Finding Registry Keys in C#

Question

I am working on a project that will allow me to delete the registry key from a Windows 7 PC. Specifically I am trying to make a program that will allow me to delete a profile from the machine via the ProfileList key. My problem is no matter what I try I can't seem to read the key correctly which I want to do before I start randomly deleting stuff. My code is

     RegistryKey OurKey = Registry.LocalMachine;
            OurKey = OurKey.OpenSubKey(@"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList", true);

            foreach (string Keyname in OurKey.GetSubKeyNames())
            {
                MessageBox.Show(Keyname);
            }

This code runs but doesn't return anything (No MessageBox). Any ideas why not?

EDIT:

I got the top level keys to load thanks to you all but it does only show the folder/key names (Ex: S-1-5-21-3794573037-2687555854-1483818651-11661) what I need is to read the keys under that folder to see what the ProfilePath is. Would there be a better way to go about that?

What do you mean by "doesn't return anything"? Is there no MessageBox at all, or does one show up, but it's empty? — waldrumpus, Nov 16 '12 at 13:54
It would be a lot better if you worked towards P/Invoking [`DeleteProfile`](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb762273(v=vs.85).aspx) (i.e. the official API for removing a profile) rather than spelunking through the registry. — Damien_The_Unbeliever, Nov 16 '12 at 14:21
Interesting I did not know there was AN API for that. You may have changed this whole project for me. — Pandemonium1x, Nov 16 '12 at 14:43

emartel · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-16T15:46:31.413

11

As pointed out by Lloyd, your path should use "Windows NT". In case of doubt, always use regedit to go inspect the registry manually.

Edit: To go with your edit, you can simply GetValue on the keys you find, the following code should do what you're looking for:

RegistryKey OurKey = Registry.LocalMachine;
OurKey = OurKey.OpenSubKey(@"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList", true);

foreach (string Keyname in OurKey.GetSubKeyNames())
{
    RegistryKey key = OurKey.OpenSubKey(Keyname);

    MessageBox.Show(key.GetValue("KEY_NAME").ToString()); // Replace KEY_NAME with what you're looking for
}

edited Nov 16 '12 at 15:46

answered Nov 16 '12 at 13:58

emartel

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@emartel - I'm getting this error `Object reference not set to an instance of an object.`at this line - `foreach (string Keyname in OurKey.GetSubKeyNames())`. Any idea why I'm getting this? – SK. Nov 05 '14 at 06:34
@Mike possibly because `OpenSubKey` failed? – emartel Nov 06 '14 at 03:46
@emartel ya it coming as null... any idea why it is coming as null? I don't have admin rights may be this is the issue. – SK. Nov 06 '14 at 06:28
@Mike You should probably give a look at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13728491/opensubkey-returns-null-for-a-registry-key-that-i-can-see-in-regedit-exe – emartel Nov 06 '14 at 12:18
What if you don't know the name of the key? – cptalpdeniz Dec 22 '22 at 00:03
@cptalpdeniz I'm confused - what are you trying to do if you don't know the name of the key? – emartel Dec 29 '22 at 15:57

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 16 '12 at 14:02

1

Windows NT

Please do not miss space

answered Nov 16 '12 at 14:02

bhuang3

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Finding Registry Keys in C#

2 Answers2

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