What Is The Computer Registry And How Should I Maintain It?

In Microsoft Windows operating systems the Computer Registry is a special file/database used by the operating system to hold information and settings for all the computers hardware, software and user preferences etc. If you make changes via the Windows Control Panel, or you change file settings or install or uninstall software these changes will result in information being changed in the Registry.

You can look at the content of the Registry via the Registry Editor program RegEdit. To do this click Start and then select Run from the menu and enter regedit in the Open: field and then press Okay. The RegEdit program should only be used by experienced users as altering the Registry incorrectly can cause your computer to have problems or even stop the Windows operating system from starting.

Over time all these changes to the Registry data can cause the stored information to become inaccurate or incorrect or badly organised. For example when software is uninstalled it is possible that the uninstall process did not remove all of the information for that program from the Registry.

If the information in the Registry becomes very inaccurate or incorrect or badly organised it can cause the computer to perform badly, for example it can take longer to start-up the computer, or for programs not to run correctly or even for the operating system to lockup or crash.

If you are experiencing any of these types of problem then it might be a good idea to run specialist software to detect and correct problems with your Registry data.

Such Registry repair software must perform the following basic types of action:

1. Backup your current registry.
2. Remove remaining uninstalled software information.
3. Correct and allow you to manage which programs are run when the operating system starts.
4. Checks that all references i.e. paths to programs are valid.

These Registry cleaning/maintaining programs often allow you to scan your computer for free to report on the problems with your Registry but not correct any of the problems. In this way you can decide if you need to obtain such software to maintain your Registry.

An example of a  Computer Registry cleaning and maintaining program is Registry Easy which is suitable for Windows Vista, why not give their free computer scan a try.