Windows 7 is a very different creature from its predecessors. Re-engineered from the ground up, it's highly optimized for speed and has superior graphics. Some applications do not run or don't run well on Windows 7 because of internal changes in Windows.

This is the same for registry cleaners. While there is a wide selection of such software available in the market, how many of these function well on Windows 7? As you may already know, the Windows registry is the heart of the Windows operating system. Break it, and Windows will malfunction or perform badly. In many cases, the system may crash, resulting in data loss.

It is important to ensure that the registry functions properly and optimally, that's why people use these software to optimize the registry. The software scans the registry to look for errors and then fixes the problems that it finds. It's also essential to ensure that the registry cleaner that you use works well in Windows 7 and can handle the internal registry changes that Windows 7 brings with it and requires.

It's also important that the cleaner is able to backup the current registry so that, if required, the registry can be restored again. This provides the user with ease-of-mind and a fail-safe measure.

It can be hard to evaluate which registry cleaner is good because if the one being tested is not compatible with Windows 7, the testing process may result in a system that doesn't function correctly anymore. When testing, I cloned the operating system onto an external hard disk so that it's ready to be restored should the need arise. As a result of the tests, I've recommended a tool called Perfect Optimizer to my office for use.