What registry entries does SQL 2005 rely on, and which information does it store in them?

Question

I am looking for an exhaustive list of registry entries that are only used by SQL Server 2005, and documentation on what they are used for.

Answer 1

I honestly don't think such documentation exists. Microsoft is not in the habit of documenting every little piece of the registry that their applications use because it would be a huge waste of time. If they actually provide any documentation for registry entries, they'll only document the parts that are supposed to be user configurable to begin with.

That said...if you really want this information, the best way to get it is probably going to be creating it yourself.

• Get yourself a registry tool that can do snapshots and diff them.
• Create snapshot #1
• Install SQL Server
• Create snapshot #2
• Analyze the differences to see what it uses for basic installation
• Modify some settings with the GUI
• Create snapshot #3
• Analyze the differences to see what your GUI changes correspond to in the registry

Rinse and repeat.