How Important Is It to Clean Your PC’s Registry?
February 8, 2009 by Trent Wilson
Filed under win32 virus
It is generally agreed that with the more recent Microsoft operating systems like XP and Vista, it is no longer necessary to run a registry cleaner. Because these operating systems are based on Windows NT instead of the registry, invalid or corrupt registry keys should not adversely affect your PC’s performance.
From a practical perspective, you could still experience PC problems because of corrupt or bad registry keys. Even though your operating system relies on Windows NT, removing malware, spyware or adware could leave bad keys in the registry that affect your computer’s performance.
If your favorite software programs take a long time to load or are not running correctly, you might need to check out the registry.
Microsoft’s operating systems come with a function called ‘regedit’ that you can access from the ’start/run’ command. When you run the regedit program, you will be presented with the contents of your registry folder. This will enable you to identify the bad keys and remove them directly from the registry, using the regedit program.
The non-technical PC user does not understand what the registry keys mean. Fortunately, there are some software programs available for free or for a small price that will identify any bad keys. These programs will either delete the bad keys automatically or allow you to manually delete the invalid keys through a series of prompts that the registry cleaner software produces.
Be careful about downloading and installing free registry cleaners or antivirus programs. Some of these programs have malicious code and trojans installed in them that can cause a lot of grief for you down the road. If you are on a tight budget and prefer freeware, use a trusted directory such as cNet that will verify that your download is trojan and virus free.
If your software programs are not running efficiently, visit the NotGuru blog’s computer tips section, where you will find a step-by-step tutorial on how to clean your registry. This tutorial includes screen shots for easy reference, and also recommends trusted registry cleaner software.