Windows 95 lacked an easy method to make simple repairs to its registry. The registry could be manually edited, at some risk, utilizing the built-in “Regedit” utility, but Regedit is almost useless at finding and fixing registry errors. To provide a simple, but somewhat inadequate, method of detecting and repairing some registry errors, Microsoft made available for free download a utility “RegClean”. The final version of RegClean 4.1a is almost impossible to find on the Microsoft website. It is still available from http://www.download.com. Type “RegClean” (no quotes) in the search box at the top right of the page, and using the pull down menu, search in “Downloads”. Download RegClean 4.1a, and install it. I recommend running RegClean weekly, and letting it repair any errors it finds. While designed for Windows 95, RegClean works to some extent on later versions of Windows. While fast and easy to use, RegClean is very limited in the types of repairs it makes, and should not be relied upon for total maintenance of the registry.
Microsoft made several improvements with Windows 98, one of which was the inclusion “Scanreg”, that Win98 requires be run under DOS. Win98 also makes a daily backup copy of the registry at boot, another reason to shutdown the computer at the end of the day. By default, Win98 keeps the five most recent copies of the registry as a backup, which can be restored with Scanreg. While capable of repairing a corrupted registry, restoring a previous copy of the registry, or optimizing the size of the registry by packing the information together, it is not capable of deleting or repairing obsolete or erroneous entries, or entries left when programs were deleted. With Windows 98, Scanreg can be run by going to START – SHUT DOWN – REBOOT IN MSDOS MODE, and at the prompt type “scanreg /fix” (no quotes) to repair the registry. Instead of the “/fix” suffix, the user can enter “/opt” to optimize or compress the registry, “/restore” to replace the current registry with an earlier one (this is especially handy in recovering from a variety of crashes and major problems), and “/?” for a list of options and help.
The ScanRegW in Windows ME is similar, but unlike Windows 98, the ME version of ScanRegW is run from Windows, a major convenience. With a typical Windows interface, the ME version of ScanRegW is intuitive and easy to use. I recommend that ME users run ScanRegW with the “/fix” suffix at least monthly.
There are several fine third party utilities that make registry repair a simple and reliable process. I recently obtained a copy of Registry First Aid version 2.0 from Rose City Software at http://www.RoseCitySoftware.com/Reg1Aid. Available as a free trial download (full error detection with repair recommendations, but limited automated repair function), or as a fully functional registered version ($21), I was amazed at what Registry First Aid found on my computer. As I had recommended, I ran Microsoft’s RegClean 4.1a weekly, and Scanreg /fix at least monthly. I have also periodically run registry-cleaning utilities such as System Mechanic, and Power Cleaner, each of which routinely found and repaired registry errors. What amazed me was that Registry First Aid found over 700 registry errors that all of the other utilities missed! It found obsolete references to long deleted programs on my computer, all of which I thought I had properly deleted using the Add/Remove or uninstall utilities. It found references to programs, files, fonts, drivers, hardware, and other items that I no longer had on my computer, and allowed for their automatic deletion. What was even more impressive was the ability of Registry First Aid to also repair registry errors, instead of simply deleting them. When I built my computer it had one hard drive; now it has four drives. I had used a utility to move program files and data from the original smaller drive, to a newer and faster hard drive. That utility was supposed to have changed the relevant registry settings, but it obviously did not; Registry First Aid caught over 400 such errors in the registry, searched all four of my drives, and recommended a selection of repair options. Simply, I found that Registry First Aid is the best registry repair utility I have ever used. It was fast, considering how much it had to go through, and appeared very thorough.
After running the program, I ran Microsoft’s Scanreg /opt to recompress my registry. My computer clearly booted much faster, and when shut down, it closed quickly.
Registry First Aid is compatible with all versions of Windows from Windows 95 to Windows XP. It performs its job in five steps. First it scans the registry for invalid or bad entries, or other errors, then reads the hard drive or drives in an attempt to locate the files or data necessary to repair the errors. At this stage the user has the opportunity to select from a choice of repair options for each error found, if repairable, using the pull-down listing embedded with each error. No special skill was necessary to determine the best choice, and the correct repair was made. A backup of the old registry is saved, and then the repairs are made.
I recommend that users download the free trial version from http://www.RoseCitySoftware.com/Reg1Aid, and try the program. If you have other repair utilities, I suggest running them first, followed by Registry First Aid, and see how many more errors it can detect and repair. If you are as impressed as much as I was when I first tried it, you should seriously consider registering it for $21, and utilizing all of its repair functions. You will likely find that your computer runs better, as mine does now.
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