The Windows Registry De-Mystified

Posted: Apr 22, 2010 |Comments: 0 |

Your computer registry plays the most crucial role in your Windows based computer overall performance, yet it is probably the least understood.



The first thing we need to do is to de-mystify the registry. Think of your computers registry as a large index file cabinet, like the one you would find at your local public library. Each time you install a program, save a file, or make the smallest change to your Microsoft Windows operating system it notes this in your computers registry. It is the brains of your Windows operating system and instructs Windows how to operate.



The problem is Microsoft is not very neat and tidy when it comes to your computers registry. To make it simple for the end user when you de-install a program, Windows will very rarely remove all of the tracks the particular program from the registry. Go back to our index file system analogy in your local library. For this example, assume someone donated a book to the library titled How Do I Make My Computer Faster. When that book was donated to the library the librarian made an index card noting when the book was donated, who donated it and where the book could be located. The librarian then made a cross-reference of this title on a couple other related index cards. For example, she noted this on any index cards that were related to improving computer performance and all Microsoft related books.




After a couple of months, someone then borrows the book How Do I Make My Computer Faster and never returns it. The librarian then removes the index card for this title, but she either forgets or does not take the time to remove the cross-references she made on the other card. Now when people see the title of this book on other related index cards they go to find the main card and are unable to locate the card. They then go to the librarian and ask where this title is located and she informs them that the library no longer has the book How Do I Make My Computer Faster. As you can see by this example this is a very un- efficient process.



Follow this same example with your computers registry. You install a program only to decide a couple months later that you do not want to use it anymore. You go to the control panel and uninstall the program. Much like the book in our above example this program has been removed. However, just like the index card example, Microsoft Windows leaves tracks or cross-references of this program in related files through out your registry. Just like with the library above, your Windows operating system is operating at a very un-efficient level. When Windows is starting and operating and you start a program on your computer, Windows looks through out the entire registry which is now much bigger than it needs to be and contains entries it reads through that are not valid. Please note that for the most part these invalid registry entries are not harmful but over time will decrease the speed of your computer significantly.



The good news is that there are several very good registry cleaners now available. Before you use a registry cleaner you must ensure that it is effective and safe. If you delete the wrong registry entries or corrupt your registry you can very easily render your computer useless. If this occurs then you will be forced to reinstall Windows from scratch. The best registry cleaners are very safe because they removed only the invalid or un-needed registry entries.



Bottom line when you are wondering how do I make my computer faster is to look for a registry cleaner that works. With the right registry cleaner you can make your computer as fast as the day you purchased it.

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