Technology Toolkit

What is the Registry?

Every Windows-based computer operates with the help of what’s called the registry. The registry is a sort of database that interacts with the operating system and stores important information. Although you may have no idea what a registry is, it is vital to your computer’s functioning and it is utilized when your computer does just about anything. Errors within the registry can seriously affect the functionality and performance of your PC. As errors accumulate, your computer will get progressively worse until it freezes or crashes and becomes all but unusable.

Where registry errors come from and how to get rid of them…

Anytime you make any adjustments or changes to the software on your computer, your registry’s structure and the keys within it are altered. This includes installing and uninstalling programs, running certain programs, downloading files and changing user settings. Over time, the information stored within your registry grows and becomes filled with invalid entries, missing/incorrect filepaths, redundant entries, and adware and spyware related keys. That’s why it’s important to scan and prune your registry on a regular basis to keep it efficient and organized, and keep your computer running properly.

The quickest and simplest way to fix registry problems is by downloading and running a good registry cleaning and repair program on your computer. This software scours your computer and identifies any errors within the registry. In most cases, all the user has to do is follow the prompts and let the software do all the work. Because these programs are usually designed assuming that the user has little to no experience with the Windows registry, they tend to be extremely simple and straightforward to use. The entire scanning and cleaning process should take no more than 10-15 minutes and leave your computer running smoothly again.

Good registry cleaning software will also have an embedded registry backup feature, that automatically backups up your registry before executing the cleanup process. This is so that, should there be any problems after the registry repair, you can simply restore your PC back to an earlier point (before the problems occurred).

Conveniently, many of these programs also allow you to schedule regular registry cleaning, to ensure that your computer is always running efficiently and that you are getting the best performance out of it.

How your computer is affected by registry cleaning software…

By eliminating obsolete and incorrect entries in the registry, registry cleaning programs can dramatically increase your computer’s performance. This is simply because the operating system no longer has to sort through as much information to find what it’s looking for, making everything a whole lot quicker.

Here are some common problems that registry repair software is designed to fix:

• Fixing system errors

• Deleting invalid registry entries

• Defragmenting and compressing the registry

• Removing invalid short cuts

• Fixing corrupted files and programs

• Removing obsolete files and programs

• Removing hidden bugs

• Repairing registry errors

Fixing and removing these issues will provide relief from many of the most common problems that people report about their computers, including sluggish performance, freezing, error messages, malfunctioning programs and frequent “blue screen” crashes.

Why registry defragmentation is important…

Once the software has finished eliminating all the invalid and redundant registry entries, your registry will no doubt contain spaces where that information used to be. Depending on how long it’s been since your last scan, and how many errors there were, the level of fragmentation can be significant. This means your operating system still has to scan through those empty spaces to find the information it’s looking for.

Defragmenting and condensing the registry ensures that all the information is stored in a coherent and quickly-accessible way. That’s why it’s a crucial step in a proper registry repair/maintenance process. After the defragmentation is completed, simply restart your computer and the changes should have taken effect.

Reputable registry cleaning software will address all of these issues automatically – in a safe and timely manner.

Of the many registry programs available, my personal favorite is one called RegCure.