windows 7 regedt32 crashes when you browse for importing file

Is there some reason you don't just double click the REG file?
Windoze still has some issues with <spaces> in both folder and file names.  I suspect you simply found one more.

I concur
any reg files I have exported  I just r/click the saved reg file and merge
example on windows 7
merge.jpg

I want to be able to import files using the file menu as i use it to import reg files to remote computers

Has that ever worked ?
importing from remote that is
from your words you wish to import from a remote regestry not an actual exported reg file?
I dont know if it's posible to access another computer's regestry a remote regestry shared would seem highly insecure also the one you are trying acccess is  Windows PAINT?

your words>
i have checked the following key path
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Regedit
Sorry I cannot assist with this but others may know a trick
regards Merete

Are you copying the REG files to the remote computer first?  ( I would expect the new security hardening to forbid importing REG files remotely)

I am not copying reg files to remote banking , I just connect to remote computer registry ( mostly Win xp but some are windows 7 ) , then i choose import from file menu which makes regedit/regedt32 crashes and disappears

The Remote Registry service is not on by default in Windows 7.  You need to go to SERVICES.MSC and start it, then try.

Dear All,apprecaite to help me on the main problem which is when i click import from file menu in regedit/regedt32 , the program crashes and vanishes , i have no problem in connecting to remote registry of other computers

So if I understand you your on a windows 7 system
to access File import one must be in the regestry editor already on your curent system which is?
I dont think you can do this on windows 7 as the access has to pass through a password and acces all users
On my windows 7 in the regedit there is connect to regestry below the file import
are you connected?
There is a script here to allow All Users and then run it as an administrator.
http://www.myitforum.com/articles/11/view.asp?id=10825

EMCO Remote Registry Merge - Overview
 With the registry editor you can manage registry settings only on the local PC or one remote computer. But it isn't effective if you need to read registry information or apply registry changes on multiple network computers.
EMCO Remote Registry Merge is a tool, that was designed to manage registry data remotely, on multiple PCs at once.
http://emcosoftware.com/remote-registry-merge

But!!! the Remote Registry Service is off by default on Vista/7 and on by default on XP.  The reason it crashes is because you don't have the Remote Registry Service running.  You must start the service.

Just to settle it once and for all, regedt32/regedit crashes when i choose import from file menu whether i am connected to a remote machine or not,please concentrate on the import file menu issue only

You choose File>import? it crashes? ok gotcha
Does the regedit crash before you open file import?

Are you the default administrator? logged in as such?
Have taken full ownership?
What events errors do you see
take a look here
http://www.mydigitallife.info/grant-read-write-full-control-permissions-on-registry-keys-fix-cannot-import-and-access-denied-error-in-regedit/

Yes,regedt32/regedit crashes before i get the file import dialog box,I confirm i am an administrator on this system with User access control disabled , i can import any reg file by double clicking on it with the mouse

Can you recall if this was a problem before the SP1 upgrade?
I found a lot of small bugs after this update.
This sp1 may have added a new security or corrupted the user profile.
Try this
go to start >run> type in gpedit.msc
press enter
Group Policy Editor  is not available in Home versions of Windows.
then  expand  the User Configuration \ Expand the Administrative Templates then select System.
 in the right panel double-click on Prevent access to registry editing tools. Or r/click it and edit and disable.
Other things you can try
go to C:\WINDOWS\system32
then find command.com open it type in regedit
if that fails
and you can't run the file do the following:
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL and open Task Manager. Once there, click File,click New Task (Run).
This will open a Command Prompt window. Enter REGEDIT and press Enter. Once regedit is open click File>Import

So many things could be attributed to this problem.
You could consider uninstalling it.
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
This document describes some of the notable changes introduced in this release of Windows 7 with SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817622(WS.10).aspx
group-policy-editor.jpg

I would like to point out that i was able before to import reg file using import and this crashing problem started to occur lately,thus it is not related to sp1 as for the policy attched is the current setting
policy-1.JPG

I'll give this one more try as it is an easy answer; you need to start the Remote Registry service!
It's description: Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer. If this service is stopped, the registry can be modified only by (local) users on this computer.
It is set to Automatic on XP; but, to manual on Vista, 7, and 2K8

I'm not able to reproduce the problem.
I have Win7 64 bit, I run regedt32.exe, I click File->Import, in the common files dialog I can browse any local or network drive and select a .reg file, and it's displayed in the Preview pane on the right-hand side of the common files dialog. I click Open, and get the confirmation that it was imported. See attached. Note there was a space in the path, so that doesn't seem to present a problem either.

So I'll give you a microsoft'ish answer... try reinstalling windows 7 on that computer.
regedt32-import.png

He wants to run regedit on another computer remotely and has no problems locally.

Yes... as I said - can't reproduce it.
regedt32-remote-import.png

Is that Axp2800 running Windows 7?

No, it's XP. The OP said most of the remote machines were XP, by the way.

I still think his issue is with the remote registry service.  Is it running on your machine?

As you noted, it's running on XP by default; No, it's not running on the win7 machine whence those screengrabs were made.

Hmmm; now I wonder if it is an issue because he has his UAC is turhed off (which makes Vista/7 less secure than XP).
ag2007...:
What happens if you turn UAC back on and try connecting to an XP registry?

Dear All

I will redefine the problem again which is as follows , I have a windows 7 enterprise machine /w SP1 , when i run regedit/regedt32 and choose import from the file menu it crashes and vanishes when the browse dialog boxes appears for less than second , all i want to know is where does the windows 7 store last path of the last imported file from this import dialog box

As far as I can see it doesn't save it to an MRU list.

The next time I do an import, it defaults to the username\Documents folder, not to the path from which I imported the last one.

However, look under
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Regedit\LastKey
You might have a similar key under one of the HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-xx ... \Software\ ... paths, too.

Is there a way i can enable verbose logging of  regedit/regedt32  so that it can write why it crashes to a Log file or write an event error in application event viewer

There doesn't seem to be a specific MRU key for imported .REG files; but, I'll bet they get listed in the Explorer MRU list: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/142298

From KB142298:

APPLIES TO
•Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
•Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
•Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Windows 95

I had to configure all the applications and profile settings again