Windows Registry is a database used by Windows operating system to store hardware and software configuration information. Computer problems are often caused by invalid key entries in the registry. Anyone with Administrator privileges can edit the Registry by using the registry editor (regedit.exe) that comes with the Windows operating system. However, great attention must be given to registry editing or repair because changing registry keys could disable the computer in the worst scenario. The registry editor is a GUI-based tool for managing the registry. When you type regedit in the Run dialog box and click OK, the system will present a registry view similar to the Windows Explorer view of the file system. In general, the registry consists of 5 Root Keys that contains file associations, all preferences set for current user, settings for hardware, operating system, and installed applications, to name just a few.

Now you see how important the registry is to your computer. Maintaining the registry and stabilizing its growth can greatly increase the life expectancy of your Windows system. With this being said, it is a daunting task to repair registry because there are so many complex registry entries stored in your system. Most experienced technicians tend to stay away from the registry unless there are no other options to resolving a computer problem except editing registry keys.

In view of this, there are many third-party registry cleaner utilities that are dedicated to scanning and repairing the registry. By default, registry cleaner scans the registry for all types of errors. It also allows users to customize settings and scan for particular types of registry errors, like shared DLL errors, missing fonts, and invalid startup entries.

Besides finding incorrect or obsolete information in the registry, most registry cleaner utilities provide backup or restore function, allowing users to backup the whole Windows Registry so that they can use the backup to restore the registry to the current status in case they encounter serious system failure. Some of registry cleaner utilities even have the startup organizer feature that lets users disable unwanted startup programs and manage IE settings with ease.

Moreover, registry cleaner software is able to remove harmful viruses, adware, spyware, and Trojans because these intrusive programs tend to attack PC by creating and modifying registry keys. To sum up, there are so many advantages associated with cleaning registry. If your computer is running slow and even shutting down out of the blue, you should check out websites out there which feature a free scanner that can track down evil program lurking on your hard drive and protect you from possible future malicious attacks on your system.