Can I safely use regedit to remove Windows NT entries from Windows xp registry?

[mgf]

I run Windows XP Pro, SP3.
In the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_SOFTWARE, there are over 100 entries for, or references to, Windows NT.
Can I safely remove all NT entries from the XP registry? If not, is there a short answer to "why are they necessary?"

 

[Saga Lout]

Hello and welcome to Tom's Hardware Forums.

Definitely not - NT stands for New Technology and it's the name given by Microsoft code writers from the outset in 2001 for many files and crucial Registry entries.

The Registry is a good place to leave alone but if you do anything in there, start by choosing Export from the File menu and noting the name and location of the backup you're about to create - you may need to revert to the original settings afterwards. In my system, the entire Registry only takes up 322Mb of hard disk space - you won't save much by deleting a tiny part of it.

 

[mgf]

Thank you for the lesson. I am learning as I go along trying to lighten the processing and memory load off my now aging IBM Thinkpad. The danger for me is that I've been an obsessive "how does this thing work?" tweaker since I was a kid.
I'm sure many people who read and post here and there would give a quick "me too!" Even so, I spend many hours in research and learning before I fool with anything that's worth more than about one day's pay.
I have done registry edits but only to remove residual entries after removing programs and services. I am very careful and I do backup although I'm not comfortable guessing WHAT to backup given the particular change I'm making so I spend excessive time and resources backing up everything on a large external drive and via Acronis. I do want to learn more about backups and how to use them more efficiently. I will use your Export method after I read a little more about it. Thanks again for your comments. mgf

 

[Saga Lout]

You're welcome. We're all learning and the great thing about this subject is no-one will ever get to the end of it and stop learning.

I missed out on twenty years of it by believing the rubbish the chosen few put out that lesser mortals weren't special enough to work with computers so I didn't touch one until 1986. I'm 65 now and fixing PCs and their systems has been my sole living for over ten years since closing my other business.

I come here to learn first and put something back second and I hope you'll be doing the same very soon.

 

[jules2cools]

What a great thing you guys are doing. Thank you so much!!

 

[mgf]

Best answer selected by mgf.