Can't Access the Registry

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 26, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

When Jacques opens the Visual Basic Editor and clicks Tools | References, he gets the following message: "Can't access the system registry." Jacques isn't sure why this occurs and he's wondering how to fix it.

The Registry is, of course, the place where all the configuration information for your installation of Windows is stored. In addition, many applications (such as Excel and VBA) store configuration information in the Registry. If something is out of kilter in the Registry, then you may have problems accessing whatever application is expecting to find information there. This is apparently what is happening in Jacques' case.

In this particular case, it seems that the problem may be related to account permissions to access certain Registry information. The solution to this is not a trivial one; it can require a number of rather detailed steps to fix. Rather that recreate those steps here, it is best to visit the following page:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/a-step-by-step-procedure-for-fixing-error/3c81197e-a237-4fb7-8c8a-d28145f7428e

I know that URL is very long, so you'll want to make sure that you get it all included when you go to visit the page.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10151) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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