So you heard that cleaning the registry helps maintain good functionality of a computer and want to choose a good and safe registry cleaner for yourself.
In this article, we will learn a bit about Windows registry and the need to clean it.
We will also see how a safe cleaner helps in getting rid of problems in a safe and efficient way.
What exactly is the registry? The registry in Microsoft Windows refers to a database of keys, sub keys and values that comprise software, hardware and user configuration information of your computer.
Anything you do on your computer adds an entry into it.
Un installing a program, installing a program, renaming folders, deleting stuff, moving folders, browsing the internet etc.
all change the registry values in some way or the other.
Therefore, this vast database is actually ever growing and reaches a massive state over time.
Why should we clean it at all? The registry is prone to various kinds of errors.
Un installed programs sometimes do not remove their existing key entries.
At time, values supposed to be overwritten are overlooked.
Also, some kinds of malicious software might add values to the registry that may make your system do undesirable things.
Over a period of time, a large amount of 'junk' is accumulated.
This 'junk' is basically a set of obsolete and redundant of entries that have no use or value whatsoever.
All this junk starts interfering with the normal functionality of the system.
Boot and shutdown time increases, application crash too often and generally more random errors occur than never before.
Therefore, registry cleaning becomes an essential aspect of your computer maintenance tasks.
Safely cleaning the registry Although cleaning the registry is important, it is also essential to note that changes made on it are irreversible in nature.
So any damage caused is generally forever.
Therefore, it is a must that you take appropriate caution while choosing a registry cleaner for yourself.
At first, you must take into account that not all registry cleaners are compatible with all versions of Windows.
Therefore, you must make sure that you have the right one for your operating system because if not, you might end up doing much more harm than good.
A safe registry cleaner will effectively determine which registry values are truly useless and redundant.
This is essential because changing values that other applications or the Windows operating systems use will render the application or some features of the operating system useless.
Also a safe registry cleaner will be one that is capable of removing keys entered by malicious software, which may not be, otherwise, visible or manually removable.
A good and safe registry cleaner will also enable you to the defragment registry files to make them contiguous.
Defragmenting the registry enables faster access to the registry files and therefore, in turn, helps in speeding up your computer.
Last but not the least, a safe registry cleaner will make an automatic backup of your registry before making any changes to it.
This way you are assured that even if something goes wrong with the cleanup process, you can easily revert to the old version by restoring the backup taken before the cleanup activity.
It is important to stay aware and stay clear of the umpteen number of fake registry cleaners available.
That free cleaner might save you some cash, but the risk you run is too high.