Scan and Fix your Computer Registry

The registry of a computer is a database that stores and keeps track of settings, installed programs, file associations, system policies, and profiles of the user accounts. While your computer is in use, Windows continually references. Everytime a change is made, the change is stored in the registry. Unfortunately, over the time, the registry can be corrupted, and it affects your computer's performance.

If you have had your computer for awhile, more than likely you have some registry errors. Over time, your registry can accumulate obsolete, incorrect, or invalid data in the registry. Eventually, this will slow down the performance of your computer and cause other problems. Your registry can be damaged in several ways:

• Installing and uninstalling programs
• Hard drive crashes
• Viruses or spyware
• Trying to fix the registry without the knowledge needed to do so

If your registry is corrupt, you may encounter the following errors.

• Your computer starts slowly.
• Your computer runs slowly.
• Your computer takes a long time to shut down.
• Your computer pops up error messages.
• Your computer hangs up or is unresponsive.
• Your computer gets a blue screen.

If you're having problems with your computer, you can scan your registry to check for errors, and if there are errors, you can use a registry cleaner to repair the errors. There are free registry scanners and cleaners you can download off the net. However, before you do, use caution. Some of them can damage your computer even further. Consequently, you may want to research the software first and make sure you get one compatible with your system.

After you've scanned and cleaned your registry, you should use certain safeguards to prevent future registry errors.

• Don't download or install programs from sites you don't know whether you can trust.
• Do not open suspicious emails.
• Use the Programs and Features icon in the control to uninstall programs.
• Regularly use the disc cleaner and disk defragmenter under system tools in the accesories program to keep your computer running efficiently.
• Run your virus and spyware scans at least once a week.
• Use high quality surge protectors to prevent your computer from being damaged.
• Perform regular registry scans

If you do have registry errors and you're not familiar with how to fix them manually, don't attempt it. You can make your computer worse than it already is. Even if you do know how to correct them, always make sure you make a backup of your registry first, in case something does go wrong. By taking care of your computer properly and doing the maintenance, hopefully, you will have less errors in the future.