Windows Registry Errors

What To Do About Windows Registry Errors?

The Windows registry is a database of settings and options for Windows features, programs, data files, and computer hardware. You can think of the registry as Windows' way of remembering which printer you prefer; what files you accessed most recently; where to find your hard drive; etc. When errors creep into the registry, Windows may behave oddly or not work at all.

Registry errors can occur for a number of reasons, or no identifiable reason. Some programs, when they uninstall themselves, do not clean up their obsolete registry entries. Others may remove entries that should be left for use by other programs. An unexpected shutdown of the computer, as in a power failure, can catch Windows unawares with no time to save changes to the registry; when you boot again, your computer is in a state that the registry doesn't recognize. The point is, over time every registry accumulates erroroneous and unused entries.

These "garbage" entries add up, making Windows run slower and sometimes interfering with the startup of certain programs. If you experience such symptoms, you should clean up your registry. There are many free and commercial registry cleaner programs out there. However, you should be careful which one you download.

Free Registry Cleaners?

Many, many people look for "free registry cleaner" programs. Hackers know this, and disguise their malware as what people are seeking. Whenever you find a "free registry cleaner," check its reputation before downloading and running it.

Some Web sites offer a "free registry scan" purportedly to tell you how healthy your registry is and whether you need their registry cleaners. Unless you know the site well, avoid such free scans. They are often not registry scans at all but opportunities to inject malware into your computer. Even if they're not nefarious, the tactic is often to run the free scan, show you a long list of registry errors that need fixing, and then try to sell you on the need to buy a "full" or "premium" version that can cost anywhere from $29 to $69.

CCleaner is one of the most popular freeware applications on the Internet, with over 225 million downloads as of this writing. It's simple to use and very fast, scanning the Registry in a handful of seconds. CCleaner also cleans up junk files such as installation logs, temporary files, cookies, etc., and lets you select exactly what "junk" to keep. The Tools include a Startup folder manager and an Uninstaller interface that lets you change the name of an installed program or save a text listing of all installed programs.

I've also compiled a list of other reputable free registry cleaners that you can try.

Should You Buy a Registry Cleaner?

That's not to say that you shouldn't pay for a really good registry cleaner. In many cases, free software works well, but it's not always the best of breed.

Registry First Aid by Rose City Software is one example of a commercial registry cleaner that I highly recommend. It operates safely, making a Restore Point before each registry repair scan so your system can be restored to its original condition if anything goes wrong. It can scan normally in a few minutes or deeply, into every corner of the registry, in a bit more time. It finds more errors than other programs I've tried. It lets you delete or modify registry entries automatically or one by one after reviwer. It warns you which registry entries may be unsafe to change or delete. It defragments and compresses the registry to make things run faster. A good buy for $27.95.

I've also been impressed with UniBlue's RegistryBooster program. RegistryBooster does a deep scan of your registry, looking for unused or corrupted entries. You can then selectively repair or remove the problems from the registry to make your system run faster and more efficiently.

Pick a registry cleaner based on reputation and your budget; then use it monthly, weekly, or as needed to make sure your system is healthy and running at peak performance.

Got questions about registry errors or registry cleaners? Post your comment or question below...