Repairing the Windows registry manually is a complex and daunting process involving many steps that even seasoned computer professionals avoid unless it's the only thing they can conceivably do to save a user's computer.
The following methods are NOT intended for use by the novice or faint of heart. If you attempt to repair your registry on your own using the info outlined below, you do so At Your Own Risk! For a faster, safer and reliable solution, click here now.
In order to affect a Windows registry repair manually, it's essential to have a detailed and complete understanding of what the Windows registry is, how it's structured and how it works.
The Windows Registry Explained
The Windows registry feature is a comparatively modern add-on to the Microsoft Windows operating system. This means that it wasn't included in the earlier editions of Windows, that is to say Windows 3.x and older. Rather than the registry feature, these former versions of Windows possessed an .ini file and a .dat file stored in each folder and subfolder. These .ini files and .dat files held the settings and configuration data for the files in the folder or subfolder they were connected with. Ini and dat files are still used by programs today but registry entries are the preferred programming method.
Continued...Storing settings and configuration information in this fashion is very difficult and unreliable. If the user accidentally deleted them or otherwise behaved in a careless manner, these actions would cripple the entire system causing freezes and crashes. Not surprisingly, that's what often happened and as I recall, I spent many frustrating hours pulling my hair out reinstalling Windows and starting from scratch with my software applications. This was in the days BEFORE "System Restore". Clearly a better method of storing settings was needed to avoid these catastrophes.
Windows Registry History
With the development of Windows NT, these settings and configuration data came to be incorporated into what has become the Windows registry. In the beginning, the Windows registry was just a database where settings and configuration data could be viewed by typing in the command "regedit.exe", but could they could not be edited.
Subsequent versions of Windows (Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows 2000) saw alterations to the Windows registry feature. The registry modification command used became "regedt32.exe" instead of "regedit.exe".
The key difference between these two utilities is that while the regedit.exe interface allows the computer user to view more information regarding registry keys, regedt32.exe actually granted permission for the user to do more with the registry keys by means of extra functionality.
Windows XP was the first edition of Windows that integrated the best features of regedit.exe and regedt32.exe . In Windows XP, the command "regedit.exe" is used, as well as the visual interface of the older version of regedit.exe. These were then merged with the features and functionality of regedt32.exe. This version of the Windows registry has since become the staple in later versions of Windows such as Windows Server, Windows Vista and now the new Windows 7 OS.
The Components of the Windows Registry
The Windows registry as we recognize it today has two primary elements: the key and the value. The key is almost the same as the folders that we can observe in Windows Explorer. Each key can possess subkeys inside it, just like a folder in Windows Explorer might have subfolders. In contrast, the value is the name/data pair that is contained inside the keys and subkeys. They're the little fragments of data where the information about how our computer should be running is kept.
Keys are organized into hives. The hives found in a Windows registry are:
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT (HKCR) - the hive where the keys and values relating to the plethora of applications we use on our PC are stored.
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU) - contains information about the settings used by the person using the PC at the particular time that the computer is being used.
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) - relates to the general settings used by ALL the registered users of the machine.
• HKEY_USERS (HKU) - stores data corresponding to those in HKCU, for ALL registered users of the computer.
• HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG (HKCC) - temporary data that the computer gathers when it's booting up.
Editing and Repairing the Registry
There are several methods that a user can employ to modify and repair the registry. Among them are:
• Editing Manually. Editing manually means opening the registry using the regedit.exe command and sifting through the registry keys and values yourself... deleting values and keys that you find to be invalid or suspicious.
• Windows Registry Editor. The Windows Registry Editor is a support tool released by Windows as a companion to the Windows registry. It can be used to locate keys and values, rename them, change them, add to them or delete them.
• Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Also referred to as Group Policy, MMC is used by system administrators to manage networks and computer system components, including registry editing in various computers included in the network.
• Registration Entries (.reg). In this method, registry changes are put into a registration entries file and then run using a script.
• Windows Script Host. Alterations to the registry can also be done by scripting using Visual Basic or JScript. The basic methods that can be used under the Windows Script Host are: RegDelete, which deletes values from the registry; RegRead, which restores a key's value or the name of a value in a key; and RegWrite, where new values are created or existing values are changed or written over.
• Windows Management Instrumentation. The automated process of performing administrative tasks in Windows, including Windows registry repair and editing.
• Console Registry Tool for Windows. This method makes use of the reg.exe tool and of various codes and scripts typed in at the Command Prompt of the Windows OS.
As exhaustive as Windows registry repair can be when done by hand, it's tedious and time consuming and exceedingly hazardous. Even practiced computer techs avoid being forced to disturb the Windows registry unless there's no other alternative to resolving the problem. If mistakes are made when attempting to fix the Windows registry by applying one of these techniques, it can result in destabilizing the system. This means making it worse off than it was before you started. If this should come about, the user would need to reformat the computer and reinstall the OS entirely which means the loss of all data and software installed on the system!
The Preferred Way To Do Windows Registry Repair
To reiterate, repairing the Windows registry using the methods detailed above is highly risky, tedious and time-consuming.
A better way of fixing problems with a computer's Windows registry is by using third-party registry cleaner utility. This type of software greatly reduces the risks and effort necessary for repairing the Windows registry. Most of all, third-party registry cleaners are much, much safer and faster.
A registry cleaner that really stands out from the rest is RegCure.
- It's quick - it can often do all the scanning and repairing that needs to be done in as little as a minute.
- It's thorough - it seeks all the invalid entries and malicious code hiding in the dark corners of the computer's registry.
- And most importantly, it is safe - it has a backup and restore feature that allows the user to go back in case that a mistake is done during the scanning process.
Using RegCure is the number-one way to do a professional Windows registry repair. Download a free scan of RegCure from the link here.