Deleting registry keys with embedded nulls

I'm not sure if most people have heard of this, but I am having an issue with a registry key that has a bunch of null values placed in it. Pretty much this piece of malware\software (I have no idea what put it there) added a bunch of null values to the registry key so it makes it impossible for me to view or delete this value. When double clicking on it I get an error saying "Environment cannot be opened". Trying to right click on the key and changing permissions gives a similar error.


There a bunch of tools out there like RegDelNull that's supposed to delete these type of keys but they seem to no longer work with Windows 10.


Anybody have any success deleting this pesky keys on Win 10?


Thanks :)

1st, make a backup of the registry.
2nd, use any boot disk that have a Registry Editor functionality e.g. Kaspersky Rescue Disk and delete the desired null keys.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

Please note that mistakes could cause your system unbootable, please be cautious.

Private said:

1st, make a backup of the registry.
2nd, use any boot disk that have a Registry Editor functionality e.g. Kaspersky Rescue Disk and delete the desired null keys.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

Please note that mistakes could cause your system unbootable, please be cautious.

Will give it a go. Thanks

Private said:

1st, make a backup of the registry.
2nd, use any boot disk that have a Registry Editor functionality e.g. Kaspersky Rescue Disk and delete the desired null keys.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

Please note that mistakes could cause your system unbootable, please be cautious.

Unfortunately did not work. Rescue Disk loaded but the regedit program did not load. Know of any other bootable reg editors that work with win 10?

Are you an administrator?

What is the exact path to these keys? I don't like the idea of giving advice on deleting keys I know nothing about? Where they are has a bearing on how they can be deleted, and whether this is a good idea.

Edit: Creating registry keys with embedded nulls is a legitimate technique which is used by Windows and some other software. It is not just malware.

LMiller7 said:

What is the exact path to these keys? I don't like the idea of giving advice on deleting keys I know nothing about? Where they are has a bearing on how they can be deleted, and whether this is a good idea.

Key is located in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\*RANDOM STRING OF LETTERS*

bobsagetfullhou said:

Unfortunately did not work. Rescue Disk loaded but the regedit program did not load. Know of any other bootable reg editors that work with win 10?

Try WinRE.

How to load a registry hive in the Recovery Environment Command Prompt

How to Edit the Registry of an Offline Windows System