General question about accessing the system registry

[dedndave]

the flag should be KEY_QUERY_VALUE - my mistake

[Shooter]

well - you are not following the steps   :P

step 1) open the key and subkey (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion" in my example)
step 2) read the registry value under that key

which step is failing ?
are you getting a valid handle from RegOpenKeyEx ???
if not, use GetLastError to retrieve an error code

post your updated code

Here it is. And nope, I'm not getting a valid handle from RegOpenKeyEx. My error occurs right after this:

Code Select Expand


.if eax==WM_INITDIALOG
;initialization here
   invoke RegOpenKeyEx,HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,addr lpszSubKey,0,KEY_QUERY_VALUE,addr hKey
   cmp eax,ERROR_SUCCESS

With these variables:

Code Select Expand

   lpszSubKey DB  "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName",0
   lpszValueName   DB  "ComputerName",0
.data?
   lpbData DD 256 Dup (?)
   lpcbData    DD  ?
   hKey        DD  ?
   lpdwType    DD  ?

[sinsi]

Try this

Code Select Expand

   lpszSubKey DB "SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName",0

[Shooter]

Try this

Code Select Expand

   lpszSubKey DB "SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName",0

That took care of the RegOpenKeyEx, and RegQueryValueEx is returning with eax=EA (ERROR_MORE_DATA), so I'm now just needing to do that buffer thing that was discussed.  :U :bg :green

Thanks, Sinsi.

And Dave,
I tried your suggestion and it returned the same as above. WOO-HOO, we be makin' tracks now. lol

-Shooter

[Gunner]

 lpszSubKey   DB  "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName",0

This is incorrect... you can't copy and paste from regedit... You ALREADY open HKLM, so get rid of that...

should be:
lpszSubKey   DB  "SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName",0

[Shooter]

lpszSubKey   DB  "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName",0

This is incorrect... you can't copy and paste from regedit... You ALREADY open HKLM, so get rid of that...

should be:
lpszSubKey   DB  "SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName",0

Now you see, how hard is it to include that in the stupid manual??? lol.

Thanks, Gunner!

Now it's just time to move on and move up, right?

-Shooter

[Gunner]

Um, it is in the manual  :toothy

hKey
[in] Handle to an open key. This handle is returned by the RegCreateKeyEx or RegOpenKeyEx function, or it can be one of the following predefined keys:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
HKEY_USERS
Windows 95/98/Me: HKEY_DYN_DATA

lpSubKey
[in] Pointer to a null-terminated string containing the name of the subkey to open. If this parameter is NULL or a pointer to an empty string, the function will open a new handle to the key identified by the hKey parameter. In this case, the function will not close the handles previously opened.

[dedndave]

see attached
i also left out RegCloseKey   :P
not bad from memory, though

[Gunner]

Thanks, Gunner!

Now it's just time to move on and move up, right?

-Shooter

Your welcome...  Move on?  don't get discouraged with the registry... it is a different beast, but once you get the basics down, it is not all that bad... I have done much with the registry... but a lot of knowledge was gained...

[dedndave]

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName",0

that's where you were going wrong
the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE is actually an EQUate in windows.inc
the registry keys have pre-defined handle values
so that part is not included in the subkey string text

[Shooter]

The problem that I, as a beginner, ran into was not knowing how the registry is broken down. (Still don't know.  :red)

HKxx
   SYSTEM
       (Key or SubKey??)
             (SubKey)
                   |
                   |
                 (Value)

[Gunner]

Think of it like this...  The root keys:
HKCR
HKCU
HKLM
HKU
HKCC
They are like houses, each on is a house...

each key/subkey in the "house" is like a book in a room
and each value is like a page in the book....

Enter the house (Root Key)
Goto a room (key/subkey)
open the book and read the page  :toothy


as you say you are a beginner, BE VERY CAREFUL!  you can screw up your machine if a subkey/value/rootkey is misnamed

[dedndave]

did you download my attachement ???

http://www.masm32.com/board/index.php?topic=15695.msg129183#msg129183

it worked for me - spits out my computer name

[Shooter]

Just to give you an idea of what I'm trying to get accomplished, here's what I'm looking at:

I work for a contracting company that installs basically a telephone PBX that interfaces with two-way radios and a computer at an operators station. Some of the work I do is replace the existing touchscreen and the pc with an all-in-one touchscreen/pc. When we do this we have to make the new computer's name and settings match the old one. Part of the problem is that since these are touch screens a keyboard and mouse aren't available.

My thinking was that I could make a program that would launch (autorun.exe) upon inserting a usb drive on the old computer, grab all the goodies, and put them into the new computer (again with autorun.exe), all without a keyboard or mouse. That's the goal anyway.

-Shooter

[Shooter]

did you download my attachement ???

http://www.masm32.com/board/index.php?topic=15695.msg129183#msg129183

it worked for me - spits out my computer name

Yep, and that's exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks, Dave.  :dance:

-Shooter