The Windows Registry is a database/storage area for the operating system that is used to centralize settings and data for Windows itself, but also for countless apps that choose to use it (the alternative is a local settings file).

It was created for Windows 3.1 and doesn’t always reflect how apps are being used today. As a result, it is quite common to see computers with a bloated Windows Registry. This would result in slower computers because the more information there is, the longer it takes to find information.

There are solutions to clean-up and defragment the Windows Registry to avoid wasting performance and disk space, and to make your computer faster. In this article, we will show you how to do it in a matter of clicks.

Warning: Before changing anything in the registry or even using an application for cleaning the registry, it is recommended you backup the registry. Deleting any sensitive entry can lead to damaging your Windows.

Why Clean the Registry

The Most basic reason why people may like to Clean the registry is to improve performance of the PC. It is true that the performance of the PC may improve by cleaning the registry, but it still depends on what kind of bad entries were there in the Registry.

It is not compulsory that all obsolete registry may be affecting the PC performance. So when you will clean Windows Registry, keep in mind that it “May be” able to improve performance. If performance is your main concern, then there are many other ways to boost performance as well.

Malware

Even if your Anti-Malware software gets rid of all the malware (malicious software) in your PC, there is still a chance the entries made by the malware in the registry will not be removed. These entries can lead to errors in the functioning of other apps and also slow them down.

Identity theft

Your personal data such as emails and password entered in other applications are also saved in the registry. When these applications are deleted, your personal data may still be left in the registry. Anyone with proper tech knowledge and access to your PC can steal this information and hijack your Account.

Use a Registry Cleaner Tool to Clean Registry

Manual cleaning the registry is not recommended because it’s very easy to make a mistake and corrupt your Windows Registry. It’s OK to edit a single specific entry if you need to, but the more you edit manually, and more more likely something will go wrong.

There are hundreds of Registry cleaners on the market, but choosing the right one is crucial. Even registry cleaners can make a mistake and corrupt your system, so make sure you use a good registry cleaner and backup registry first.

In this tutorial, we are going to use the tool Wise Registry Cleaner. It is a completely free to use tool created by Wise Cleaner. It is simple to use and very effective, making it perfect for all types of users. The Best part is, it is very safe as it comes with a “Restore” button. Even if an important entry is deleted by mistake, you can just click on Restore to revert back to previous settings

However, if you are not satisfied with Wise Cleaner and are looking for any other reliable program, then CCleaner is a good choice as well.

Using Wise Registry Cleaner

Download Wise Registry Cleaner and install it. Using Wise Registry Cleaner is dead simple, just launch the program and click on “Scan”. The tool will scan your registry to find entries that should be deleted. You can easily interact with the found entries by clicking on them, and you can uncheck any entry you want.

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When you are done, just click on “Clean” and the tool will clean everything selected immediately. That’s it, your registry is now clean and you may be able to see some performance improvement.

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If you want more improvement in performance, you can also defrag registry. Just click on “Registry Defrag” tab and click on “Analyze”. Your PC will become unresponsive while the tool analyzes.

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After a short delay, it will show the capacity of how much it can reduce the size of the registry. You can just click on “Defragment” and confirm the prompt to defrag and restart. However, make sure all data is saved before doing this as your system will restart after this process and all unsaved data will be lost.

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If you have any questions or would like to share any other interesting Registry cleaner tool, let us know in the comments.

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