Cleaning the Registry Manually and Automatically with Reg Organizer
October 29, 2010 (updated 7 years ago) by Chemtable Software
The registry stores information that is necessary to configure the operating system for users, applications and hardware devices. As the user uninstalls programs, the registry accumulates much data which is no longer associated with files, settings and applications. This data is redundant and can cause errors and loss of system performance. To avoid these consequences, it is recommended to clean the registry on a regular basis.
Reg Organizer has all the tools to remove redundant data manually. However, most users do not know the structure of the registry and cannot do it well. Besides, manual removal takes a lot of time. Therefore Reg Organizer has the ability to clean the registry automatically. The program can scan the registry, detect and remove redundant data without your interference. But before this procedure it is recommended to run the system express check.
System Express Check
The system express check starts automatically when you run Reg Organizer. You can also initiate this operation manually by selecting Run System Express Check on the Tools menu. The program checks the logic and physical structure of the registry and file system. When the process finishes, the programs shows problems and offers solutions: start a defragmentation, fix or delete redundant data, invalid references and file shortcuts. If you agree with the verdict, you can start automatic correction of problems from the window with results of the check.
During the express check the program scans only main parts of the registry that accumulate redundant data more often than anywhere else. Therefore results of the express check are not as exhaustive as results of the automatic registry check. For a complete analysis of the registry and removal of redundant data, you need to clean the registry manually, or use the Automatic Registry Cleanup tool in Reg Organizer.
Cleaning the Registry Manually
The Manual Registry Cleanup tool extracts information from all important parts of the registry automatically and displays results for viewing or editing. Different parts of the registry are responsible for different aspects of the OS performance. For example, Software Records lists applications which are registered in the system. Open With… Menu allows you to view and edit applications which are suggested by the system when you try to open a file in the unknown format. When you use this tool to delete data, the program creates a backup copy automatically so that in case an error occurs, you can roll back all changes by restoring data from a backup.
The Manual Registry Cleanup tool consists of the left-side panel where you can select a part of the registry and the list with information on the selected part in the right area of the window. To open a part you wish to view, click on the part on the Registry Parts panel, and its information will be displayed in the right area of the window.
In the top right area of the window, you can see the Search box. As you start entering a word into the box, the program narrows down the list to the items that match your entry. Using the Search box, you can find any entry instantly, without having to scroll down the entire list of entries.
To make it easy for the user to remove redundant data, the program detects erroneous entries automatically. These entries are easy to distinguish from standard items because they are marked with a red exclamation mark.
At the bottom of the Manual Registry Cleanup window, there is a small message panel that displays information on the selected registry part. You can see the total number of entries in the part, number of erroneous elements (right there you can click a link to remove all erroneous elements at once).
The Manual Registry Cleanup tool can group registry entries by different criteria. For this, you can use the Groups button on the toolbar. The most important is grouping by correctness that lists all erroneous records on top of the list so you can see problems instantly. You can remove or edit an erroneous entry immediately.
You can also group entries by age. Using this option, you can keep track of new entries in the registry, including new applications, new autorun items, and new file extensions.
Cleaning the Registry Automatically
Automatic cleaning of the registry involves many operations which are performed without user interference. The tool analyses parts of the registry, generates results, and fixes errors automatically if the user decides to do so. For a better control over the process, Reg Organizer allows you to select parts of the registry and entries to be excluded from the registry scan and configure other settings.
Reg Organizer offers a step-by-step wizard to make it easy for beginners to clean the registry. Once the automatic registry cleaning is started, the program analyses parts of the registry and detects those that have problems. Then you can fix problems automatically, or view a more detailed report, and then decide what to do. You can cancel all changes made by the Automatic Registry Cleanup tool by restoring data from a backup copy.