Editing the registry is prohibited by the administrator – 7 ways to solve the problem

In some cases, when trying to open the Windows registry, users see an error window – “Editing the registry is prohibited by the system administrator.” This means that the user will not be able to start making changes to the Windows registry.

The Windows Registry is built into the Windows operating system – a special database collected in a hierarchical order. The registry contains information about computer hardware, programs and their settings, PC user account profiles, etc.

The operating system and other software are constantly working with the registry, without which the normal operation of Windows is impossible. This is a critical component of the system, so users should not make changes to the registry unless absolutely necessary.

But in some situations, intervention in the registry cannot be dispensed with, because it is necessary to change system settings, fix problems with Windows or other software.

Before making changes, back up your system registry or create a Windows restore point. Thanks to this, you will be able to restore the previous state of the registry if something went wrong or you made a mistake by applying incorrect parameter changes.

When working with the registry, you need to understand well what exactly you want to get; when editing the registry, change only those parameters that are familiar to you and only when you really need it.

Registry Editing Denied: Possible Causes of the Problem

When you try to start the Windows Registry, a “Registry Editor” message box appears on the computer screen, warning you that editing the registry has been disabled by the administrator.

This means that you cannot access editing the registry. The administrator of this computer has denied access to the registry to other users with limited rights.

Possible reasons for the ban on starting the registry editor:

• Impact of malware.
• The user does not have sufficient rights.
• The feature has been disabled by the system administrator.

In the first case, the virus blocks access to the registry in order to protect itself and its actions, because because of this, the user will not be able to change system settings that have fallen under the control of malware.

In other cases, the launch of the registry editor is disabled as a result of a change in the settings of the Windows operating system.

There are several ways to solve the problem: using the system tools in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, or using third-party software. When performing operations to unlock the registry editor, it is necessary that the user has administrator rights on this PC.

How to enable the registry editor on the command line

Using the system tool, the Windows command line, is one of the easiest ways to unlock access to the registry editor. This method works the same in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 operating systems.

Do the following:

1. Run Command Prompt as Administrator .
2. Paste this code into the command line window, and then press the “Enter” key:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /t Reg_dword /v DisableRegistryTools /f /d 0

3. After executing the command, close the command line interpreter window.
4. Restart your computer.

Enabling the Registry Editor in PowerShell

The method described above can be applied in another powerful system tool – Windows PowerShell, which can perform more serious tasks in the operating system.

Do the following:

1. Run Windows PowerShell on the computer as an administrator.
2. In the shell window, type the command, and then press “Enter”:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /t Reg_dword /v DisableRegistryTools /f /d 0

3. Close the Windows PowerShell window.
4. Restart your PC.

How to Access the Registry Editor Using a REG File

If editing the registry is prohibited, the system blocks access to this functionality, and the user does not want to use the command line, he can independently create a REG file – a registry file that applies all the necessary changes.

You will need to manually create a registry file with the necessary settings. To apply the settings, you will need to run the generated .reg file on your computer.

Do the following:

1. Open Notepad.
2. Copy this code into the program window:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]

"DisableRegistryTools"=dword:00000000

3. Enter the “File” menu, select “Save”.
4. In the “Save” window, in the “File type:” field, select “All files”, and in the “File name:” field, enter any name with the “.reg” extension, for example, “enableregisrtyeditor.reg”.
5. Click on the “Save” button.
6. Close Notepad.
7. Right-click on the created REG file, click on the “Merge” item in the context menu.
8. Confirm your actions in the warning windows.
9. Reboot your PC.

Unlocking the Registry Editor using a BAT file

In situations where it is not possible to apply other methods, use a batch BAT file. The necessary command is placed in this file, and the settings are applied after the BAT file is launched on the computer.

To create a batch file, you need to do the following:

1. You need to paste this command into the Notepad program window:

reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /t Reg_dword /v DisableRegistryTools /f /d 0

2. In the “File” menu, click on the “Save” button.
3. In the save window, in the “File type:” field, select “All files”, and in the “File name:” enter a name with the “.bat” extension. In this example, “enableregisrtyeditor.bat”.
4. Click Save.
5. Close Notepad.
6. Right-click on the created BAT file, click on “Run as administrator”.
7. Reboot the system.

If you are unable to run the BAT file, place the file in your startup folder and then restart your PC.

Accessing the Registry Editor by Changing Group Policies

Users of older versions of Windows: Corporate, Ultimate, Professional, for educational institutions can use the services of the built-in system tool – the Local Group Policy Editor.

Go through the following steps:

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor .
2. In the “Local Group Policy Editor” window, follow the path:

User Configuration → Administrative Templates → System

3. Look for the “Deny access to registry editing tools” option.
4. Right-click on it and select Edit from the context menu.
5. In the “Do not run specified Windows applications” window, select the option “Not configured” or “Disabled”.
6. After clicking on the “OK” button, restart your computer.

Unlocking the Registry Editor in AVZ

AVZ is a free antivirus utility created by Oleg Zaitsev. With this application, you can check your computer for viruses, as well as solve some problems that arise in the operation of the Windows operating system.

You need to go through the steps:

1. Download AVZ from the developer’s site at the link: http://z-oleg.com/secur/avz/download.php .
2. In the AVZ Antivirus Utility window, open the File menu.
3. In the context menu, click on “System Restore”.
4. In the “Restore System Settings” window, check the “Unlock Registry Editor” box.
5. Click on the “Perform the marked operations” button.
6. Close the AVZ program window.

Solving the problem of opening the registry editor using FixWin

FixWin is a free program designed to solve problems with the operation of the Windows operating system. The developer’s site has separate versions of the application for Windows 10, for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8, for Windows 7.

The program does not require installation on a computer, it is launched from a folder.

Do the following:

1. Follow the link: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/fixwin-for-windows-10 .
2. At the bottom of the page, download the version of the app that fits your operating system.
3. Unzip the archive with the program, and then run FixWin from the folder.
4. In the main FixWin window, open the System Tools tab.
5. Go to the “Registry Editor has been disabled by your administrator” option, click on the “Fix” button.
6. Exit the program, restart your computer.

Article Conclusions

On some computers running the Windows operating system, when you try to run the built-in tool – the Registry Editor, a message appears stating that editing the registry is prohibited by the administrator. Registry blocking occurs for various reasons. If necessary, the user can unlock access to the registry editor using system methods or third-party software.