Under normal circumstances you should never need the registry part of cowpod. When the game installs, everything should be good to go. And in an ideal world that would be the end of it. Unfortunately, however, we do not live in an ideal world. So, for those times you run into problems, the cowpod registry tool can be a real headache saver.
By far, the two most common problems are the following:
Both these problems usually result from either moving the game folder or reinstalling windows without reinstalling the game. Regardless of the cause, encountering these situations can be quite frustrating, annoying and aggravating. But cowpod will fix you up.
To open the registry tool, go to the menu > edit > registry info, or click the registry button 
on the toolbar. The info window will appear.
You'll notice that you can't do anything except look at it. That is by design. Messing up the registry can cause you more problems than you want. So, be advised, only tamper with the registry if you are experiencing problems. If everything is fine, looking is okay but don't touch.
The information displayed will tell you what version of the game you have, whether or not it has been patched, if direct play is installed properly, and the uninstall information. If any of this information is missing or wrong, then you can probably expect to encounter problems.
If you open the registry info window and there are mistakes, or it is blank, then you will need to fix it up.
Make sure cowpod is in the game folder. If it is not, then the registry will not be reset correctly. Then, while the registry info window is open, goto the menu (yes, it has it's own menu), then to edit > reset as, and then choose the available option.
Since cowpod detects your version of the game, it knows what registry settings you need and will set them accordingly. A lot of effort has went into making this work properly, but I'm confident if you try hard enough you can mess it up. For the rest of us, clicking the available option will be all that you need to get rolling again. There will be no bells or whistles. Just the proper information will be entered into the registry and then displayed on the info window, like this:
The path information for your computer may be different than what is depicted on this page.
If you've followed these instructions, you'll be able to patch your game and access the zone.
All versions of mtm are supported.
If this does not work for you, then you have no alternative but to do a complete reinstall.
You will notice there are a couple other options on the registry edit menu.
These should be seldom, if ever, needed, but from time to time they may prove handy to have. So, let's quickly run through them.
If you enter the traxx name or password incorrectly, this will remove it so you can re-enter it.
Note. This is for Traxx v1.4 and earlier. Traxx 1.5 does not require registration.
This will set the Traxx name and password so you don't have to type it.
Windows has a habit of messing with the c-pod start up position. Using this option will delete bogus entries.
If you want to keep the c-pod entries but just start it up back on screen, then use this one.
Note. The above four options will one day be obsolete. Until that time, these can serve as easy fixes.
If you have set the cowpod "register shell extensions" so you could try list swapping but decide you no longer want to use it, you can remove the cowpod entries on the "right click" menu. Clicking "clear cowpod extensions" will get rid of the cowpod options.
If all goes well, you will never need to visit this part of cowpod. But for those days, and we all have them, this should prove handy. Please note, however, that you must have the proper game or none of it will work. In fact, you won't even be able to open the window. In those cases, there's no avoiding a reinstall. However, I've been going on a few years now and never had the need to reinstall yet. I just keep updating the registry. Now, it's even easier to do.