Registry Problems

You may think you are having registry problems, but how can you find out for sure?

Some of the problems your computer seems to have may have nothing to do with the registry. However, an error free registry will help improve computer performance.

In this article, we will explain what the registry is and what it is for. Then we will look at the common symptoms a computer may have that may be the result of registry problems. When you are done reading this article, you will know a little more about your registry problems and possibly find a way to fix them to improve computer performance.

Registry Problems Are Inevitable

The Windows registry is a directory which organizes and stores your systems information for the hardware, software and user preferences of your computer. Your computer uses the information in your registry to know what resources are available, and how to use them when you start them up. Also, any changes you make to your computer are recorded and saved in the registry.

Over time, when you install and uninstall software or hardware components on your computer your registry accumulates entries. The reason registry problems are inevitable is because not all simple uninstalls will remove all these entries completely. Your computer appears to be slow when you turn it on because it will continue to check these leftover entries while it loads programs at start up.

Some registry problems will not be noticeable or seriously affect your computer. However, some problems can make it impossible to use your system. Either way, a registry with too many unnecessary entries degrades the performance you expect from your computer.

Registry Problem Symptoms

Here are a few of the common symptoms your computer may have that may be caused by problems in your registry:

• Slow start ups and slow shutdowns. It may feel like your computer is taking forever to warm up because it continues to look through registry entries left behind from incomplete uninstalls. You may also notice that it takes a long time for your computer to shut itself down. Sometimes you will experience slowness while you are using your computer and your screen will freeze in the middle of a task.
• A frozen screen is annoying, but that is just the beginning of your problem. Many times your computer will crash while you are using it. The notorious blue screen will appear warning you that something serious has occurred.
• When you try to click on programs you haven't used in awhile, they don't open. Sometimes they will reopen only after your turn off your computer and start it up again.
• You notice more and more error messages. Errors show up when you try to install new software.

Ways to Rule out Registry Problems

Viruses infecting your computer can give your computer problems. A virus scan can detect this and remove them from your computer. If your problem persists, then the next thing to try is a disk clean or defragmentation. Such a tool is built-in on your Windows operating system. If after trying these two solutions still doesn't solve your system problems, then you may need to download registry scanners to detect errors in the registry that may be causing your problems.

Registry problem symptoms are not always severe or obvious. We said to make sure the symptom your computer is having isn't caused by something else besides the registry. But what makes things confusing is that problems you think are not caused by the registry really are. The point we are driving at is not to mess around with your registry until you have ruled out that the problem isn't caused by something else because making mistakes in the registry can be devastating.

For more information about products that may help your registry problems, visit: http://www.RegistryRepairSoftwareReview.com

Copyright © 2008 by Winston Reginald

Read my other registry article, Do Registry Cleaners Really Work?