Windows Registry Cleaners

There are 100s of apps out there to clean up your Windows Registry. How do you know which one is right? Do you even need one? Are any of them better than the other???

What is the Windows Registry

The Windows Registry is an internal database Windows uses to store all sorts of information. For instance, when you double-click on a file on your computer, Windows looks into the registry to figure out what application to open the file with (using the file’s extension, such as .doc, .xls or .txt.) The registry basically hold’s tens-of-thousands pieces of information that Windows uses to configure itself, and it also hold information applications use to configure themselves.

If it ain’t broke…

…don’t fix it? I don’t necessarily hold to this when it comes to computers. Maintenance is key to keeping your computer running a long time. Cleaning up your registry from time to time can help. It’s not a guarantee that your computer will continue running well if you do it, but it (usually) can’t hurt. So while you might not need it right now, getting it now can help prevent problems down the road.

Which Registry Cleaner Should I choose?

With the 100s of choices out there, it’s hard to know which one is right. I’ve tried well over 100 of them, many free, some not. Most have been dissapointing, offering nothing more than the previous cleaner I tried. Some have a few nice additional features, and a very few have a rich set of tools designed to help you keep your computer running smoothly.

I found one in particular to be especially useful, Registry Easy. It is loaded with all sorts of tools, such as Password Recovery, Registry Backup, File Recovery, IE Management and a ton more.

The other one I was impressed with was ErrorFix. It has many of the same features as the above product, but also has a feature to speed up computer booting by as much as 70% (I would imagine that would be one incredibly slow machine, and most people can probably expect more along the lines of a 10-30% decrease in boot time.) I couldn’t find a password recovery tool in it, which was a nice bonus to the previous product, but if you don’t need that, then I’d go with this one!