Making changes to the Windows Registry, that arcane collection of files housed deep within the Windows operating system, can best be characterized as "fools rush in where even experienced gear heads fear to tread" or something.
But a free program called AML Registry Cleaner will help you -- at the touch of the keyboard -- manage your registry, speed up your system and cure your winter sniffles. I can attest to the success of most of these claims.
The Windows Registry has developed into a bloated (13 megabytes on my PC) bunch of files that govern the way your programs are called up, and how they behave. Delete one line in one of the main categories of your PC's registry, and you will be at a loss trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.
My best advice is don't even try it without help, unless you have scores of dollars to speak with a charming Microsoft Windows technician. AML Registry Cleaner, however, does the work for you, quickly and safely.
You start, sensibly enough, by backing up your current registry files before running your first scan. After a few minutes you discover that you have scores of registry files that you don't need, and are probably slowing your boot-up times. You can delete them all, edit them (with caution), exclude ones you have a personal relationship with or just leave them all alone because basically we all fear the worst.
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You can search for the registry entries of programs that are giving you problems, and, while on tech support, you can show how savvy you are by locating them in a flash.
After cleaning your registry, it's time to clean up your hard drive -- the scores of temporary files left behind when you installed various programs or surfed the Internet.
Then it's on to reviewing the programs that start up when you boot-up. Each is identified by an icon, which makes disabling them a breeze. A process manager will show you which memory hogs are slowing you down. I had a staggering 59 at boot-up, which may explain why it takes the better part of 20 minutes for my PC to boot up. A word of caution here -- some processes are essential, so you might want to err on the side of caution. The only time I would disable a process is if I were absolutely certain what it does. If you err, however, you can always go back and enable the process.
There's also an uninstall manager that lists, in alphabetical order, all the programs on your hard drive. Using it will get rid of extraneous registry files, too. Just to be certain, you can run a scan again or if something goes wrong, revert to your original registry backup file.
All things said, AML Registry Cleaner works as advertised. It's free for home and educational use; $20 for business users, and you're taken to the company's website often enough where their other products are for sale. The Registry Cleaner for Windows 7 can be downloaded from www.amlsoft.com.
Other educational, business and utility programs can be found at my website: www.washingtoncd.net.
