The Windows registry stores all hardware, software, and user profiles configuration information of your Windows PC. The registry controls the working of all programs installed on your computer and manages their functionality. In other words, there is not a single Windows system process that can occur without seeking the help of the registry. Therefore, it is very important for you to maintain your registry in good condition. Discussed below are the top 7 causes of registry problems, due to which, you need to regularly repair Windows registry.
- Orphan keys left behind when you uninstall applications. Whenever you install an application on your Windows system, many entries are added to the registry to make the application work. These entries are meant to be deleted when you uninstall the application. However, this rarely happens. Applications leave behind registry keys that increase the size of the registry causing it to become unstable and inaccessible.
- Accumulation of obsolete and outdated entries: Each and every task that you perform on your system makes an entry in the registry. Ideally, these entries are supposed to get deleted when they are no longer required. However, most of the time, they stay behind and clutter the registry.
- Redundant keys due to program reinstallation and upgrade. When you reinstall applications or upgrade them, certain keys are added again to the registry, without removing the earlier entry. This leads to generation of many redundant keys that add to the uncontrolled growth of the registry.
- Creation of registry holes: Many times, when an entry is deleted from the registry, it leaves behind a vacant space in its place. Accumulation of these vacant spaces, overtime, fragments the registry, makes it unstable, and considerably slows down the system by increasing data access time.
- Insertion of malicious entries by malware. Malicious software programs, such as virus, Trojans, spyware, and adware, insert invalid entries in the registry. These entries hinder your work by generating numerous system errors, damaging the registry to a non-repairable state, and rendering your system useless.
- Embedded registry keys that are almost impossible to remove. Embedded keys are commonly used by software programs to save license information on your system and prevent users from tampering with software license agreements. However, these keys are also misused by many spyware programs to add unremovable entries to the registry. Over time, as you install and uninstall applications, the number of embedded registry keys increases and, in turn, cause unwarranted registry growth, leading it toward its slow death.
- Incorrect system shutdown. To ensure faster data access, the registry is stored in the system memory when your computer is operational. Any changes done to the registry are updated to the system registry during the shutdown process. Therefore, incorrect system shutdown-system crash, hard boot, or power failure can leave corrupt entries within the registry and in more severe cases may also cause damage to registry files.
How to Free the Registry from Errors
Given above are just the top 7 causes of registry problems, there are many more. All these make it really important for you as a computer user to regularly repair the Windows registry. You can use the Registry Editor (Regedit) to manually scan and delete invalid registry entries. However, this is not a fool proof method because any incorrect deletion can cause your registry to fail and leave your system unbootable.
You can overcome the problem by opting for an efficient registry cleaner utility. A registry cleaner utility simplifies the task of scanning the registry and removing errors by automating the process. An efficient registry cleaner helps you comfortably take registry backups prior to making any changes. By doing this, you can easily revert your changes. An advanced registry cleaner enables you to weed out embedded registry keys to free the registry from these non-removable entries. Using an efficient registry cleaner, you can defragment the registry to remove all registry holes to make it compact, and re-index registry files to considerably improve data access time.
The registry is the most important component of your Windows PC. There many reasons that can cause problems with the registry leading it to its failure. Incorrect program install/uninstall, accumulation of unwanted entries, generation of redundant keys, creation of registry holes, insertion of malicious entries and embedded keys, and incorrect system shutdown are some of the common causes of registry errors. To keep your system in good health, it is important for you to regularly repair Windows registry and keep it free from unwanted entries and inhibit its uncontrollable growth. Registry cleaners provide you with an easy, efficient and reliable method to backup, scan and clean the Windows registry and ensure that your PC remains error free.