Conducting a Registry Scan on Your Computer

Submitted By: Julian Bates

On the lookout for a program that scans the registry for error-causing entries? It has become commonplace among users to encounter slowing down, error prompts, and crashes when on their computers. Since a great majority still don’t have the technical aptitude to deal with such problems, the need for a software that can reliably scan and eliminate your computer’s registry clutter becomes imperative.

The Registry

The registry is an essential and critical component of your computer system that houses all the information and instructions responsible for the correct functioning of your programs. The registry carries the codes that dictate how everything within your operating system will run. Given these descriptions, it is not difficult to understand the importance of keeping the registry in excellent condition. Unfortunately, not many users know how this is done.

What causes registry problems?

This question is best answered by first understanding how your computer makes use of the registry.

Every time you make changes to your computer system, like when you install or uninstall applications, the registry stores some sort of “log” of said changes. This “log” is termed an “entry.” The problem arises when old registry entries are not automatically removed from the system. This is the case when old entries are not overwritten by new ones, and are just left in the registry taking up space and creating or adding up to clutter. In the course of time, the litter grows to destructive proportions and begins to manifest itself through performance issues like sluggishness and errors popping up. This is most common among users who have been using their computers for a long time.

Aside from outdated entries, registry problems are also caused by malware. Malware infects registry entries basically through embedded keys that it creates. These malicious keys cause your computer to be more exposed to further malware infections.

Error symptoms

The most usual manifestation of registry problems has to do with your computer’s performance speed. When registry issues are present, there is a considerable slowdown in your system’s performance. Not long after the speed degradation begins, you may begin getting strange error messages, malware infection, and the inevitable crashes.

Removing the errors

Getting to the heart of and eradicating those system errors calls for a good registry cleaner. A registry cleaner is a program especially configured to scan your registry for outdated and incorrect entries. After the scan, a report is generated that tallies all the bad entries in your registry along with some pertinent details. This allows you, the user, to figure out which ones to weed out and which ones to ignore.

An important thing to remember before you even start running your registry cleaner is to have a backup of your registry’s current structure. This should be your safeguard against any possible problems that would arise after the scanning and fixing, as you would need only to restore the old configuration stored as a backup file, and then you’re good to go for another scan and fix after you’ve pinpointed the cause of the earlier problem.

Taking good care of your registry by keeping it optimized is essential to having a computer that runs like new. Speed issues shouldn’t be a cause for alarm and should not suggest an outright PC replacement. More often than not, it’s all in the registry, and with a good registry cleaner you can be sure you’re in good hands.