Software Reviews

When your computer performance appears degraded, there is a high probability that the computer registry needs fixing. Why? If all of its electrical and mechanical parts work, the ailment will probably be located in an area called the system registry.

So what is this registry? It’s a huge database containing all of the properties and settings for each installed application along with configuration information for your system hardware, peripherals, and users.

Why have a registry? In early operating systems, when you wanted to install a new program, you just copied it onto the computer hard drive and ran it. As programs got larger, they had to be broken into task-specific modules. These modules were maintained in “libraries” and could be used by other different programs. This led to the object-oriented programming concept. In this style of programming each object has a set of qualities or capabilities that define it as well as a number of supporting component modules or resources. They are stored in different memory locations on your computer hard drive. The registry keeps track of the parts of all the installed programs - like a phone directory - so that the Windows operating system can find the parts as needed.

How is the registry corrupted? The registry is updated automatically when you change any configuration through normal means. However, the removal of programs or files without comprehensive uninstall packages will leave registry file and path traces. A good example would be when you remove adware or spyware. These are the insidious programs that attach to your computer during your internet activity and, of course, do not come with an uninstall package! These program traces add up and will slow the computer response and eventually cause a crash.

How do you fix the registry when nearly every technical book on the subject strongly cautions against “do-it-yourself” registry repairs? Fortunately, this type of ailment is something you can safely repair almost automatically. The place to start is with a scan of your computer registry. There are good registry cleaners available offering free program download and registry scan.

Downloading a registry cleaner and running the free scan will provide a summary list of the type and number of problems your registry has thus allowing a repair - yes or no type - decision. At this point, the registry cleaner program may offer you the option to upgrade and add registry repair, backup, and repeat scan/repair scheduling capabilities. With these, the program can automatically and safely repair the problems and or errors found by the free scan.