You going along and Windows seems to be slow and not so responsive. You go and start messing around with the Registry and later when you reboot your systems becomes frozen and nothing you do will get it back.

What is the Windows Registry used for?

The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user interface and third party applications all make use of the Registry. The registry also provides a means to access counters for profiling system performance.
[Wikipedia]

What programs can I use to repair or Clean the Registry?

There are several different programs that can be used to help fix the registry or remove the unnecessary registry entries.  I can suggest a few good utilities to help you fix or repair Windows Registry:

• Registry Utilities Professional –  This is good program for repairing small registry problems.   This won’t fix major problems but it might help you get Windows back and running.
• System Mechanic – up to 3 PCs — This is good program to scan your registry and cleaning it. It hasn’t damaged any Windows systems  that I used this on but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t done that for others.
• CCleaner — This does a mild cleaning of the registry but won’t damage your system. I use this all the time to clear out cache files and clean out the registry.

Is there any tutorials that can help with editing the registry?

Now I would recommend playing around with the registry because of the problems that can be associated with deleting or adding keys to it.  I do think though that PCTools has a great tutorial on it.  I also like to read Bleeping Computers website for a good tutorial on the Registry.  I will say, I wouldn’t mess with the Windows Registry unless you know what your doing but for those who want to learn these can be a great reading tools to start learning about editing and repairing the registry.  If your looking for a few good books on the subject of Windows Registry then I suggest Microsoft Windows Registry Guide (Pro One Offs) and Windows® Internals: Including Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, Fifth Edition (PRO-Developer)

If your want to play around with a registry, I would always suggest creating a virtual Windows system and before you do anything to that registry, backing up the Virtual files.   That way if you do something wrong, all you have to do is copy everything back and it is like you never did it.  This post is to try to teach you a little about the registry.   If your looking for programs to clean and repair, I definitely suggest the programs above to do that, they have worked on systems in the past for me and I am sure they will do the same thing for you.

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