Registry Key Rename.

[DemonAngel]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if you could help me with a registry key rename problem I have. I have been looking through the help file, but all I could find was read and delete functions.

I want to rename the following.

From: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel"

To: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet ExplorerOLD\Control Panel"

Once the rename is complete, I need to make a manual IE change and then rename the key back. There are numerous keys and values contained under the Internet Explorer key that I dont want to loose. I am also an administrator on the PC and will thus not have any permission problems accessing the registry.

Cheers,

DMN

[martin]

I think you need to export the key to a file, copy the file to another, rename the keys in the copy. Then delete the reg key, import from the modified copy. Then later, delete the new key and import from the first export.

[DemonAngel]

Thanx for the reply Martin. Do know perhaps know of a UDF or an easy way to export and import registry keys?

[zorphnog]

Well this turned out to be a little bit more complicated than I thought, but here's a UDF to rename a key.

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Global Const _      ; Predefined Keys
    $HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT  = 0x80000000, _
    $HKEY_CURRENT_USER  = 0x80000001, _
    $HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = 0x80000002, _
    $HKEY_USERS         = 0x80000003
Global Const _      ; Registry Key Security and Access Rights
    $KEY_ALL_ACCESS         = 0xF003F, _
    $KEY_CREATE_LINK        = 0x0020, _
    $KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY     = 0x0004, _
    $KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS = 0x0008, _
    $KEY_EXECUTE            = 0x20019, _
    $KEY_NOTIFY             = 0x0010, _
    $KEY_QUERY_VALUE        = 0x0001, _
    $KEY_READ               = 0x20019, _
    $KEY_SET_VALUE          = 0x0002, _
    $KEY_WOW64_32KEY        = 0x0200, _
    $KEY_WOW64_64KEY        = 0x0100, _
    $KEY_WRITE              = 0x20006
Global Const _       ; Registry creation options
    $REG_OPTION_NON_VOLATILE   = 0x00000000, _
    $REG_OPTION_VOLATILE       = 0x00000001, _
    $REG_OPTION_CREATE_LINK    = 0x00000002, _
    $REG_OPTION_BACKUP_RESTORE = 0x00000004

_RegRenameKey("HKLM\SOFTWARE", "TestKey", "TestKey1")

Func _RegRenameKey($sKey, $sSubKeyOld, $sSubKeyNew)
    Local $sMainKey, $sMainSubKey, $hKeySrc, $hKeyDest
    
    ; Check for subkey existance
    RegRead($sKey & "\" & $sSubKeyOld, "")
    If @error = 1 Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR key does not exist [%s\\%s]\r\n", $sKey, $sSubKeyOld))
        Return SetError(-1, 0, -1)
    EndIf
    
    ; Parse key for system key and subkey
    $aResult = StringRegExp($sKey, "(?iU)(.+)(?:\\(.*\Z)|\Z)", 3)
    If Not @error Then
        Switch UBound($aResult)
            Case 1
                $sMainKey = $aResult[0]
                $sMainSubKey = ""
            Case 2
                $sMainKey = $aResult[0]
                $sMainSubKey = $aResult[1]
        EndSwitch
    Else
        Return SetError(1, 0, -1)
    EndIf
    
    ; Open main subkey
    $hKeySrc = __RegOpenKeyEx($sMainKey, $sMainSubKey)
    If @error Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR opening key [%s\\%s]\r\nError: %d\tExtended: %d\r\n", $sMainKey, $sMainSubKey, @error, @extended))
        Return SetError(2, 0, -1)
    EndIf

    ; Create new subkey
    $hKeyDest = __RegCreateKeyEx($hKeySrc, $sSubKeyNew)
    If @error Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR creating key [%s\\%s]\r\nError: %d\tExtended: %d\r\n", $sKey, $sSubKeyNew, @error, @extended))
        __RegCloseKey($hKeySrc)
        Return SetError(3, 0, -1)
    EndIf

