Fix PC Problems Now

Have you noticed how much faster your computer was when you first got it and used it then, compared to now?

It’s not an illusion that you notice that your computer seems to be running slower. It might even sometimes crash, “hang” or show the (in)famous “Blue Screen of Death” (Windows shows white text on a blue background when your computer has encountered an error that requires a reboot).

If this has happened to you and you’re not sure what’s going on. Here’s an explanation to help you understand:

The “brain” of the Windows operating system (whether Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows Vista and likely, the upcoming Windows 7), is the Windows Registry file.

The Windows Registry is a “master file” which contains information on which software and programs that Windows needs to load when your computer is booted up.

As you install new programs, new instructions are added to the registry file, which makes the file bigger.

When you attach a new mouse, a new monitor or a flash drive to your computer, it may add new instructions to the registry file.

If you disconnect the mouse and switch back to your old mouse, the instructions for the new mouse may still remain in the registry.

What this means is that the registry will get bigger over time and contain more instructions that the computer needs to follow when it is started up.

In some extreme cases, computer users have reported having to wait 5 minutes (or longer!) for their computers to start up!

While some computer savvy users have the skills to open the windows registry and remove obsolete instructions themselves, not every computer user (especially casual users) will have the knowledge or skill to fix their registry.

Because the registry is an important and sensitive area of the Windows operating system, removing the wrong file might cause the computer to crash and render it impossible to start up without calling in the computer professionals.

Being very careful if you choose to edit your windows registry is important because even though the registry may contain an old instruction, that set of instructions might be used by new software (this is known as a shared resource). Going through the registry and removing all “old” files might also cause a computer crash.

Enter “registry cleaners”, a special type of software which specializes in fixing computer registries.
This type of software helps to analyze the windows registry file to check if all the instructions are valid. It will also check if registry instructions in Windows are being used by software programs.

A good windows registry cleaner will report a list of potential problems, but still be flexible enough to require your final approval before these problems are “fixed”. This is to prevent accidental removal of important instructions.

A good windows registry cleaner will create a backup of the old windows registry file. Should anything go wrong, it can revert back to the saved windows registry.

In the course of testing out various registry cleaners, we’ve found one which meets our criteria and has done a good job of cleaning the registries of the computers we’ve tested it on.