edit the windows registry file, system.dat

I need to edit a corrupted system.dat file (windows registry), I have a copy of access to this file. How do I open and edit this file using regedit?

Solution 1:

Yes.

You can open another "hive" with regedit.

1. Start regedit.
2. Select the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE root key.
3. Go to the menu "File->Load Hive..."
4. Choose the DAT file for the registry you wish to edit.
5. You will be prompted for a name to load the hive into. The name does not matter. It just loads the registry hive into a subfolder using the name you provide.
6. You can then edit the registry you just loaded in the same manner as any other registry. All changes are made in real time, just as normal.
7. When you're done, go to the menu "File->Unload Hive..."

However, this will only work on Win2k/Xp/Vista/7, there is no way to load the registry like his in Win9x/ME.