's already loaded – likely somewhere under the same HKEY_USERS.
                – grawity
                Nov 19 '15 at 13:39










              • Thank yoooouuuuu!!! This just saved my day. I had an entry in my Run that restarts Windows immediately (I was using it for some testing). Using this technique I could delete that entry from startup. Thanks again.
                – Sнаđошƒаӽ
                May 10 '16 at 9:21






              • 1




                Aah it exists C:Users<username>NTUSER.DAT but it is not visible even when invisible files are visible.
                – Dalvik VM
                Jun 7 '16 at 9:15














              • 3




                It's worth noting that the Load Hive menu option is only enabled when the HKEY_USERS or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key is selected.
                – Richard Everett
                Feb 21 '14 at 15:52












              • Regedit says that the file is in use (of course it is). What should I do now?
                – mahmoodvcs
                Aug 19 '15 at 6:03










              • @mahmoodvcs: Sounds like it's already loaded – likely somewhere under the same HKEY_USERS.
                – grawity
                Nov 19 '15 at 13:39










              • Thank yoooouuuuu!!! This just saved my day. I had an entry in my Run that restarts Windows immediately (I was using it for some testing). Using this technique I could delete that entry from startup. Thanks again.
                – Sнаđошƒаӽ
                May 10 '16 at 9:21






              • 1




                Aah it exists C:Users<username>NTUSER.DAT but it is not visible even when invisible files are visible.
                – Dalvik VM
                Jun 7 '16 at 9:15








              3




              3




              It's worth noting that the Load Hive menu option is only enabled when the HKEY_USERS or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key is selected.
              – Richard Everett
              Feb 21 '14 at 15:52






              It's worth noting that the Load Hive menu option is only enabled when the HKEY_USERS or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key is selected.
              – Richard Everett
              Feb 21 '14 at 15:52














              Regedit says that the file is in use (of course it is). What should I do now?
              – mahmoodvcs
              Aug 19 '15 at 6:03




              Regedit says that the file is in use (of course it is). What should I do now?
              – mahmoodvcs
              Aug 19 '15 at 6:03












              @mahmoodvcs: Sounds like it's already loaded – likely somewhere under the same HKEY_USERS.
              – grawity
              Nov 19 '15 at 13:39




              @mahmoodvcs: Sounds like it's already loaded – likely somewhere under the same HKEY_USERS.
              – grawity
              Nov 19 '15 at 13:39












              Thank yoooouuuuu!!! This just saved my day. I had an entry in my Run that restarts Windows immediately (I was using it for some testing). Using this technique I could delete that entry from startup. Thanks again.
              – Sнаđошƒаӽ
              May 10 '16 at 9:21




              Thank yoooouuuuu!!! This just saved my day. I had an entry in my Run that restarts Windows immediately (I was using it for some testing). Using this technique I could delete that entry from startup. Thanks again.
              – Sнаđошƒаӽ
              May 10 '16 at 9:21




              1




              1




              Aah it exists C:Users<username>NTUSER.DAT but it is not visible even when invisible files are visible.
              – Dalvik VM
              Jun 7 '16 at 9:15




              Aah it exists C:Users<username>NTUSER.DAT but it is not visible even when invisible files are visible.
              – Dalvik VM
              Jun 7 '16 at 9:15













              1














              If you are looking to do a basic profile copy, I prefer using the user profile copy feature in windows XP. To do this you will need two accounts. I usually use my own account and a generic local admin account. You first configure your own account with all the registry settings and fixes you want. Then, restart your computer (to force all programs to release control of the ntuser.dat file) and log into the generic admin account. Once into windows, right click on My computer and go to properties. Under the Advanced tab, you will see the "User Profile" section with a settings button. When you press that button, a list of all locally stored profiles will come up. From here, you can copy one profile onto another. All you do is put in the location of the ntsuer.dat file "C:Documents and Settingsexampleuser".



              This tool works surprisingly well for how simple it is. I find it's a great way to implement default registry settings. You can copy your profile to the "default user" and then all future users will have those settings given to them. I usually use something like delprof to purge all users, copy my profile to default user, and then have other users log back on. Make sure to backup any locally stored data before you start.



              It's a lot less dangerous then using regedit since you take a working profile and copy it. The main downside is that some programs still won't work correctly even after this. Though that is mainly due to badly designed code.



