If you computer has a Microsoft Windows operating system, then you have a Windows Registry. Do you know what a registry is?  Most computer users have enough computer knowledge to get it to do what they want done, but a very small percentage actually understands how this complicated machine works. So if you don't know, you are definitely not alone.

You can think of your system registry as an immense database, or library, that controls all the significant information about the computer hardware, applications and settings, user profiles, etc. It's quite an extensive, complicated interworking system, so problems will begin to occur within your registry when it gets cluttered with new and old information.

• Missing file associations
• Missing startup programs
• Invalid device drivers
• Invalid application paths
• Missing DLL files
• Missing help files
• Missing system fonts
• And much more!

What is the best way to increase productivity and decrease the frustration of having a slow computer when you're working on an important task? Obviously, you must keep your computer clean and running smooth.

Cleaning the registry on a regular basis allows you to be able to do all of this without slowing down your computer. However, it's estimated that up to 95% of computer users have corrupt and other registry errors that are causing serious problems and slow down their computer.

The unfortunate side of this story is that, because most of us don't understand the inside workings of a computer, many people mistakenly believe the only way to get rid of the problems is to buy a new computer.

Well, save your money. You don't have to buy a new PC. What you need to do is clean up registry problems. Whether the problem is computer freezes, crashing, Windows blue screens, or simply an ultra slow computer, performing a registry clean-up will do wonders for the performance of your PC.

What are some symptoms that indicate a corrupt registry? Computer slowdown is usually the number one symptom. It's so frustrating to sit and wait -- it seems like it takes forever to do anything -- open a folder, close an application, play a game, boot up and shut down.

Other common symptoms are the error messages and glitches that are continuously popping up. Where do these things come from? It almost always has something to do with the registry. Have you seen these errors? "File Cannot Be Found Errors", "Video Errors", "Parser Errors". If the computer is asked to do something that is no longer has a set of instructions for, it will return an error message such as one of these.

Probably the most dreaded symptom of all is when the computer freezes and crashes. This could be an indication of intense corruption. If the computer is faced with commands it can't process, it will simply lock up, or the program that you're using will just crash. Now, that's frustrating!