Open HVE files in your browser
The files the Windows registry lives in, like Amcache.hve, Windows' record of the programs on a computer. Look through one right here, without loading it into Windows. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your hive opens as a tree of its keys, the first level unfolded on a page as wide as a book.
- Keys and values • Each value's type
- When each key was last written
- Search keys, names and values • Every match counted
- Export • Save in another form, or just a part
About HVE
Windows NT brought the registry's hive files in 1993, and every Windows since keeps its registry in them: SYSTEM, SOFTWARE, SAM and SECURITY in C:\Windows\System32\config, each user's NTUSER.DAT and UsrClass.dat in their profile, and Amcache.hve in C:\Windows\AppCompat\Programs, where Windows notes the apps and programs on the computer with their versions, paths and hashes. Tools that save a hive often name it .hve.
A hive is a 4 KB header and bins of cells: keys, each with when it was last written, values of every type, from text and numbers to lists of strings and bytes, and the lists that tie them together. Windows writes changes to the LOG files beside a hive first, so a hive copied off a running computer can lack the newest ones.
Filepeek opens a hive as a tree, its keys in the order Windows keeps them, each value with its type and numbers in hex too, and each key with the time it was last written. Search finds any key, name or value, and nothing is ever written to the hive.
Windows registry hive
.hve
Format
- MIME type
- application/octet-stream
- Made by
- Microsoft
- Released
- 1993
Inside the file
- Holds
- Keys, values and their types
- Each key
- When it was last written
- Values
- Text, numbers, lists and bytes
- Made by
- Windows
Opens in every browser
Filepeek opens registry hives in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, on any computer or phone. On their own, browsers only download them.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Apps that open HVE
- WindowsRegistry Editor, built in, with Load Hive
- MacNo app built in opens it
- iPhone and iPadNo app opens it
- AndroidNo app opens it
Questions
How do I open Amcache.hve?
Windows keeps it open while it runs, so take a copy of it, then drop the copy on this page. Its InventoryApplication and InventoryApplicationFile keys list the apps and programs Windows has seen, with their paths, versions and SHA-1 hashes.
Can I open NTUSER.DAT or SYSTEM too?
Yes. Every hive opens the same way, whatever its name: NTUSER.DAT, UsrClass.dat, SYSTEM, SOFTWARE, SAM, BCD and the rest.
What does it mean when its LOG files hold changes it doesn't have?
Windows writes changes to the LOG1 and LOG2 files beside a hive before the hive itself. A hive that says so may be missing its newest keys and values.
Is it safe to open a hive here?
Yes. Filepeek only reads it, nothing in it runs, and it never leaves your device.