Unraveling The Mysteries Of The Registry
All Windows Versions

I bet the first thing some of you think when you hear the word "registry" is "Oh, no! Not another wedding!" Fortunately for those of you who are thinking that - neither EB or TC is about to get married. So, at least you don't have to worry about our registries. Or buying us gifts.

If we were to say "Windows Registry" many of you might be sighing in exasperation as you attempt to contemplate a dark, hidden and arcane world where no normal person is supposed to go.

But, we're here to tell you that it's only because geeks in general and super-geeks who make big money working for Microsoft that the "Windows Registry" is called a "registry". It almost seems that geeks need their own language as bad as doctors need theirs. You can't be an expert unless you have terms that befuddle ordinary folks. That is why a blood extractor person is called a phlebotomist; a cancer doctor is called an oncologist and a heart surgeon is called a thoracic surgeon. (My heart is beating wildly in my thorax!) It makes them sound important and beyond the scope of us mere humans. They might be important to you if you have need of any of the preceding. But the fancy-sounding names are only to keep things above the masses - no pun intended.

But let us slice away (pardon the pun) at the Windows Registry and find out what it really is and why the name "registry" is just another attempt by those in the know, to keep us mere mortals befuddled.

The Windows Registry is nothing but a database. It is a repository of everything on your computer. All your menus, dialogs, settings, shortcuts, programs, even your desktop wallpaper are stored in the Windows Registry. It's the way Windows remembers your computer, your preferences, your settings, your shortcuts, etc. as opposed to mine. Since all Windows operating systems (as Abraham Lincoln once said) all created equal, the only reason why my copy of Windows is different than yours is what's in my registry. Because almost everything that makes "my computer" my computer and not your computer - though both of us might be using the same version of Windows - is the registry. Whatever I've installed on my computer, whatever settings, preferences, etc. that are uniquely mine are stored in the Windows database (er I mean "registry").

When you boot up your computer, Windows huffs and puffs its way through your registry and digs out all the settings and other information that it needs to startup as "your computer" and then your computer's desktop appears looking (hopefully) the way it did the last time you used it. If all is well, it will. If all is not well, hmmm, you won't be happy - Windows might not start; something might be missing; or something won't look right - or worse - something won't work right which will send you off into a profane tirade or slumped in your chair scratching your head in bewilderment (depending on your particular personality type, of course).

Since the Windows database (registry) keeps everything about your computer stored in it, it is the base upon which Windows is built. You don't need to be a geek or even a rocket scientist to realize that if something becomes corrupted or amiss in your Windows database (registry) you're in for some fun - excuse the sarcasm. And, did you know, most all Windows problems stem from problems in the registry? It stands to reason because the registry is the heart of Windows. If you don't keep the heart healthy - you know what happens next right?

Lots of things cause problems with the Windows registry regardless of the Windows version you're running. Windows XP and Windows Vista are more forgiving of errors in the registry than Windows 98 was. And Windows 98 was more forgiving than its predecessor. I can remember using Windows 95. Every morning was a crap shoot as to whether or not it would boot up. I wouldn't want to return to those days. While the newest versions of Windows are more forgiving as far as the registry is concerned, they're not perfect and certainly susceptible to registry errors and corruption.

When you install and uninstall programs, entries are made and removed from the registry. But not every registry entry made by a program when you install it is removed when you uninstall it. The more programs you install and remove the more debris there is lying around in your Windows registry (database). Every shortcut you make on your desktop creates an entry in the registry. Every program you add or remove from you start menu - every time you change your screen saver - every time you create a new document and save it a folder, every time you change a setting - almost everything you do on your computer makes a corresponding entry in your registry. Clutter! Clutter! Clutter! Sometimes when you move a file to a new location the old location leaves an entry in the registry. if you remove a shortcut sometimes an old entry still exists in the registry for the shortcut.

The longer you use your computer the more cluttered your Windows Registry will become. It's a fact of Windows life. Did you ever notice the longer you've had your computer, the slower it becomes? That's because your registry is accumulating a lot of useless junk. The more junk Windows has to sort through to find the good stuff, the longer it takes. It's not rocket science, it's just plain, old, common sense.

Imagine you're going to bake a cake. Suppose you just left empty bags of flour and sugar and empty cans of shortening sitting in your pantry. And that you never, ever threw anything away. So when you went to get out the sugar, flour and shortening, you had to sort through empty bags and cans trying to find the ones that had something in them. It would take you a lot of time just to get ready to make a cake - and then you'd still have to bake it. Sounds preposterous, doesn't it? But that's exactly what happens to the Windows Registry after months or years of using Windows. The longer you've had Windows installed, the slower it gets. Windows has to sort through all the junk to find the good stuff it needs to start Windows with all your programs, shortcuts, menus and customizations.

(OK Guys. So you don't get the stuff about baking cakes. How about this: Imagine if you just threw all your tools in a big cardboard box (let's say about the size of a box that a refrigerator comes in). And after years of acquiring tools, you have about 50,000 of them. Now let's say you want to work on that 1946 Ford Hotrod. Imagine trying to find the tools you need in that big box. It would take you longer to find the darn tools you need than it would to do whatever you were going to do to the car. Get it now?)

The registry is the heart and soul of Windows. Windows sits on top of a huge depository of information - a database - called the registry. In it is every thing Windows needs to make your computer - your computer. Installing and uninstalling programs most always leaves unnecessary entries behind in the registry. Every change you make to your computer's configuration can leave unnecessary entries behind. The registry is subject to corruption and problems like any other database is.

Some of you might be experienced enough to weed out the unnecessary entries and junk from your registry manually. But, even if you're that good with computers, it will take an extremely painstaking effort and a lot of time. That's why programs known as registry cleaners/optimizers exist. They take the guesswork - and just plain work - out of cleaning out the junk from your Windows registry. However, anytime you work with the registry or registry cleaners you're taking a chance that something will go wrong and something will be removed that will have really serious consequences; like for instance, not being able to start your computer - or all your settings and personal modifications being altered or changed.

Registry cleaners/optimizers must be chosen with great care. There are a lot of them available and we've tried a lot of them. And while you've probably heard us tout the benefits of Registry Mechanic over the years - ad nauseum - it remains the only registry cleaning and optimizing program we've ever found that does what it says it will do and doesn't mess up our computers. And trust us, we've messed up many-a-computer trying registry cleaning software of one type or the other. We use Registry Mechanic on our business computers as well as on our personal computers. We wouldn't recommend it if we didn't use it ourselves.

But, wait! You might have found a registry cleaner and optimizer that works for you and one you like - that's great. There are certainly plenty of different ones available. No matter which registry cleaner/optimizer you use -the point we're making is that the registry will become more and more bloated with unnecessary entries over time. It happens on every Windows system. The more bloated it becomes the slower Windows starts up, shuts down, and runs. That's one of the reasons why Windows generally becomes slower with age. Installing and using a registry cleaner/optimizer regularly is one of the ways you can keep your system running faster longer - and a tool that all of you should have installed and use regularly.