What is the difference between user variables and system variables?

windows path operating-system environment-variables
rookie picture rookie · Dec 18, 2010 · Viewed 129.7k times · Source

What is the difference between user variables such as PATH, TMP, etc. and system variables?

I accidentally deleted the user variable PATH. What am I supposed to do?

Answer

user541686 picture user541686 · Dec 18, 2010

Right-click My Computer and go to Properties->Advanced->Environmental Variables...

What's above are user variables, and below are system variables. The elements are combined when creating the environment for an application. System variables are shared for all users, but user variables are only for your account/profile.

If you deleted the system ones by accident, bring up the Registry Editor, then go to HKLM\ControlSet002\Control\Session Manager\Environment (assuming your current control set is not ControlSet002). Then find the Path value and copy the data into the Path value of HKLM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment. You might need to reboot the computer. (Hopefully, these backups weren't from too long ago, and they contain the info you need.)

Related questions

Adding a directory to the PATH environment variable in Windows

I am trying to add C:\xampp\php to my system PATH environment variable in Windows. I have already added it using the Environment Variables dialog box. But when I type into my console: C:\>path it doesn't show …

Read More
'git' is not recognized as an internal or external command

I have an installation of Git for Windows, but when I try to use the git command in Command Prompt, I get the following error: 'git' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. …

Read More
Adding Python Path on Windows 7

I've been trying to add the Python path to the command line on Windows 7, yet no matter the method I try, nothing seems to work. I've used the set command, I've tried adding it through the Edit Environment variables prompt …

Read More