Most Windows users know that the operating system has such an option as a registry, which is responsible for registering absolutely all software components and actions performed on the computer. Unfortunately, many are afraid of her like fire. There is nothing surprising in this, since incorrect intervention in the registry structure can lead to such consequences that the entire system will become unusable and it will be impossible to restore it by any known means. Unless there is only a complete reinstall, which will lead to the loss of important user data.
Nevertheless, it is possible to clean the registry, moreover, using manual adjustments to its structure, changing or deleting keys stored there, and using special software. All this will be described in detail below. But first, it’s worthwhile to dwell on some issues, the knowledge of which may be useful in practice.
Why do I need to periodically clean the registry of the operating system?
Before deciding how to clean the registry on Windows 7 or other OS of this family, let's decide why it is needed at all. And then there is so much talk around that this needs to be done, but why, most ordinary users do not understand.
Here you need to learn that the registry stores keys that correspond to all elements of a computer system (programs, files, extensions, user and system settings, registration data, actions performed, etc.).
Of course, this description is very primitive. But the registry scan is performed at every start of Windows. The more records it contains (respectively, and the larger the size), the more time is spent reading its keys. In addition, the process can also be slowed down if there are many incorrect, outdated or empty entries in the registry related to the operation of some software tools or to perform certain actions at startup (loading).
Thus, the conclusion is obvious: if you clean the registry, you can speed up the loading of the operating system itself. By the way, the exact same scan is performed when you start any program or open a file. If the keys have incorrect values, then the application will not start, and the file will not open without establishing compliance with any program.
Windows Cleanup Issues
Now a few words about how to clean the Windows registry using the tools available in the system itself. Answer: in addition to manual intervention, nothing! Indeed, despite the rather wide variety of system tools, it would seem, for all occasions, an automated tool that allows you to clean the registry without much user involvement, and most correctly, in Windows there. Why this happened, it is not known for certain, but, apparently, this is somehow connected with the security policy. The developers clearly do not want users to edit the keys themselves, which, if handled carelessly, can lead to a complete “crash” of the entire system.
Nevertheless, something can still be advised. We will dwell on this a bit later, especially since some of the solutions given below are the only way to get rid of some viruses if they are not recognized by the security software.
In addition, each user should know that all the settings registered as registry keys are completely duplicated in the group policy settings and sometimes in the services section. True, they have a lower priority. This means that the rules set in the policies in the registry editor can be changed, and the parameters that were initially set in the registry will not be available for changes in the policy.
What should be done before cleaning?
Now let's move on to practical actions. How to clean the registry on the 7th or any other system modification? First you need to protect yourself from possible incorrect actions and first of all, after calling the editor (regedit in the Run console), create a copy of the registry using the export command from the file menu.
What is it for? And for the fact that in the editor itself there are no buttons to save the settings or cancel the changes made. All changes are saved automatically and regardless of the user's desire. But if critical changes are made, it will be possible to restore a working system from the created copy.
When and how best to use manual cleaning?
Now, directly on how to clean the registry on a computer with Windows "on board". This is necessary, as already mentioned, both when deleting certain types of viruses and when removing keys of incompletely uninstalled programs that may remain after the operation of standard Windows uninstallers (in most cases they delete only the main application files, leaving a huge amount of garbage in the system, including in the registry).
In the simplest case, if you don’t know exactly in which section or branch the records you are looking for can always be found, you can use the search engine by calling it via the File menu or using the quick combination Ctrl + F.
The name of the program, its component, virus, etc., is simply entered into the field, and after that the enter key or the “Find Next” button is pressed. Please note that the results, in contrast to the list that appears in the same "Explorer", will be shown one at a time. To go from one to another, either the further search button or the F3 key is used. And so on until the system reports that the registry scan is finished.
What can I get rid of?
If we talk about the keys that can be removed, this mainly concerns those components that were presented above. However, sometimes it is advisable to disable some elements of the system that are not accessible through the normal interface.
So, for example, in startup, some services running in the background may not be visible, some even visible components like the anti-virus module cannot be disabled through the standard autostart section. But in the registry you can do anything.
For startup, find the Run and RunOnce sections in the HKLM and HKCU branches. Just in them keys of absolutely all components loaded with system are registered. If necessary, delete them.
How to clean the Windows registry using highly targeted programs?
But, as is already probably clear, manual intervention in the system registry without special knowledge is fraught with negative consequences. It is much easier and safer to clean the registry using specially designed programs for this purpose such as RegCleaner or similar applets.
Such applications scan all registry entries, identify problem keys, fix them or delete them automatically without user intervention. Its actions come down only to launching the program itself, activating the scanning process and confirming registry optimization.
Using Optimizer Applications
Similarly, to clean the registry or even defragment it by the type of how this process is applied to hard disks and logical partitions to speed up access to data (and in our case to speed up system loading), you can use optimizer programs. The most famous and most popular among users include applications like ASC, CCleaner, All-in-One Toolbox and many others.
Despite the fact that they are intended to increase the overall system performance or to clean up computer debris, any such program can clean the registry absolutely correctly and painlessly for the entire system as a whole. Such modules can be used either in one-click optimization, or call them as a separate tool. True, if registry defragmentation is activated, it can only be performed upon subsequent restart of the computer, with a restart after the process is completed.
How to clean the registry on Windows 7 or other systems in uninstaller applications?
Finally, one can not say a few words about the complete removal of programs. In Windows, using your own system tools, this is extremely difficult to achieve, but if you use applications like iObit Uninstaller, the effect can be amazing.
Such programs have a built-in tool for powerful scanning of residues after the standard procedure for uninstalling applications, which identifies files, folders and registry keys to be cleaned. As a rule, for the most complete removal of the remaining garbage, it may be necessary to use the item for physical removal of files.
A few words in the end
As you can already understand from all of the above, cleaning the registry can be quite elementary. The main problem in carrying out such actions is only to not break the firewood in the sense of accidentally deleting or changing some keys or parameters. That is why it is better to carry out the cleaning procedure with the use of automated tools, and use manual cleaning only if even such tools do not help (for example, when removing virus threats, most often presented by adware or browser hijackers).