I hate the windows registry first-off. It is corrupt registries that usually mess our pc's up and shit (the software we love) or even hardware stops working properly. I use XP and I refuse to use System Restore, what a joke that is. In Defence, this may be extreme, but it will save you of unecessary re-formats to get your pc back to pristine registry health again. When I format my machines, and they are ready to go (OS installed, NO software yet) I export the registry to a folder and date it. Thereafter, after each software I install, it gets a registry export and dated. This should include all major changes you make to the pc. These libaries of registries can get large so I burn them to CD or DVD whichever is the case. Now, if I ever have problems, guess what, I have Lots of good registries to go back to. This also helps for clean uninstalls when combined with a good registry viewer. Google 'windows registry file viewer' and you'll start hitting some good viewers to use to compare registries with other back-ups you've made. A healthy registry that is clean of unwanted entries keeps a pc running just the way you want it, just like when it was first formatted. PC's are awesome, but they are high maintenance when you desire peak performance. And yes some registry cleaning software is pretty good, BUT, Make a Back-up of your registry before you use it. This may seem extreme, but I hope this helps anyone who may read it. Weycraze
Thats a pretty good idea thanks alot for it. The thing that ticks me off is when i install a Trialware and it leaves all of its crap behind. Like you said a clean registry = a happy me. Any suggestions on good registry cleaners if they even work at all?
I'm sure there are quite a few cleaners out there. I am kind of partial to Registry Mechanic. However, it too will take out entries it really shouldn't. Case example: Freshly formatted PC ( windows update ) no software other than Registry Mechanic. It found 3 problems! So, I formatted again this time no windows update. Installed only Registry Mechanic. Still found 3 problems on a fresh OS!!! So, I asked myself how smart this software was or is Win XP a little flawed. At least with it you get the option of deleting the invalid keys and being able to read them.
