What’s the purpose of the Windows registry?
The purpose of the Windows registry is to gather in one place all the configuration information about Windows. Before the Windows registry was introduced in Windows 95, configuration information used to be stored in .INI files and since each application/hardware component used many .INI files, which were scattered in many directories, it was next to impossible to keep track of all the changes to configuration, user preferences, etc., which frequently resulted to conflicts and system errors. Because of that it was decided that all the configuration information about Windows itself, the hardware, software, and user preferences must be gathered in one place to ease administration. However, the Windows registry is such a complex structure and when there is a problem in it, this leads to many problems and can render the whole system useless.
What does the Windows registry contain information about?
The Windows registry is a database, which contains information about everything on a computer – hardware, the operating system itself, other system software, application-level software, users and user groups, user preferences, etc. Every time a change is made in any of the above categories, this is written to the registry. Sometimes, especially when the uninstallation script of an application has not been written properly, it can happen that the application has been uninstalled but the respective entries in the Windows registry haven’t been deleted. While this generally will not crash the registry, such information shouldn’t be there and that it is why the registry must be cleaned periodically.
Why does the registry need periodic cleaning?
The Windows registry is a huge database of many entries and in order to keep it in good shape, it is necessary to perform periodic cleaning. Usually the most litter in the registry appears after an application has been uninstalled from the computer but the uninstallation script hasn’t removed the respective entries from the registry. When there are many such obsolete entries, the computer starts to slow down. Sometimes the remnants are not harmless and they can lead to corruption of the registry, which in turn can make the computer unusable. So, if you want to avoid such unpleasant situations, clean your registry from time to time.
How is data stored in the Windows registry?
The information is arranged in a strict hierarchy in the form of hives and keys. Hives are the larger units and they contain keys and subkeys. Keys and subkeys have values, which store the actual data for a particular registry entry. In a sense, the structure of the Windows registry is similar to the directory structure of your hard drive, which you can see in Windows Explorer. Hives start with HKEY and even though on different versions of Windows there are different hives, the following ones are among the most common:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT – This hive stores information about file association types, OLE information and all other kinds of registered data.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER – This hive stores information about the currently logged in user.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – This hive stores information about the hardware, software, and other settings on the machine, which are common to all users.
HKEY_USERS – This hive stores user-specific information. There is a separate SID sub-key for each user.
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG – This hive stores information (or more precisely a link to the particular section of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) about the currently used hardware configuration.
HKEY_DYN_DATA – This hive is a dynamic one and its contents changes as new Plug&Play devices are added to or removed from the computer.
When is the Windows registry messed up most?
As with any database, the Windows registry gets messed up most when you perform frequent operations with it and especially when these operations are not performed properly. Therefore, if you make frequent changes to the operating system, the hardware, the software, or the user settings on your machine, such as adding/upgrading/removing hardware or components, there is a risk that this will mess up the registry. In many cases, when you add a new driver or install a later version of a driver/software and the entries about the old one are not removed completely from the registry, no matter that you have performed an uninstall of the older version, this messes up the registry and creates conflicts. Also, it is not uncommon for malware to write to the registry, so even if you don’t mess up with the hardware, the operating system, applications, and the settings on your computer, malware does it.
How do I know that my registry needs cleaning?
Well, your registry will not tell you directly that it is completely messed up and begs for cleaning but if you notice that your computer behaves strangely and is getting slower and slower, even though it is a pretty powerful machine, one of the possible reasons for its malfunctioning is that the registry is messed up and needs cleaning. But even if the Windows registry is not in a desperate need of cleaning, there is no harm to take some preventive measures and run a registry cleaner, such as RegCure. A registry cleaner will fix the problems before they manifest themselves.
Will cleaning the registry speed my computer?
When your Windows registry is cluttered with all sorts of obsolete entries, this inevitably will slow down your computer and you might reasonably expect that when you run a registry cleaner, this will fix the registry errors and as a result, your computer will be fast again. Yes, this is what usually happens after a registry cleaner fixes the errors in the registry (or at least the portion of them that can be fixed) and you can see a noticeable performance improvement, especially when your registry was a total mess but don’t expect that your old Pentium will become as powerful as a new machine only because you have cleaned the Windows registry.
Can I edit the Windows registry manually?
Yes, you can use RegCure or another registry editor to edit the registry manually but this is not recommendable to do. The Windows registry is a complicated structure of interdependent entries. It is enough to make a small mistake and the registry might be totally messed up. Even experienced Windows administrators don’t dare to edit the registry manually, unless they really have to, because the risk of rendering the machine useless is very high. What is more, when there are reliable tools to access the registry and fix the errors there, it just makes no sense to take the risk and edit the registry manually. Still, there are cases, when you have to edit the registry manually but do it only if you are absolutely certain that you know what you are doing!
What operations with the Windows registry can RegCure perform?
RegCure is a program, which can take care of all registry related problems. For those cases when you need it, RegCure allows manual editing. However, the main advantages of RegCure are its automatic scans and fixing of errors. You can monitor the progress of the scan and create schedules according to which scans are performed – i.e. you can schedule the scans for times when your computer is on but you are not actively using it. RegCure also allows to manage and clean the startup programs on your computer. Another nice operation, which can be performed by RegCure is a full registry backup. The full registry backup is very useful and it can be of vital importance if the registry is corrupted and can’t be fixed.