    ; Copy tree from old subkey to new
    __RegCopyTree($hKeySrc, $sSubKeyOld, $hKeyDest)
    If @error Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR copying tree [%s\\%s] to [%s\\%s]\r\nError: %d\tExtended: %d\r\n", $sKey, $sSubKeyOld, $sKey, $sSubKeyNew, @error, @extended))
        __RegCloseKey($hKeySrc)
        __RegCloseKey($hKeyDest)
        Return SetError(4, 0, -1)
    EndIf
    __RegCloseKey($hKeyDest)
    
    ; Delete old subkey
    __RegDeleteTree($hKeySrc, $sSubKeyOld)
    If @error Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR deleting tree [%s\\%s]\r\nError: %d\tExtended: %d\r\n", $sKey, $sSubKeyOld, @error, @extended))
        __RegCloseKey($hKeySrc)
        Return SetError(5, 0, -1)
    EndIf
    __RegCloseKey($hKeySrc)
EndFunc  ;==>_RegRenameKey

Func __RegCloseKey($hKey)
    Local $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegCloseKey", "int", $hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, @error, -1)
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(2, $aResult[0], -1)
EndFunc  ;==>__RegCloseKey

Func __RegCopyTree($hKeySrc, $sSubKey, $hKeyDest)
    Local $tDATA, $aResult
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegCopyTreeW", _
        "int", $hKeySrc, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"), _
        "int", $hKeyDest)
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(1, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(2, $aResult[0], -1)  ; Error using RegCopyTree
EndFunc  ;==>__RegCopyTree

Func __RegCreateKeyEx($hKey, $sSubKey, $b64 = False)
    Local $tDATA, $iSAM, $aResult, $hkResult
    $hKey = __GetHKey($hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, 0, -1)  ; Invalid Key
    $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_32KEY
    If $b64 Then $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_64KEY
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("int Result;dword Disposition;wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegCreateKeyExW", _
        "int", $hKey, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"), _
        "dword", 0, _
        "ptr", 0, _
        "dword", $REG_OPTION_NON_VOLATILE, _
        "int", BitOR($KEY_ALL_ACCESS, $iSAM), _
        "ptr", 0, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "Result"), _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "Disposition"))
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(2, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $hkResult = DllStructGetData($tDATA, "Result")
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(3, $aResult[0], $hkResult)  ; Error using RegCreateKeyEx
    Return $hkResult
EndFunc  ;==>__RegCreateKeyEx

Func __RegDeleteKeyEx($hKey, $sSubKey, $b64 = False)
    Local $tDATA, $iSAM, $aResult
    $hKey = __GetHKey($hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, 0, -1)  ; Invalid Key
    $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_32KEY
    If $b64 Then $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_64KEY
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegDeleteKeyExW", _
        "int", $hKey, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"), _
        "int", $iSAM, _
        "dword", 0)
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(2, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(3, $aResult[0], -1)  ; Error using RegDeleteKeyEx
EndFunc  ;__RegDeleteKeyEx

Func __RegDeleteTree($hKey, $sSubKey = "")
    Local $tDATA, $aResult
    $hKey = __GetHKey($hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, 0, -1)  ; Invalid Key
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegDeleteTreeW", _
        "int", $hKey, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"))
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(2, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(3, $aResult[0], -1)  ; Error using RegDeleteTree
EndFunc  ;==>__RegDeleteTree

Func __RegOpenKeyEx($hKey, $sSubKey = "", $b64 = False)
    Local $tDATA, $aResult, $hkResult
    $hKey = __GetHKey($hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, 0, -1)  ; Invalid Key
    $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_32KEY
    If $b64 Then $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_64KEY
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("int Result;wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegOpenKeyExW", _
        "int", $hKey, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"), _
        "dword", 0, _
        "int", BitOR($KEY_ALL_ACCESS, $iSAM), _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "Result"))
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(2, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $hkResult = DllStructGetData($tDATA, "Result")
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(3, $aResult[0], $hkResult)  ; Error using RegOpenKeyEx
    Return $hkResult
EndFunc  ;==>__RegOpenKeyEx

