subject: Registry Error - How To Fix A System Registry Error [print this page] The registry is the place where the information about the software and the programs that run on the computer is kept. To keep it simple, it is the database of the computer. The main functionality is to store the configuration of different software programs or about the details of the hardware that is attached to the computer or any user special settings.
Registry in the computer is the most efficient way of keeping the track of the different software and hardware components. Mostly the software in the registry is organized based on the user's profile.
With the increasing number of spyware and adware over the internet we never know when we end up in downloading a particular spyware or adware into our computer. These programs are usually downloaded silently that would show up in a separate window and also will not have an entry in add or remove programs. So, the most effective way to clean these with the help of registry as no software can run on the computer without having its entry in the registry.
So, how to clean registry? Cleaning the registry has to be done delicately as it effects the performance and any wrong deletion might crash the entire operating system. Learning how to clean registry is also important because when you uninstall a program there would be still traces of it left out in the computer, so you need to clean this in the registry to completely remove it from the computer.
There are two main ways to clean the registry. The first option is to clean manually by opening the windows registry editor and the other option is to install a registry cleaning software. Manual cleaning has to be performed very carefully and have to be done only by the experts. If you are not an expert in using the registry then it would be ideal to use software for the cleaning process.
Before you perform this task, you need to take a back up of the existing registry. The below steps describes how to take a backup:
- Click on start, and open Run
- Type "regedit" in the run window
- The windows registry editor will open
- Then click on File --> Export --> Give a File name and save it.
Once you complete the back up of the registry, go to left side navigation, you will find different options that would be available. The only place you have to edit and clean the registry is "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE". This section will give you glimpse of all the hardware and software that is installed on the computer.
So, now its your job to find the software which could be a possible adware or spyware. Be careful when you are editing the registry. It is strongly recommended that you don't continue further if you are not sure of what you are doing. I have asked you to keep a backup before you continue editing a registry so that you can rollback to the previous registry in case you make a mistake.
