Re-enable Registry Editing (regedit)

Often, we run across spyware that may disable registry editing.  When you try to access regedit, you may get the following prompt:

“Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator.”

There are several methods to re-enable the registry editing from this point.  First, the easiest is usually to run this command from the run command or from a command prompt:

REG add HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem /v DisableRegistryTools /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

 Log off then back on and try again.  If that didn’t work, you can try the other steps below:

Use GPEDIT to modify the local security policy:

1. Click Start, Run
2. Type GPEDIT.MSC and Press Enter
3. Go to the following location
   • User Configuration
   • Administrative Templates
   • System
4. In the Settings Window, find the option for “Prevent Access to Registry Editing Tools” and double-click on it to change.
5. Select Disabled or Not Configured and choose OK
6. Close the Group Policy Editor and restart your computer
7. Try opening REGEDIT again

Download this VBS file:

www.dougknox.com/security/scripts_desc/regtools.htm