Your Windows Registry Revealed

Sep 13, 2007 04:51 PM

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The Importance of the Windows Registry

Just like your brain controls everything action of your body, the Windows registry controls and manages each and every operation that occurs on your computer. The registry is a database of all configuration information related to hardware and software installed on your computer. If you monitor the activity of your registry, you will notice that in just a few seconds, hundreds of entries are accessed, added, and removed from the registry.

Registry Structure

To view the registry, run the “Regedit” command from Start > Run. You will see a Windows Explorer-like tree structure. The top level of the registry comprises of five root keys, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT (HKCR), HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU), HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM), HKEY_USERS (HKU), and HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG (HKCC). Each root key holds a number of subkeys and sub-subkeys within them. These subkeys hold values of different data types. Let’s now have a look at the type of information contained in the five root keys.

Windows Registry

Out of the five root keys HKLM and HKU are the real root keys whereas the other three keys, HKCR, HKCU, and HKCC are just the mirror of these three keys and they comprise information that is related only to the current user with which you are logged on to your computer.

HKLM comprises all configuration information related to software and hardware installed on your PC. HKCR is a mirror of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes key and displays information related to registered classes, file extensions, files types, and protocol prefixes of URLs. HKCC is also a mirror of HKLM and it includes the current user information related to configured hardware and software.

HKU contains user-related information. This key also contains the .DEFAULT key that is the template key used to create new user profiles. This key is referred by the HKCU to display the information related to the current user. In HKU, current user information is generally contained in the S-x-x-xxxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxx-xxx key.

Causes Of Registry Problems

Due to its importance in keeping your PC operational, there are many reasons why the registry may experience problems. Perhaps the most common cause of registry problems is frequent program install and uninstall. When you install a new program on your PC many entries are added to the registry to enable the program to function as required. When you uninstall, these entries are supposed to be deleted. However, many times, applications leave behind orphan registry keys and vacant placeholders in the registry which add to the clutter and size of the registry. If an application is faulty or you perform an incorrect uninstall, many errors related to shared DLL, COM, ActiveX control, and incorrect file associations may also arise.

Many times, when you install a new version of an application over an old version, older registry entries—no longer required—may not be removed. Moreover, the new version may add copies of entries that already exist on your computer. This increases the number of obsolete and redundant keys in the registry.

If you are an avid Web user or you frequently get files and data from external sources, your PC can become vulnerable to virus and spyware infections. These malicious programs also add numerous malicious registry keys—including non-removable embedded keys—in the registry.

Eventually, all these problems severely damage and corrupt the registry and thereby start generating frequent system errors and system freezes. In more severe cases, registry problems may even render your system unbootable.

Repair Registry Problems

Windows Registry problems leave all of us baffled. The registry tree is so complex that it is not possible for a layman to search for and fix registry problems using Registry Editor. Therefore, for a novice user—and even an experienced computer technician—the best way to perform registry fixes is to use a registry utility. Registry utilities, automate the process of registry repair by enabling you to scan for registry errors and repair them with just a few clicks of your mouse. You can also use your registry utility to defragment the registry and make it compact and contiguous. You can use the tool to easily create registry backups that you can restore in case of problems. Registry utilities also enable you to schedule regular registry scans to ensure that your registry is scanned and repaired even when you forget.

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