How to clean registry items out of your Windows registry is a frequent topic regarding maintenance
of your PC. As the registry is used to keep track of information about the PC's configuration
and use, it often becomes bloated with unused, old, or out-of-date entries.
The registry is also the place many programs intent on doing harm to your system
will place data.
Running programs on your PC can insert information in the registry even
if the program's intent is malicious.
If you want to see the data in the registry, you can use an application
from Microsoft called the Registry Editor program, or RegEdit.
This shows the keys from registry as an indented list progressing downwards, just
the same way that files and directories are shown by My Computer, or by File Explorer.
A hierarchical view isn't the only way to view registry data. With MSConfig.exe,
also from Microsoft, you can look at parts of the registry that is pulled
from different areas. And you can change some the programs that would ordinarily
initially load during your PCs starting up process.
MSConfig is a way to control startup, but not an effective way to clean the registry.
You need to know how to clean registry entries, because when Windows operates and programs
run, they put items in the registry, update them, and sometimes remove items.
But although programs frequently write into the registry it is common for programs
to leave the data there. Another scenario where data may remain in the registry
is during uninstall. Uninstall programs usually go through the registry removing
the data that a program puts in there. But what can happen will, and the uninstall
programs may miss registry data too. This leaves a mess and you need to know
how to clean registry entries for programs that leave stuff in there. You can download
registry cleaners to go through the registry removing junk from sloppy programs as
well as less well intentioned programs.
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