Does Windows XP Registry Really Needs Cleaning?
There is much confusion about the need to clean Windows XP registry, this article provides an overview of the reasons and remedial actions
Overview of Windows XP registry -Windows XP registry is a core component of any PCs. PC user should clean Windows XP registry regularly. IT experts often refer to the registry as the brain, heart soul and mind of Windows. The registry is used by Windows XP to store the devices and file associations of the computer. Registry is also used to store critical information on directories, drivers, Windows applications and much more. You should use a registry cleaner software instead of cleaning the registry manually, unless you are very familiar with Windows XP operating system.
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Are you sufficiently familiar with Windows XP registry? – If so, continue to read
Taking a backup – When completing any repair process of Windows XP registry, mistakes can be made easily and damage your system further. For this reason, you should always backup your files. Fortunately there are now many proven registry cleaning software available. These tools can find the potentially questionable or unused references, and they prompt the user to review any entry that may cause a problem once removed.
Start menu – To begin cleaning Windows XP Registry manually, go to the start menu, and click on run. Type “regedit” in the text field, and press enter.
HKEY sections – Windows XP registry has many different entries separated in sections namely HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_USERS, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and HKEY_CURRENT CONFIG. There are different entries in each section, which are related to various aspects of Windows XP operation. Click on the plus sign to clean windows XP registry. You should see a plus symbol next to the root directory. This will expand a detailed list of directories and make it easier to find the entries needed to clean up the registry.
Entries causing conflicts – Next step to clean Windows XP registry is to erase the entries which are causing conflicts or are no longer required, such as redundant ActiveX components for example (click on repair activex for more information)
Clean boot records – It is also advisable to clean the boot records. This can be done easily by changing the list of programs that load when the system starts up. Look into the CURRENT_USER and LOCAL_MACHINE directories until you find the “Run|” and “Run Once” option. This makes it possible to clean the registry entries that cause certain programs to run when computer starts.
Bi-annual clean – It is highly recommended to clean Windows XP registry at least twice a year to drive high computer performance. This sweeps out the items no longer in use. Machines which are extremely slow usually have a large number of software, or those where drivers are constantly being installed and uninstalled, require more frequent cleanups (click on computer extremely slow for more information).
However tempting a manual clean or repair may be, remember that, using the appropriate registry cleaner to repair windows XP registry is usually a superior solution than attempting this manually . Many registry repair software (i.e. the best ones) also offer both backup functionality to protect your data and will also improve computer performance.
