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AnchorDesk

Preston Gralla
How to sanitize your registry--and speed up your PC

Preston Gralla
Contributor, AnchorDesk
Thursday, June 27, 2002
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Your Windows registry is probably filled with junk that can slow down your system, cause crashes, interfere with other programs, and otherwise make your computing life more unpleasant than it needs to be.

Where does all this junk come from? Usually, from software that doesn't uninstall correctly, which leaves behind bad registry entries and other extraneous data.

But help is on the way! ZDNet Downloads has utilities that will help anyone get their registry back in tip-top shape. Here are three of my favorites.

RegVac gives you an entire suite of tools for cleaning out your registry. It removes old registry entries, looks for references to files that no longer exist on your computer, and much more. Also, this program works in an automated fashion, so you don't need to know a thing about the registry in order to use it. (Shareware/Windows)

PC Magazine's Registry Editor Plus is an excellent tool for cleaning out your registry, as well as tweaking settings to change the way Windows runs. However, this one is for experts only, so make sure you know what you're doing before you begin. (Free/Windows)

Windows Registry Guide is great for anyone who wants to learn more about how to tweak and optimize the registry. It's a primer that's filled with helpful tips and tricks, but you'll need another program to actually edit the registry. (Free/Windows)

If you want to clean up your PC's act and get it to run smoother, better, and faster, try these three registry tools. Your PC will thank you.

When's the last time you cleaned out your registry? What tools did you use? TalkBack to me!

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