Help Corner Frequently Asked Questions

Here's a list of questions and answers I've compiled since I started using PC Registry Programs. Got a question that's not answered here? Please use this contact form and ASK ME! If I don't know the answer, I'll do my best to find out from my contacts in the industry.

My PC's new - do I need to bother?

In my tests it was no surprise to find out that the older PCs had the most errors. That's because over the years I've been installing and uninstalling and doing the usual things you do with computers.

However, even if your PC's quite new, I'd definitely reccomend you get some form of registry cleaner and run it regularly. You'll be surprised just how many errors your PC has in it's registry, no matter how new it is.

Cleaning the registry's just for geeks, right?

That's what I thought. But it's not difficult to do and it's gennuinely useful. Even if you've got a super-fast PC, it makes sense to keep it running that way. An efficient, clean registry is the secret to keeping computers running like they should. Scanning and fixing your registry only takes a couple of clicks and a few seconds work. Some tools even let you schedule the task, doing all the work for you.

Is it dangerous?

You'd think so. The registry is the heart of the computer so surely altering it runs the risk of completely screwing up your system. In reality, registry software makers are very much aware that they have to be extremely careful and not create tools that can cause problems.

I've run hundreds of scans now with an absolute load of registry cleaners on my test computers and have never had to restore from a backup. Oh, that's another thing. All good tools perform backups before changing anything. So you don't have to worry. Modern registry cleaners are totally safe.

How often should I run a scan?

I'd recommend you run a scan every week. I like to run my registry scan by hand but you can get the software to run it on a schedule. Get into a routine and do it at the same time every week - why not Monday morning? Or at the weekend when there's less on your mind. Running regular scans like this will keep your PC running at top performance level.

Why are some tools more expensive than others?

Most registry tools are competitively priced at around the 30 dollars / 15 pounds figure. There are some that go up to about 40 bucks, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they're better. If you've read my reviews, you'll know that this is far from the case. Some cheaper tools outperformed the more costly ones by a long shot.

What benefits will I see from getting my registry fixed

Let's look at the three major reasons you'd want to scan & repair your PC's registry.

1) To get rid of all the junk that's already on there.

If your computer's over 6 months old, you'll be especially amazed just how much junk and useless pieces of info it's got stored on it. I couldn't beleive all the (excuse my French) crap that had gathered on my machines.

2) If you're already getting errors

If your computer is doing weird things like throwing strange error messges at you, locking up, or crashing then it's time to take action. Unbelievably, some people take their computer in to be repaired at this stage. A simple registry scan would have done the job much cheaper.

3) To protect against any future problems.

Performing regular registry scans will mean you'll never have to deal with annoying PC errors or crashes. It's like giving your PC a good health check and sending it off to the gym.

Windows comes with a registry editor - can't I use that?

The registry editor that comes with windows lets you edit, delete and do other basic tasks with individual parts of the registry. It would take you forever to track down the hundreds of broken or obselete registry entries that a scanning tool would find and fix.

You'd think that Windows would include the best ever registry cleaner FREE with their software but sadly this isn't the case. Until this changes you'll need a thrid party tool to do the hard work for you.

When I run a scan, what are all those things it's fixing?

This is something I didn't understand either. When you run a registry scanner you'll see it's scanning and fixing all kinds of alien things. ClassIDs? ActiveX? I thought for a minute I'd been transported to GeeksVille. So I spent some time researching into what these strange names meant. You can see the page I made here.

	The best software I've found
	Comparison of the major programs
	Reviews of Registry Cleaning software