What is a Registry Cleaner?

If you're not a technically minded person, you may have a hard time grasping exactly what a Registry Cleaner is. Here's a basic metaphor to get your started: simply put, it's just like a virtual maid that runs in the background, making sure your operating system stays well-organized and running neatly as it should.

What is the Windows Registry, after all?

By understanding just what the Windows Registry does, you will find it easier to get a clear vision of just how getting this "virtual maid" (i.e. a Registry Cleaner) can decisively help your computer operate more efficiently, with fewer slowdowns.

Here's a formal definition, courtesy of Wikipedia:

"Window registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems."

This database is written to and rearranged every time you install a new application, and even every time you use one of the applications you've previously installed. In practical terms, every time you're using your computer, the Registry is getting cluttered up with new information. Some of that information is useful to keep your Operating System functional...

... but after a while, the Registry will invariably get riddled with useless, redundant and outdated database entries. Eventually, the excess of information will build up to such heights that it will start interfering with the normal functioning of your computer.

Does a cluttered registry affect the performance of my computer?

You can bet it does. Usually, around 6 months from installing a fresh operating sytem - that's when the real troubles start surfacing. You'll start noticing your computer is getting progressively slower, and your patience will grow thinner. Soon enough, you'll find yourself cursing and pulling your hairs, wondering what happened to your computer to go from frisky to sluggish in such a short time.

What happened is that the registry became cluttered up, which is a normal consequence of using a computer daily. Here's another simple metaphor: Can you imagine what would your office place be like if you never cleaned things for half a year? Most likely, countless stacks of papers and folders would start overflowing all around the place, and you would find it increasingly harder to find anything or even focus on your work.

Since Windows doesn't feature a built-in registry cleaner, that's just what happens to your computer over time... and unless you get third party software to clean up your registry regularly, it will invariably start working erratically.

How does a registry cleaner work?

Well...it really does work just like a virtual computer maid: once you hire it (or in this case, install it), a registry cleaner will regularly monitor the registry for redundant information, and it will keep cleaning things up so the operating system never has trouble performing the usual tasks.

You may be worried about having to learn how to use this kind of software, but you should know it's actually straightforward – not unlike hiring a maid, the only real challenge is looking up one with good references: from there on, it's essentially an automatic process.

If you've been feeling hopeless because your computer keeps hindering your productivity, maybe there's no need to buy a new machine. Quite often, installing a good registry cleaner is everything you'll need to ensure your computer keeps running smoothly month after month of uninterrupted daily usage.

Our Recommendation

We have reviewed many registry cleaners to see how they performed. We recommend Registry Booster as we have found it to be the best registry cleaner for many reasons.

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-By Dominic

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