Windows 7 Registry Clean
Windows 7 Registry Repair
A windows 7 registry clean is part of the general “housekeeping” of your PC to keep it running fast and efficiently. A registry cleaner will scan the keys and values in the registry and report any invalid, redundant or corrupt data which may affect the operation of the computer. You then have the option to delete this data.
In addition a Windows 7 registry clean will repair the registry and hopefully resolve problems such as the PC becoming unstable. Our recommended Registry Cleaners support both Windows 7 32bit and 64bit but if using a different program make sure it supports your version of the operating system.
The Registry is the brains of the operating system and if it is damaged the computer will malfunction or even refuse to work at all. The registry is actually a database containing all the information relating to the PC’s setup, users and their permissions, the hardware and the software installed. The database is constantly being updated as the computer is used, when programs are installed and uninstalled and when hardware is added or removed. In view of the danger of damaging the registry it is far safer to use a registry cleaner than to try manual editing (see “What is the Windows Registry“).
However, before making any changes to the registry it is important to back it up so that you can restore the old version if there are problems after the registry clean. Most registry cleaners offer this functionality but it is worthwhile manually creating a system restore point as well (see “Using a PC Registry Cleaner“).
Signs of registry problems include the computer:
- being slow to startup
- running slowly
- freezing or crashing
- showing odd error messages
- showing unwanted pop-ups
- displaying ‘Unable to load’ .dll errors.
If a computer is just used for, say, web browsing and word processing it is unlikely that windows registry problems will arise. But many users install new software packages and utilities and then maybe uninstall them and test something else. Whilst day to day activities will have an effect on the registry, it is installing and particularly uninstalling software that can cause problems. A new program may overwrite an existing registry entry during installation and affect another program whilst an uninstalling program may delete an entry required by another application (especially if you don’t read any warnings that come up). Some programs do not uninstall completely leaving remnants to cause registry problems. Registry problems can also result from partially installed programs caused by an interrupted installation. The result can be missing or corrupt files which cause an error (or worse).
In addition, it is always possible that installing free programs downloaded from the internet can result in malicious changes to the registry.
A windows 7 registry clean with a good registry cleaner should resolve these problems and fix the registry (see “Our Recommendations“)