              Hope this helps






              share|improve this answer


























                1














                If you are looking to do a basic profile copy, I prefer using the user profile copy feature in windows XP. To do this you will need two accounts. I usually use my own account and a generic local admin account. You first configure your own account with all the registry settings and fixes you want. Then, restart your computer (to force all programs to release control of the ntuser.dat file) and log into the generic admin account. Once into windows, right click on My computer and go to properties. Under the Advanced tab, you will see the "User Profile" section with a settings button. When you press that button, a list of all locally stored profiles will come up. From here, you can copy one profile onto another. All you do is put in the location of the ntsuer.dat file "C:Documents and Settingsexampleuser".



                This tool works surprisingly well for how simple it is. I find it's a great way to implement default registry settings. You can copy your profile to the "default user" and then all future users will have those settings given to them. I usually use something like delprof to purge all users, copy my profile to default user, and then have other users log back on. Make sure to backup any locally stored data before you start.



                It's a lot less dangerous then using regedit since you take a working profile and copy it. The main downside is that some programs still won't work correctly even after this. Though that is mainly due to badly designed code.



                Hope this helps






                share|improve this answer
























                  1












                  1








                  1






                  If you are looking to do a basic profile copy, I prefer using the user profile copy feature in windows XP. To do this you will need two accounts. I usually use my own account and a generic local admin account. You first configure your own account with all the registry settings and fixes you want. Then, restart your computer (to force all programs to release control of the ntuser.dat file) and log into the generic admin account. Once into windows, right click on My computer and go to properties. Under the Advanced tab, you will see the "User Profile" section with a settings button. When you press that button, a list of all locally stored profiles will come up. From here, you can copy one profile onto another. All you do is put in the location of the ntsuer.dat file "C:Documents and Settingsexampleuser".



                  This tool works surprisingly well for how simple it is. I find it's a great way to implement default registry settings. You can copy your profile to the "default user" and then all future users will have those settings given to them. I usually use something like delprof to purge all users, copy my profile to default user, and then have other users log back on. Make sure to backup any locally stored data before you start.



                  It's a lot less dangerous then using regedit since you take a working profile and copy it. The main downside is that some programs still won't work correctly even after this. Though that is mainly due to badly designed code.



                  Hope this helps






                  share|improve this answer












                  If you are looking to do a basic profile copy, I prefer using the user profile copy feature in windows XP. To do this you will need two accounts. I usually use my own account and a generic local admin account. You first configure your own account with all the registry settings and fixes you want. Then, restart your computer (to force all programs to release control of the ntuser.dat file) and log into the generic admin account. Once into windows, right click on My computer and go to properties. Under the Advanced tab, you will see the "User Profile" section with a settings button. When you press that button, a list of all locally stored profiles will come up. From here, you can copy one profile onto another. All you do is put in the location of the ntsuer.dat file "C:Documents and Settingsexampleuser".



                  This tool works surprisingly well for how simple it is. I find it's a great way to implement default registry settings. You can copy your profile to the "default user" and then all future users will have those settings given to them. I usually use something like delprof to purge all users, copy my profile to default user, and then have other users log back on. Make sure to backup any locally stored data before you start.



                  It's a lot less dangerous then using regedit since you take a working profile and copy it. The main downside is that some programs still won't work correctly even after this. Though that is mainly due to badly designed code.



                  Hope this helps







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Sep 24 '09 at 20:48









                  Doltknuckle

                  5,38042027




                  5,38042027























                      0














                      Use regedit, if you have administrative rights to the remote computer you can select File... Connect Network Registry, and type the name or search for the computer that you want to connect to.






                      share|improve this answer


























                        0














                        Use regedit, if you have administrative rights to the remote computer you can select File... Connect Network Registry, and type the name or search for the computer that you want to connect to.






                        share|improve this answer
























                          0












                          0








                          0






                          Use regedit, if you have administrative rights to the remote computer you can select File... Connect Network Registry, and type the name or search for the computer that you want to connect to.






                          share|improve this answer












                          Use regedit, if you have administrative rights to the remote computer you can select File... Connect Network Registry, and type the name or search for the computer that you want to connect to.







                          share|improve this answer












                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer










                          answered Sep 24 '09 at 19:49









                          joeqwerty

                          5,21411421




                          5,21411421






























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