Are You Looking For A Great Windows Registry Checker?

Windows registry checker is basically a tool that is used to perform Windows registry maintenance. The tool came built-in with Windows 98 and Windows ME computers. However, it is missing in newer operating systems. To perform registry maintenance Windows XP onwards, you will have to obtain a reliable third-party Windows Registry Checker tool for yourself. Let’s begin by understanding why one needs to perform registry maintenance.

The registry in Windows refers to a huge database of settings and other configuration options that contain all changes made to your computer. Any operation that you perform with your computer say for example installing and uninstalling programs, moving, deleting or renaming files and folders, leaves a trail behind in the registry.

Information in the registry is stored in two levels, called keys and values. Think of keys as folders and values as specific files in these folders. Over a period of time as we’ll see shortly why, the registry becomes cluttered and filled with junk. So it becomes vital to employ a good Windows registry checker and clean whatever errors might be there.

What causes junk data in the registry?

Some programs might have faulty uninstallers and forget to remove registry entries corresponding to their existence during their uninstallation. Some other programs might change registry values or keys that become useless when they are uninstalled.

Many entries in the registry may become obsolete during the course of time. These redundant entries comprise of what is called ‘registry junk’.

There are also some types of malware out there which might change or add some registry entries.

These redundant entries might end up slowing the computer down and make it vulnerable to errors.

How can I get rid of registry junk?

You can edit your registry using the RegEdit tool that comes with your Windows operating system to get rid of accumulated registry junk. However, most of the computer users not only find it cumbersome to use, they are also unsure of how to make changes to the registry. If you are one of the users who find manual editing and backup of registry cumbersome, you may need to look for an automatic Windows registry checker and cleaner tool.

How do I choose a good Windows registry checker tool?

Choosing a good Windows registry checker is by no means an easy task. Registry checkers that work with a particular version of Windows might not work with other versions. This is primarily because of the fact that different versions of the Windows Operating System interact in a very different manner with their corresponding registries.

If a Windows registry checker meant for a particular version of Windows is used with another one, it might end up causing irreparable damage to the registry thus do far more harm than good.

There are quite a few good “free” registry cleaners available for Windows. They usually work well with Windows Vista and XP. However, even though they claim to be free from bundled spyware and adware, this may not be true and you’re better off not installing toolbars and other stuff that come bundled with these.

Better options are “paid” registry checkers that are usually quite good at what they do. Not only do they come loaded with advanced scanning and repair features, they are also equipped with additional features to help Windows work efficiently. For example, start up managers help limit the programs that launch on start up and therefore, helps boost the speed of your computer, other tools help in shredding files, some focus on removing all traces of internet history and other temporary internet files and therefore, help boost the speed of your computer.

Most paid Windows registry checker software have good customer support and overall are better than their free counterparts. For a side by side comparison check out our Top 5 Picks for Windows registry cleaners.