Windows Registry Keys - A Growing List

This blog entry is the beginning (and continuation) of a growing list of Windows Registry Keys about which I had reason to know or in which I had to modify values.

I try to keep them sorted in roughly alphabetical order, not counting \WOW6432Node.

Note that instead of HKLM (Local Machine), HKCU (Current User) can often be used to change settings for the current user instead of the entire system.

HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Citrix\

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Citrix\ICA Client\
  • REG_DWORD VdLoadUnLoadTimeOut
  • VdLoadUnLoadTimeOut sets a connection timeout in seconds. Set to something large (10 seconds) to avoid "This version of Citrix Receiver does not support selected encryption" errors which are apparently triggered by Receiver deciding that that must be the case for the connection not finishing. (Found in Citrix Knowledge Center CTX133536.) Why this is a hard-to-find registry value and not simply enabled by default is a Citrix mystery.

HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\
  • REG_DWORD EnableLUA
  • Configures Limited User Account (User Account Control). 0 disables LUA, 1 enables LUA. Explained here in the Microsoft Developer Network. Check that article for further options.

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\
  • REG_DWORD Disabled
  • Set to 1 to disable Windows Error Reporting. (That's the annoying discussion Windows starts after an application crashes.)

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\
  • REG_SZ SusClientID
  • Used by Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) to identify the computer. Reset by stopping the wuauserv service (1), deleting the property (2), starting the wuauserv service (2), and forcing Windows Update to reinitialise on the server (4).
  • 1: Stop-Service wuauserv
  • 2: Remove-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate SusClientID
  • 3: Start-Service wuauserv
  • 4: wuauclt /resetauthorization /detectnow

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\
  • REG_SZ RegisteredOwner
  • REG_SZ RegisteredOrganization

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon
  • REG_SZ AppSetup
  • Contains "UsrLogon.cmd,cmstart.exe" (without the quotes) on working Citrix servers and (possibly) "UsrLogon.cmd" (without the quotes) on non-working Citrix servers. Why Citrix' installer leaves this in a non-working state is not known.
  • REG_SZ Shell
  • Contains "explorer.exe" (without the quotes). Change to "cmd.exe" (for example) to replace Windows Explorer with another shell.

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList\
  • REG_DWORD UserName
  • UserName can be any user name. Set its data to 0 to hide the user from the login screen. (You can still log on as that user by typing his name.)

HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\
  • REG_DWORD DisableNotificationCenter
  • Set to 1 to disable the annoying "Notification Center".

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OOBE\
  • REG_DWORD DisablePrivacyExperience
  • Set to 1 to disable the annoying questionaire for new users.

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization\
  • REG-DWORD NoLockScreen
  • Set to 1 to disable the lock screen (screen saver)

  • HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU\
  • REG_DWORD AUOptions
  • Configures Windows Update. (Explained here in the Microsoft Developer Network.) 1 actually disables automatic updates, This allows administrators to choose themselves when to check for and download updates.

HKLM:\SYSTEM\

  • HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
  • REG_DWORD ServicesPipeTimeout
  • Apparently this configures the time services have to react and start. Default might be 30 seconds (30000 decimal). Given in milliseconds. Set it to a very large value of you use any Citrix software. I have it set to 300,000 (300 seconds aka 5 minutes).

  • HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Citrix\wfshell\TWI
  • REG_DWORD ApplicationLaunchWaitTimeoutMS
  • Apparently this configures the time the Citrix session exists before it shuts down when after waiting for the application to start. Default is apparently be 60 seconds. Given in milliseconds. Set it to a very large value of you use any Citrix software. I have it set to 300,000 (300 seconds aka 5 minutes).

  • HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\RCM\Licensing Core\
  • REG_DWORD LicensingMode
  • Configured Terminal Server (Remote Desktop) licensing mode. Windows will occassionally forget this value and remote desktop connections won't work any more until this is fixed. Set it to 2 for per user or 4 for per device.
 © Andrew Brehm 2016