Func __GetHKey($hKey)
    If IsString($hKey) Then
        Switch StringUpper($hKey)
            Case "HKCR", "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT"
                Return $HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
            Case "HKCU", "HKEY_CURRENT_USER"
                Return $HKEY_CURRENT_USER
            Case "HKLM", "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE"
                Return $HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
            Case "HKU", "HKEY_USERS"
                Return $HKEY_USERS
            Case Else
                Return SetError(1, 0, -1)
        EndSwitch
    EndIf
    Return $hKey
EndFunc  ;==>__GetHKey

Edit: Corrected deletion of old key. __RegDeleteTree must be used instead of __RegDeleteEx to recursively delete the subkey.

Edited January 12, 2010 by zorphnog

[martin]

Well this turned out to be a little bit more complicated than I thought, but here's a UDF to rename a key.

Wow, that's a lot of work. I haven't tried it but I'm very impressed.

This is what I was trying to describe.

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_RenameRegKey("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SomeKey", "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ABCNew")


;Function _RenameRegKey
;returns 1 on success
;   -1 if oldkey not found
;   -2 if no change to make
;   -3 if failed to create new key
;   -4 failed to delete old key
;a backup of the old key is in the file $savereg
;a backup of new key is in $newreg
Func _RenameRegKey($oldkey, $newkey,$savereg= default, $newreg= default)
    If $savereg = default then $savereg = @ScriptDir & '\back01.reg'
    if $newreg = default then $newreg = @ScriptDir & '\back02.reg'

    RegRead($oldkey, "")
    If @error = 1 Then Return -1;no such key

    If $oldkey == $newkey Then Return -2

    Local $header, $all, $all1, $hf2

    FileDelete($savereg)
    $proc = RunWait('regedit /e "' & $savereg & '" "' & $oldkey & '"'); /e to export

    $all = FileRead($savereg)
    If $all = "" Then Return -1;no data
    $all1 = StringReplace($all, $oldkey, $newkey)
    If @extended = 0 Then Return -2; no changes

    $hf2 = FileOpen($newreg, 2)
    FileWrite($hf2, $all1)
    FileClose($hf2)

    RunWait('regedit /s "' & $newreg & '"'); /s means silent, ie no prompt to write to the registry
    RegRead($newkey, "")
    If @error = 1 Then
    Return -3;failed
    EndIf
    if RegDelete($oldkey) = 2 then return -4

    Return 1; ok
EndFunc ;==>_RenameRegKey

EDIT: Converted to a function. Tested on XP only.

Edited January 14, 2010 by martin

[ProgAndy]

This is only for Vista and newer. For XP, ypu have to modify it to use SHCopyKey

[zorphnog]

Good catch @ProgAndy. I sometimes forget about preVista. Here's the correction.

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Global Const _      ; Predefined Keys
    $HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT  = 0x80000000, _
    $HKEY_CURRENT_USER  = 0x80000001, _
    $HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = 0x80000002, _
    $HKEY_USERS         = 0x80000003
Global Const _      ; Registry Key Security and Access Rights
    $KEY_ALL_ACCESS         = 0xF003F, _
    $KEY_CREATE_LINK        = 0x0020, _
    $KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY     = 0x0004, _
    $KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS = 0x0008, _
    $KEY_EXECUTE            = 0x20019, _
    $KEY_NOTIFY             = 0x0010, _
    $KEY_QUERY_VALUE        = 0x0001, _
    $KEY_READ               = 0x20019, _
    $KEY_SET_VALUE          = 0x0002, _
    $KEY_WOW64_32KEY        = 0x0200, _
    $KEY_WOW64_64KEY        = 0x0100, _
    $KEY_WRITE              = 0x20006
Global Const _       ; Registry creation options
    $REG_OPTION_NON_VOLATILE   = 0x00000000, _
    $REG_OPTION_VOLATILE       = 0x00000001, _
    $REG_OPTION_CREATE_LINK    = 0x00000002, _
    $REG_OPTION_BACKUP_RESTORE = 0x00000004

