How to Change the Default Home Page in the Registry

By Steve Gregory

Learn how to change your default home page by editing the Windows Registry.
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The Windows operating system allows you to change the default home page of your browser by editing the Windows Registry. The registry contains the configuration settings used by Windows to operate the computer. Editing the registry is not always recommended because if you make a mistake, you can destabilize the operating system. Fortunately, editing the registry to change the home page is fairly simple and will take less than 10 minutes to accomplish.

Log in to Windows under an administrative account. You need administrator privileges to edit the registry.

Click the "Start" button and select "Run." Type "regedit" in the pop-up box and click "OK." The Windows Registry will open.

Navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" using the folder tree on the left of the screen. Click on "Software," "Microsoft," "Internet Explorer" and then "Main." A new pane will open on the right side of the screen.

Right-click on "StartPage" on the right side of the screen. Select "Modify" from the pop-up window. A new window will display the current home page.

Delete the current home page and type in the new home page URL. Click the "OK" button.

Reboot your computer. The computer needs to be restarted for the registry changes to take effect. Open the Web browser. Check to see that the home page is the new entry made in the registry.

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