Simple Steps To Repair Windows Registry
What’s The Best Registry Cleaner?
When your computer seems to bog down, get sluggish, display blue screens, don’t immediately think “spyware”, “ad trackers” or “virus”. We all have trouble with our computer systems every once in awhile and, often as the best course, we need to look at an issue that’s rather common among Windows users. The fault lies within the Windows registry and, if this is the problem, the registry needs a cleaning to clear out unneeded files and pieces of formerly installed applications.
Windows Registry is nothing more than a constantly expanding database used in all Windows system which keeps all settings, options, preferences, and hardware options of the user. It keeps expanding each time you use Windows. Each time your computer starts up, the system always reviews the registry to let every installed application know the settings, documents, application paths, and a lot more stuff. Your registry slowly gets bloated clutter this way, and this slowly leads to a degradation in your systems performance.
When you put a new program on your computer and, later, remove that piece of software, traces of it will stay in the Windows registry entries also.
Here’s the rub — Once you have made changes to the registry, it can’t be undone without specialized applications (or manual editing).
Ever since Win 95, most if not all programs will intentionally place permanent entries in the registry for a variety of reasons, that are not removed when the program is uninstalled. This registry junk continues to accumulate until a registry cleaner program is used to get clean it out.
Also, a good number of software crashes can help screw up the registry.
Manually editing the registry could be a nightmare and is NOT something a novice wants to attempt. Think of it this way: the most desireable registry is still an unmolested registry.
Many web sites advertise a “Free Registry Scan”. So, is a free registry scan a safe thing to do? The answer is a definite: “Depends…” I suggest that you avoid – at all costs – any of the commonly available “free” registry cleaners. Such “free” registry cleaners are often nothing more than a carrier for some very serious viruses and malware that can seriously damage your system. On the other hand, many of the commercial registry cleaner software firms give you the ability to conduct a free scan of your system before your purchase their software.
The criteria of a good registry cleaner
Registry cleaning software are supposed to scan the registry, locate, and delete the unnecessary entries in there. But that’s the ideal situation. The truth is, there is no perfect registry cleaner. All registry cleaners have algorithms which help them “identify” which is a necessary key and which is junk. There’s no way of forseeing if removing a registry entry will affect computer performance in subtle ways. So, any good registry cleaner needs to let the user to backup your registry before you begin cleaning the registry.
Here is a manual way of backing-up your registry nice and easy:
Click (from Windows menu) Start – Run
Type: regedit (which will open the registry editor window)
From the box, hit File – Export
Save it as something you can remember, preferably including the date
When you observe, there are actually 4 kinds of registry cleaners:
Deep scanning registry cleaners
Light scan registry cleaners
Balanced scanning registry cleaners
Scam registry cleaners
A deep cleaner is actually harmful to your computer since it may remove some important registry keys by being overzealous. A light scanning program, isn’t much use either; it simply scans the surface. A fake registry cleaner is dangerous, because it is malware disguised as a registry cleaner. Do not download something just because it is free!
The “best” registry cleaner is one that:
Defrags the registry
Allows backups of the registry
Asks you if you would like to delete a certain entry and provides alternatives
Perform other functions BESIDES registry work
Instead of simply putting up with the slow speed of your system and the never-ending crashes, you can, in fact, do something about it. Be smart and get yourself a good registry cleaner. It will help your system run as smoothly and efficiently as the day it was brand new.
Understanding Registry Repair
Registry repair is a crucial Windows maintenance process because all hardware, software and user preference information is stored within the registry. Data in your registry is stored in a tree-like, hierarchal structure made up of keys, subkeys and their values.
You need to carry out registry repair when the registry gets clogged up with lots of un-needed keys and values that clutter it up and cause registry bloating. A bloated registry gets damaged easily and generates several errors on your computer.
Registry repair is essential in the following contexts:
- You need to regularly perform registry repair if you frequently install and uninstall programs from your system.
- Registry repair becomes essential if an incorrect method is used to uninstall one or more programs from the PC.
- If a virus or some spyware is located on your PC, carry out registry repair to weed out any infected entries from it.
- You need to perform registry repair if your system crashes, to repair any corrupt entries as a result of the crash.
- It is good to perform registry repair soon after you repair or remove faulty software, a faulty device or device driver from your system because faulty software and hardware tend to cause damage to the registry.
A registry repair method for beginners
Windows computers are equipped with the Registry Editor (regedit) utility that enables users to perform a certain level of registry repair. However, this utility is not simple to use and any user error can cause severe problems with your system.
This is why most industry gurus recommend using efficient and reliable registry repair tools. There are many registry repair tools available on the Web, and you can search for and download a registry repair program that meets your needs from the Internet. Some of the essential features that you must look for in your registry repair tool are:
- The registry repair tool you choose must be compatible with your Windows operating system.
- The registry repair tool should use smart and intelligent scanning techniques to report genuine problems as errors.
- For better understanding, the registry repair software should report errors based on their severity level.
- The registry repair software must offer facilities like registry defrag and registry back-up.
- If the registry repair tool includes optional features such as a Start-up Manager, BHO manager, and Temporary files manager, it is an added advantage.
It is recommended that you first download and use the trial version of the registry repair tool you want to choose, and then buy it only when you are satisfied with its efficiency.
How to use a registry repair tool
Scan and repair is the most essential task performed by a registry repair tool. However, before beginning scan and registry repair, use the tool to back-up your registry. A registry repair program will carry this out automatically before repairing your registry. If your registry repair tool does not automatically back up the registry, perform a manual backup using the backup and repair option of your registry repair tool.
Next, use the scan facility to scan your registry. After the scan is finished, all errors will be flagged up on your screen. Most of the decent registry repair progams enable you to repair the detected errors automatically. This feature is great for beginners who are not very well-acquainted with the registry. Advanced users can go through all the detected errors, and perform registry repair on selected errors only.
Registry Cleaners: How Do I Use One?
The registry is a complex directory which stores your computer’s hardware and software settings and user preferences. When working properly, these settings enable your computer to function smoothly in order to give you a positive user experience. In essence, the registry is the central nervous system of your PC’s operations. Every time anything happens on your PC, it is recorded in the registry.
Sometimes the registry gets cluttered and loaded down with redundant directories and unwanted and unneeded instructions, and may need to be cleaned with a registry cleaner. A registry cleaner scans the registry of your system and finds broken files, links, and any other details that are not needed or used by the PC. These may be irrelevant or even harmful entries that take up disk space and slow down your registry’s operations. In this context, a registry cleaner should be used every few months or so, depending on how often you use your computer.
There is a range of different types of registry cleaner available to buy, and each one operates differently. You may decide to examine the range of registry cleaners that are on offer to select the one you think will assist you the most. Equally, it is a good idea to seek advice to find out what is the best registry cleaner for your computer’s set up.
There are many sites that review the top registry cleaners available, and these make your decision very much easier. The best registry cleaners will give you the chance to make backups of your registry before making any changes. Some of the top registry cleaners are Registry Easy, RegCure, Registry Smart, Registry Fix, and Error Nuker.
Installing a registry cleaner is very easy and safe, and the guidelines on how to use them are very simple to follow. Once started, the scanning process takes around five minutes to scan your registry and then display the details of what the cleaner believes is redundant, giving you the option to remove it. Once finished, your computer will run smoother and operate more efficiently.