_RegRenameKey("HKLM\SOFTWARE", "TortoiseOverlays1", "TortoiseOverlays")

Func _RegRenameKey($sKey, $sSubKeyOld, $sSubKeyNew)
    Local $sMainKey, $sMainSubKey, $hKeySrc, $hKeyDest
    
    ; Check for subkey existance
    RegRead($sKey & "\" & $sSubKeyOld, "")
    If @error = 1 Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR key does not exist [%s\\%s]\r\n", $sKey, $sSubKeyOld))
        Return SetError(-1, 0, -1)
    EndIf
    
    ; Parse key for system key and subkey
    $aResult = StringRegExp($sKey, "(?iU)(.+)(?:\\(.*\Z)|\Z)", 3)
    If Not @error Then
        Switch UBound($aResult)
            Case 1
                $sMainKey = $aResult[0]
                $sMainSubKey = ""
            Case 2
                $sMainKey = $aResult[0]
                $sMainSubKey = $aResult[1]
        EndSwitch
    Else
        Return SetError(1, 0, -1)
    EndIf
    
    ; Open main subkey
    $hKeySrc = __RegOpenKeyEx($sMainKey, $sMainSubKey)
    If @error Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR opening key [%s\\%s]\r\nError: %d\tExtended: %d\r\n", $sMainKey, $sMainSubKey, @error, @extended))
        Return SetError(2, 0, -1)
    EndIf

    ; Create new subkey
    $hKeyDest = __RegCreateKeyEx($hKeySrc, $sSubKeyNew)
    If @error Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR creating key [%s\\%s]\r\nError: %d\tExtended: %d\r\n", $sKey, $sSubKeyNew, @error, @extended))
        __RegCloseKey($hKeySrc)
        Return SetError(3, 0, -1)
    EndIf

    ; Copy tree from old subkey to new
    __SHCopyKey($hKeySrc, $sSubKeyOld, $hKeyDest)
    If @error Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR copying tree [%s\\%s] to [%s\\%s]\r\nError: %d\tExtended: %d\r\n", $sKey, $sSubKeyOld, $sKey, $sSubKeyNew, @error, @extended))
        __RegCloseKey($hKeySrc)
        __RegCloseKey($hKeyDest)
        Return SetError(4, 0, -1)
    EndIf
    __RegCloseKey($hKeyDest)
    
    ; Delete old subkey
    __SHDeleteKey($hKeySrc, $sSubKeyOld)
    If @error Then
        ConsoleWrite(StringFormat("-> ERROR deleting tree [%s\\%s]\r\nError: %d\tExtended: %d\r\n", $sKey, $sSubKeyOld, @error, @extended))
        __RegCloseKey($hKeySrc)
        Return SetError(5, 0, -1)
    EndIf
    __RegCloseKey($hKeySrc)
EndFunc  ;==>_RegRenameKey

Func __GetHKey($hKey)
    If IsString($hKey) Then
        Switch StringUpper($hKey)
            Case "HKCR", "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT"
                Return $HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
            Case "HKCU", "HKEY_CURRENT_USER"
                Return $HKEY_CURRENT_USER
            Case "HKLM", "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE"
                Return $HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
            Case "HKU", "HKEY_USERS"
                Return $HKEY_USERS
            Case Else
                Return SetError(1, 0, -1)
        EndSwitch
    EndIf
    Return $hKey
EndFunc  ;==>__GetHKey

Func __RegCloseKey($hKey)
    Local $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegCloseKey", "int", $hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, @error, -1)
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(2, $aResult[0], -1)
EndFunc  ;==>__RegCloseKey

