The Complete Facts About Windows XP Registry

The heart of your computer is the Windows registry. Just like a file system where you store your documents, the registry is where the Windows system stores essential data regarding your computer. All aspects of your system configuration, including all software and hardware settings, are kept in the registry. Like a file system, the Windows registry uses a tree-like structure. For example, Internet Explorer settings are stored in HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftInternet Explorer (computer-specific settings) as well as HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftInternet Explorer (user-specific settings) keys or registry files. Windows uses this essential data to perform all operations on your computer.

When you install new software (even if you install a small Internet component) or make configuration adjustments (install new hardware or change the appearance of your desktop), the settings are kept in the registry.

In the case of a new PC, your registry will not have any errors. But as you use your PC, it accumulates old and outdated records that can cause crashes and a drop in performance. In addition to this, keyloggers, trojans, spyware, and viruses use the registry to abuse the system.

The Windows registry is the most sensitive and critical element. Cleaning and repairing your registry requires understanding and experience. doing it the wrong way can lead to more problems and even make your PC stop working. Doing it the right way will lead to fewer system errors and better performance.

Four myths about registry cleaning:-

Myth 1: Cleaning the registry regularly is a must.

If your Windows computer is relatively new, less than 6 months old, and you’re not a very active user, cleaning the registry might not do you much good. However, if you are an active PC user who regularly installs new software, you need to clean your registry regularly. As a general guide, read these questions:

1. How often do I change my hardware, memory, joysticks, monitor, printer or scanner, etc.?

2. How many times do I install ActiveX or other components when I browse the Internet?

3. Do I follow the exact software uninstall procedure?

4. How many times should I install and uninstall photo, game, audio graphics and photo software?

5. How often do I change my system settings, for example Internet browsing settings or other?

It depends on how you answered these questions, but you may need to clean your PC registry daily, weekly, monthly or every 6 months. More frequent disturbances require more frequent cleaning.

Myth 2: All registry cleaners are the same. The more problems they find, the better the cleaner.

How many problems you encounter is just an indicator. The most important indicator is how many problems the

right way. There are two main methods for registry cleaning, they are:

1) “Smart and safe”; and

2) Bulk and deep.

We could compare it to cleaning a house. Some people, in fact most of us, accumulate a lot of paper on their desks. You can clean your desk by going through every sheet of paper, carefully reviewing every document, statement, important notice, and newspaper. You file every important document in the right folders and get rid of the junk. However, there are some documents that you are not sure about. He takes the time to establish whether or not these documents are important. This type of cleaning is smart and secure, resulting in a clean desktop and organized folders. You can also rest easy knowing that you will not have problems in the future because you did not get rid of those important documents. Likewise, a smart and safe registry cleaner does the job the right way: if you’re unsure about the registry registry, it doesn’t discard it, but instead works to find out if the registry is important. This cleaning results in a healthy registry, with fewer errors and more PC performance.

Or maybe, while cleaning your desk, you can keep only the important documents and throw away the documents you’re not sure about along with the trash. You don’t bother wasting time figuring out if documents you’re unsure about are important. With this cleaning method you will get rid of more documents but you may end up throwing away important files. This method is called “bulk and deep” cleaning. Similarly, a “bulk and deep” registry cleaner might show more problems and remove good registry records.

In fact, some registry cleaners report many so-called “bogus errors.” False bugs are falsely identified problems that are actually not problems at all. It is even more dangerous if these products try to fix those falsely identified registry problems. Sellers of those products “identify” more problems to make their product look better. They call “bulk” cleaning “deep” cleaning. “Bulk and deep” cleaning does a mediocre job of cleaning your registry and can lead to more problems and errors later on.

Myth 3: Backing up and restoring the registry will prevent any problems.

Having a full backup and restore is essential as it allows you to return the registry to the way it was at a particular point in time. However, it will not be enough to prevent you from having problems. You need to restore the entire registry and undo the registry changes.

Let’s say that in a day or a week after cleaning your PC’s registry you experience a problem with one of your applications. You can use the full registry backup to return the registry to exactly the time you created the full backup. The problem with that is that you will lose all the changes to the PC settings that you made after the last backup. With “undo registry changes”, on the other hand, you can revert problematic registry changes without affecting the other parts of the registry. You can fix the problem without losing all the configuration changes made on your PC.

The general rule of thumb is: use “full registry restore” for major disasters and “undo registry changes” to fix specific problems.

The registry is the most sensitive part of your computer. The ability to have both a full restore and a selective undo is important to keep you out of trouble.

Myth 4: It is enough to clean and repair the registry.

The Windows registry also needs to be compacted, which reduces the size of the registry and defrags it by removing empty spaces in the registry tree.

Cleaning the junk out of your registry improves it by removing unused and incorrect data that leads to registry pollution, computer errors, and decreased performance. However, there are other reasons to keep your registry in top condition. The registry structure is such that when you delete unused and incorrect data, gaps are created in the registry tree. Your computer uses the registry to perform all system operations. Having gaps or empty spaces in the registry tree slows down the performance of your PC and can lead to operational errors. So just like defragmenting files, compacting the registry removes holes and fragments that help your PC run more stable and faster. Therefore, in addition to cleaning and repairing the registry, it must also be compacted.

A brief summary:

The Windows registry is critical to the health and performance of your computer. Smart and safe registry cleaning, repair and compaction will prevent problems and keep your PC fast and healthy.

Keep in mind:

Using a registry cleaner is just one of the things you need to do to maintain your Windows PC. You should follow other good practices that include keeping your computer up-to-date with the latest updates from Microsoft, regular hard drive defragmentation, and virus scanning.