Registry Question

Can someone tell me exactally how big of a part a registry value plays in the running of a program ( lets say…notepad as an example) ? Thanks

Interesting question indeed! personally, i cant say with any accuracy but i did find this: *The Registry contains information that Windows continually references during operation, such as profiles for each user, the applications installed on the computer and the types of documents that each can create, property sheet settings for folders and application icons, what hardware exists on the system, and the ports that are being used.* *Extract from this support article - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986