Func __RegCreateKeyEx($hKey, $sSubKey, $b64 = False)
    Local $tDATA, $iSAM, $aResult, $hkResult
    $hKey = __GetHKey($hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, 0, -1)  ; Invalid Key
    $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_32KEY
    If $b64 Then $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_64KEY
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("int Result;dword Disposition;wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegCreateKeyExW", _
        "int", $hKey, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"), _
        "dword", 0, _
        "ptr", 0, _
        "dword", $REG_OPTION_NON_VOLATILE, _
        "int", BitOR($KEY_ALL_ACCESS, $iSAM), _
        "ptr", 0, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "Result"), _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "Disposition"))
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(2, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $hkResult = DllStructGetData($tDATA, "Result")
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(3, $aResult[0], $hkResult)  ; Error using RegCreateKeyEx
    Return $hkResult
EndFunc  ;==>__RegCreateKeyEx

Func __RegOpenKeyEx($hKey, $sSubKey = "", $b64 = False)
    Local $tDATA, $aResult, $hkResult
    $hKey = __GetHKey($hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, 0, -1)  ; Invalid Key
    $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_32KEY
    If $b64 Then $iSAM = $KEY_WOW64_64KEY
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("int Result;wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("advapi32.dll", "int", "RegOpenKeyExW", _
        "int", $hKey, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"), _
        "dword", 0, _
        "int", BitOR($KEY_ALL_ACCESS, $iSAM), _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "Result"))
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(2, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $hkResult = DllStructGetData($tDATA, "Result")
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(3, $aResult[0], $hkResult)  ; Error using RegOpenKeyEx
    Return $hkResult
EndFunc  ;==>__RegOpenKeyEx

Func __SHCopyKey($hKey, $sSubKey, $hKeyNew)
    Local $tDATA, $aResult
    $hKey = __GetHKey($hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, 0, -1)  ; Invalid source key
    $hKeyNew = __GetHKey($hKeyNew)
    If @error Then Return SetError(2, 0, -1)  ; Invalid destination key
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("shlwapi.dll", "int", "SHCopyKeyW", _
        "int", $hKey, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"), _
        "int", $hKeyNew, _
        "dword", 0)
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(3, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(4, $aResult[0], -1)  ; Error using SHCopyKey
EndFunc  ;==>__SHCopyKey

Func __SHDeleteKey($hKey, $sSubKey)
    Local $tDATA, $aResult
    $hKey = __GetHKey($hKey)
    If @error Then Return SetError(1, 0, -1)  ; Invalid source key
    $tDATA = DllStructCreate("wchar SubKey[255]")
    DllStructSetData($tDATA, "SubKey", $sSubKey)
    $aResult = DllCall("shlwapi.dll", "int", "SHDeleteKeyW", _
        "int", $hKey, _
        "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDATA, "SubKey"))
    If @error Then
        $tDATA = 0
        Return SetError(2, @error, -1)  ; Error using DllCall
    EndIf
    $tDATA = 0
    If $aResult[0] <> 0 Then Return SetError(3, $aResult[0], -1)  ; Error using SHDeleteKey
EndFunc  ;==>__SHDeleteKey

[DemonAngel]

@Zorphnog - Thanx a lot mate , this looks like it took you some time to do

Would this UDF allow you to rename a key over a UNC path as well? Example if the key that needs renaming is : \\PCname\HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2025429265-606747145-1417001333-1003\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer?

I will go run a few tests now

[zorphnog]

@DemonAngel - Connecting to remote registries requires a few more functions. You have to create an impersonated logon and use the RegConnectRegistry function RegConnectRegistry Function (Windows). All the information you need is in that link. Note that you will only be able to access the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_PERFORMANCE_DATA, HKEY_USERS hives when connecting to remote registries.

I can take a look at it later when I have some time, but I can't do it right now.