Think of it as the electronic ignition starting your personal computer and taking you down the information super-highway. The Windows Operating System may be your engine, but the Windows Registry is what makes it run. The registry is a hierarchical filing system, a database with setting and instructions controlling applications, processes, and device drivers, and your Windows desktop. Problems with your Windows registry can result in a slow or unresponsive computer, errors, or a Windows system that fails to boot entirely. The Windows registry was first introduced with Windows 3.1, and registry has been improved, refined and expanded with each subsequent Windows OS release. registry files may be edited, but manual editing is not for the faint of heart.
Windows users enjoy an operating system that normally performs without much need for user modification. Smart users install and regularly update an anti-virus program and rely upon an array of sophisticated security tools and upgrades from Microsoft to further protect against problems. Sometimes a slow or unresponsive system doesn’t signal an infection from a virus or malware, but rather problems with the registry files. What kinds of problems occur in registry? Malware and other malicious codes aren’t out of the question, however frequently registry error results from an abundance of old code and unnecessary files ordering Windows to search for programs the you no longer use and have deleted from the computer. Uninstall doesn’t always uninstall everything. Fortunately a variety of registry tools are available to help clean up registry. Many of these downloadable tools are either freeware, or inexpensive shareware.
There are a number of online websites devoted to assisting Windows users in correcting registry errors. Many of these sites include articles, discussions, diagnostic resources, and direct links to suggested downloads. The right tools make the cleanup of your registry easy.
