3 Steps to a Clean Windows Registry
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Common Windows Registry Problems
If your computer is like 90% of the rest you will more than likely have registry problems. These problems can often appear as annoying error messages or in more serious cases, they may appear as random shut downs, restarts, or even worse preventing Windows from loading. Registry problems will get far worse over time which can usually explain why Windows machines always appear to slow down over time.
Here are some common errors associated with Registry issues:
- You computer is sluggish - it may take forever to boot up, or it may just get hung up while performing simple tasks.
- You get startup errors - errors saying "missing .dll" or "file not found" are common symptoms of registry related problems.
- Blue Screens 0f Death - if you receive a blue "STOP error" screen, you more than likely have a severe registry problem.
- Some programs will not open - if some or all of your application refuse to start and produce errors, the registry is often to blame.
Check out these three easy steps to rid your computer of these pesky problems:
Let's Do Some General Windows Registry Cleaning
We must be sure that everything else (besides the registry) is running up to par before we begin conquering the registry cleaning process.
First lets get rid of any temporary files that may be on your machine. We prefer to use WinClear for this task. TO do it manually follow the steps below:
Lets start with the simple Disk Cleanup utility. This utility does the very basic cleanup of your drive, but will not handle the more in depth cleaning tasks. You can access it in the Start-All Programs- Accessories-System Tools group. It can also be opened by right-clicking on a drive icon in My Computer, choosing "Properties" from the context menu, and clicking the button "Disk Cleanup" on the properties sheet. Perhaps the quickest way. Follow the on screen instructions and continue.
Next we will perform scans to make sure that your machine is indeed free of malicious spyware and viruses. We recommend using this free scan to check for malicious viruses and spyware: Click Here! .
If this free scan comes up empty your problems likely lie in the registry, proceed to the second step of the process.
Let's Track Down those Pesky Windows Registry Errors
Fixing the registry is no easy task. Manual registry repair can often lead to more problems than there were originally. We recommend automating the error detection process. Try Regclean's free scan to perform this diagnosis. Check it out here .
If you prefer to try it yourself follow the instructions below:
Are you receiving the same error message over and over? If so we can use this to our advantage. Jot down the message exactly as it appears on your screen. Next, we will enter the exact error message into your favorite search engine. (We prefer google) sift through all of the results and track down the solution to each error. Write down all of the solutions you find and go on to step 3.
Let's Fix that Window's Registry
We do not recommend attempting to repair the registry manually. This process can often result in loss of valuable data and time. Even the simplest of errors can require a ton of work to repair manually.
Instead, let's take the easier approach and use a tried and true method in repairing registries. Let's fire up a copy of RegClean and get to work. If you don't have a copy grab it here .
Once downloaded and installed onto your computer RegClean is ready to begin cleaning. The first step it will take is to back up your entire registry as it was before the cleaning process began. Once this process is complete, lets simply scan the registry for errors. Follow the on screen instructions and wait for the results.
We are willing to bet that the scan results are quite worse than you expected to see. We have seen machines with over 10,000 registry errors! Now that we are ready to cleanup the mess, follow the on screen instructions to complete the cleanup.
We recommend doing a thorough registry cleanup once a week or bi-weekly at least. Think of your computer like a car, it requires consistent maintenance to continue performing at its best.
We have written many articles describing the steps involved in repairing the windows registry. Please click on the links below to access the appropriate article.
