Registry Cleaner Articles

5 Pitfalls To Avoid When Using A Faulty Registry Cleaner

2010-02-19

Registry cleaners, if used properly, can optimize your Windows registry and speed up your computer. Unfortunately, not all Windows registry cleaners are made the same. Failure to take necessary precautions, especially when using a faulty registry cleaner, can cause you more headaches than if you had not used them at all. As with all silver bullet "wonder" products many registry cleaners out there cause more harm than good. Here are a five pitfalls to avoid when you unknowingly get caught using a faulty registry cleaner.

For starters, faulty registry cleaners are infamous for destroying critical registry entries. Losing important entries can cause applications to fail or, even worse, cause Windows itself to cease functioning. Before using any kind of Windows registry cleaner, be sure to make a backup of your registry hive. Do not rely on the registry cleaner's backup facility. Do it manually from Windows itself. As with attempting to perform any critical change to your computer, you should always back up all of your personal data files prior to performing the operation itself. This advice has been in circulation since the early 80s when PCs first became popular, yet somehow the majority of the population continues to ignore this simple but important suggestion.

There are many registry cleaners out there, including shareware, freeware, and paid. Some have good reviews, some have bad reviews, and others are completely unheard of. As with anything you shop for, do your research first. That way you will be less likely to begin using a fault registry cleaner in the first place. Registry cleaners have several steps. Most of them offer to backup your registry first. After the backup they scan your system and then present you with a list of actions they will attempt to perform (i.e., delete faulty entries). Make sure you thoroughly read every instruction the registry cleaner presents you. Be completely aware of what it is doing at all times. Do not blindly click "next, next, next" in the wizard dialogs entries or you will be sorry.

If you're not really sure what a registry is, don't use a registry cleaner. If you don't understand the instructions your registry cleaner is providing you, don't use it. If you haven't tried optimizing your computer using other "safer" options (disk check, disk defragmentation, optimizing startup settings, etc.), then don't use a registry cleaner. For those who are clueless, using a faulty registry cleaner has more potential to do harm than good. There are safer ways to improve your system.

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