Errors happen when using a computer. Sometimes, they are because of a typo or mistaken mouse-click. Sometimes, though, they seem to emerge from nowhere. When one of these keeps happening on a Windows PC, especially if the error results are severe, you may need registry repair software -- otherwise known as a Windows registry cleaner.

So what is the Windows registry, and why would it need repair/cleaning? The Windows registry is how a Microsoft machine keeps track of things like where programs are, what and where many of the files those programs need are, and what various (other) settings (like those set on the Control Panel) are. The registry is altered any time normal Windows programs are installed or removed, any time settings are changed, and any time malware (viruses, spyware, adware, or similar) infects a computer or is removed. Unfortunately, all these changes -- particularly the last -- can result in corruption of the registry. Such corruption ranges from simple extra blank entries to entries pointing at programs or files that are misplaced, corrupted, or completely missing. Extra blank entries should not result in errors, but can slow your computer down. Entries pointing at files (including program files) that have problems can frequently cause errors.

So how does one repair a corrupted Windows registry? It is possible to do it by hand using relatively simple registry editor software, but this is not advised for any non-experts. Even experts may not want to do this anyway, because of how many entries may need fixing and the resultant time this would take, the chance of missing problems, and the chance of making a (very hard to track down) mistake. So, instead, one should usually use Windows registry repair software, sometimes known as registry cleaner software (since the most frequent problems in the registry are entries needing removal). This software, preferably after backing up the registry, goes through the registry and looks for problems, then tells you about them and allows you to select a fix (it may allow you to just to tell it to go ahead and remove blank entries as opposed to going through each of them). When should it be run? Anytime you remove software (particularly malware), anytime you are experiencing more errors than usual, anytime your computer is inexplicably running slower than usual, and on a regular basis in any event.