4 Myths about Windows XP Registry Cleanup

What you wanted to know about cleaning registry on your PC but were afraid to ask

Windows registry is the "heart and soul" of your Windows computer. Similar to a file system where you store your documents, registry is where Windows system stores information about your computer. All software and hardware settings, as well as every other aspect of the system configuration is stored in the registry. Similar to a file system registry is organized in a hierarchical tree-like structure. For example, the settings for Internet Explorer are stored in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer (computer specific settings) as well as HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer (user specific settings) keys or registry files. Windows uses this information to perform every operation.

When you install new software (even if you install a small ActiveX component from the Internet) or make any changes to the configuration (add new hardware or modify appearance of your desktop) the changes are recorded in the registry.

If you have a brand new computer your registry is clean and healthy. However, over time it accumulates old and incorrect records which can lead to system errors and slowdown in performance. In addition, spyware, keyloggers, viruses, and Trojan horses use registry to manipulate the system.

Registry is the most sensitive and critical element of the Microsoft operating system. Cleaning and repairing registry requires knowledge and expertise. Doing it the wrong way can lead to more problems and even fatal system errors. Doing it the right way will lead to less system errors and better performance.

Myth 1: Cleaning Registry on a regular basis is a must

If your Windows computer is relatively new, less than 6 months old, and you are not a very active user cleaning the registry would not give you much of a result. However, if you are an active PC user who frequently tries new software, you need to clean your registry regularly. To figure out how often you should clean your registry ask yourself the following questions:

1. How frequently do I install and uninstall games, audio and video, photo and graphics software, instant messaging or other Internet software, home and education software, new printer or other drivers, anti-virus, anti-spyware and other utilities?
2. How frequently do I install ActiveX or other components when browsing the Internet?
3. Do I follow the correct software uninstall procedure?
4. How often do I change my system configuration for example Internet Explore settings, or other?
5. How often do I change my hardware, printer, monitor, memory, etc?

Depending on how you answered the questions above you need to clean your PC registry daily, weekly, monthly, or every 6 months. More frequent changes require more frequent cleaning.

Myth 2: All registry cleaners work the same way. The more problems it finds the better the cleaner

The number of problems a cleaner finds is just one of the indicators. The more important indicator is how many problems it fixes the right way.

In general, there are two different approaches to registry cleaning: 1) "Smart & safe"; and 2) "Bulk & Deep".

A good analogy would be house cleaning. Some people, in fact most of us, accumulate a lot of paper on their desks. You can clean your desk by going through every piece of paper, carefully reviewing each document: credit card statements, important notices, and newspaper articles. While doing that you put important documents in the appropriate folders and get rid of the junk. However, there are some documents you are not sure about. You do additional work to determine if those documents are important. This type of desk cleaning is smart & safe, which results in a clean desk and organized folders. In addition, you know you won’t have problems in the future as you didn’t throw away any important documents. Similarly, a smart & safe registry cleaner does the job the proper way - if it is not sure about the registry record it doesn’t discard it but works to find out if the record is important. This cleaning results in a healthy registry, with less errors and better computer performance.

Alternatively, while cleaning your desk you may keep only important documents and get rid of the documents you are not sure about along with the junk. This approach does not include additional work to find out if the documents that you are not sure about are important. Obviously, with this approach you will throw away more documents but it might lead to losing important ones. This method is called "bulk & deep" cleaning. Similarly, a "bulk & deep" registry cleaner might show more problems and remove good registry records.

In fact, some registry cleaners report a lot of so-called "false positives". False positives are falsely identified problems that are, in reality, non-problems. It is even more dangerous if these products try to fix those falsely identified errors. Vendors of those products "identify" more problems to make their product look better. They call "bulk" cleaning "deep" cleaning. "Bulk & deep" cleaning does a mediocre job cleaning your registry and can lead to more problems and errors. An example of a problem that can be created by "bulk" cleaning is described by Microsoft.

Myth 3: Full registry backup & restore is enough to keep you out of trouble

Having full registry backup and restore is critical as it allows you to bring the registry back to how it was at a certain point in time. However, it is not enough to keep you out of trouble. You need both full registry restore and undo registry changes.

Let’s say in a day or a week after cleaning the registry on your PC you experience a problem with one of your applications. You can use the full registry backup to bring the registry back exactly to the point in time when you created the full backup. However, you will lose all the changes to the computer configuration you made after that last backup. With "undo registry changes", on the other hand, you are able to reverse the problematic registry change without affecting the other registry parts. You can fix the problem without losing all the configuration changes made to your PC.

The rule of thumb is: use "full registry restore" for major disasters and "undo registry changes" to fix specific problems.

Registry is the most sensitive part of your computer. The ability to have both a full restore as well as selective undo is a must to keep you out of trouble.

Myth 4: All the care your registry needs is cleaning and repairing

Your registry also needs compacting which reduces the registry size and defragments it by removing the holes and empty spaces in the registry tree.

Cleaning garbage from your registry makes it better since it removes unused and incorrect data that causes registry pollution, computer errors and a slowdown in performance. However, this is not the only thing you need to always have your registry at its best. Registry structure is such that when you remove unused and incorrect data, holes are created in the registry tree. Your computer uses registry to perform every operation. Having holes or empty spaces in the registry tree slows down your computers performance and might create operational errors. So, just like the defragmentation of files compacting the registry removes holes and fragments causing your computer to run smoother and faster. That is why in addition to cleaning and repairing the registry must also be compacted.

Bottom Line:

Registry is critical to the health and performance of your PC. Smart & safe registry cleaning, repairing and compacting will help to keep your PC healthy and fast.

Note:

Registry cleaning is just one of things you need to do to maintain your Windows computer. You should follow other good practices that include keeping your computer updated with the latest Microsoft updates.