"Load Hive" Option Grayed Out
I Want to Load the Hkey_Local_Machine Hive from Another Installation of Windows (E. G. X: \Windows\System32\Config\System), but Apparently I Can't Load the...
I want to load the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive from another installation of Windows (e.g. X:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM), but apparently I can't load the hive because the "File -> Load Hive" menu item is disabled:
2 Answers
You need to load a hive into a specific key, so it's necessary to select a key first:
You can load hives into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or into HKEY_USERS.
Once you've clicked HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, the "Load Hive" menu item will immediately become available:
Even if you chose the correct key to load a hive into, this may result from insufficient user rights. If you're running under a user account and open regedit without admin rights, you may not be able to load a hive.
I have seen that on my own business laptop, in which I have a user account without local admin rights.
Marcus Vance is a cybersecurity auditor and technology writer dedicated to educating the public about online safety, data privacy regulations, enterprise security, and emerging cyber threats.
