The Windows Registry Explained:
The Windows Registry is a large database that stores all the information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the PC. Whenever a user makes changes to a Control Panel settings, or File Associations, System Policies Security Policy , or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the Windows Registry.
Within the Registry you can control a great majority of the operating system as well as fix a lot of issues with Windows.
Every time you add or remove a program, or change a (minor) setting on your PC, the registry is updated, and information is added to the registry. Over time the registry grows bigger and bigger, slowing down your PC. The more software programs you install and de-install, the bigger your registry will grow.
This leads to weaker computer performance and even worse, it can can cause crashes and blue screens.
Optimize your Windows Registry:
Optimizing your registry can improve your computers performance greatly, and it helps preventing and can solve computer problems. To keep your computer running fast and error free, it is important to regularly scan your Window registry for errors, defragmentation and unneeded references.
How to Optimize your Windows Registry:
If you are not a computer expert, we recommend regularly optimizing your Windows Registry via Registry Cleaner Software. The manual cleaning of the Windows Registry is extremely complex and should only be performed by an expert. If done incorrectly you can seriously damage the Registry, which may result in bluescreens, your computer not booting anymore or data loss.
Registry Cleaner Software form a great and stress free alternative to the rather complex manual editing of the Windows Registry. The best programs are highly effective in identifying and fixing the registry problems.
We have Reviewed the top Registry cleaners available, which will help you form an unbiased buying decision. Your feedback is very welcome. Do you have experience - good or bad - with a registry cleaner software? Your product rating is very welcome.
Manually Editing your Windows Registry:
If you know what you are doing ( read: you are a trained computer expert) you can edit the Registry manually.
If you are not a computer expert, we do not Recommend editing your Registry manually. If you do manually edit your registry, do not forget to make a backup first.
The Registry information is stored in 2 hidden files in your Windows\System directory, system.dat and user.dat
You can open and edit your registry file in Window by clicking: Start / Run / type regedit
Your Registry Editor will now open:
Windows Registry Editor
Please dont make any changes in your Windows registry unless you KNOW what you are doing.
| Key |
Description: |
| HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT |
subtree contains two types of data:
- Data that associates file types with programs. The file type subkeys in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT have the same name as the file name extension for the file type, such as .exe. File type associations are stored in the registry, but you should use Windows Explorer to change them. In Windows Explorer, from the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the File Types tab.
- Configuration data for COM objects, Visual Basic programs, or other automation. The configuration subkeys use either the program IDs (such as for COM, Visual Basic, automation, and scripting) or parent keys for other classes of information (such as for CLSID, Interface, TypeLib, AppId, and so on).
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HKEY_CURRENT_USER
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The HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree contains the user profile for the user who is currently logged on to the computer. The user profile includes environment variables, personal program groups, desktop settings, network connections, printers, and application preferences. The data in the user profile is similar to the data stored in the Win.ini file in Windows 3. x.
The HKEY_CURRENT USER subtree does not contain any data. It just stores a pointer to the content of the HKEY_USERS\ Security ID (SID) of current user subkey. Therefore, the content of that subkey also appear in HKEY_CURRENT_USER, and it can be viewed and changed in either location. This subtree provides easier access to the data.
A new HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree is created each time a user logs on. The data for the subtree comes from the profile of the current user. If no profile is available, the subtree is built from the user profile settings established for a default user, which are stored in System drive \Documents and Settings\Default User (WINNT)\Ntuser.dat.
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| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE |
The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree contains information about the local computer system, including hardware and operating system data, such as bus type, system memory, device drivers, and startup control parameters.
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| HKEY_USERS |
The HKEY_USERS subtree contains all actively loaded user profiles. HKEY_USERS has at least three keys:
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.DEFAULT, which stores the profile used when no users are logged on to the computer (such as when the CTRL+ALT+DELETE logon prompt is displayed).
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A subkey named for the Security Identifier (SID) of the current local user. This subkey contains the current user's profile. If the user is logged on remotely, the data for the user's profile is stored in the registry of the user's local computer. The data in HKEY_USERS\ SID also appears in HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
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A subkey named for the Security Identifier (SID) of the current local user with the _Classes suffix. This subkey contains the current user's Classes. The data in HKEY_USERS\ SID \_Classes is also contained in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.
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HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
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The HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG (HKCC) subtree stores configuration data for the current hardware profile.
This subtree does not contain any data. It just stores a pointer to the content of the Hardware Profiles\Current subkey in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\CurrentControlSet\Hardware Profiles subkey. The content of the Current subkey appears in HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG, and it can be viewed and changed in either location. This subtree provides easier access to the data.
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Registry Explained
- Open or selected folder just as you would see in Windows Explorer
- Closed folder just as you would see in Windows Explorer
- String Value allows you to place certain values to certain aspects of a program such as a version number.
- Binary Value allows you to set attributes to a particular application, values are in binary.