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Two years of hard usage coupled with download after download usually adds up to one slow computer. Cleaning the Windows registry is indeed smart and I’m confident that you’ll see an improvement after RegCure works its magic.

More Tips for Speeding a Slow PC

Since your computer has been used by kids who have downloaded multiple programs, there’s also a good chance that they have downloaded all kinds of free games and other cool freebies like animated cursors, smilies, screensavers, and wallpapers. Many adults do this as well. Unfortunately, an uninvited guest often arrives with these so-called freebies: malware.

Getting Rid of Malware

As part of reclaiming your computer, find and use a good anti-spyware application to scan your system and remove any malicious programs. Many infected computers have dozens of suspicious programs running. Not only do these programs spy on you and report your personal information such as Web surfing habits or credit card numbers, they also take up valuable computer resources and slow your computer down to a crawl.

Several excellent products exist for eradicating spyware including free products such as Windows Defender and Trend Micro’s Online Housecall. As far as paid products go, the Tech Jocks recommend XoftSpySE and Antivirus Plus from Paretologic Software. Commercial products tend to offer better protection, larger databases for detecting threats, and automation. While the Online Housecall is terrific for one time scans, you can’t schedule regular scans.

Cleaning the Desktop

Another excellent step for recovering lost computer speed is to clean up the desktop. No doubt, the kids have probably changed the background image and you probably have dozens of shortcuts and icons all over the place. A large background image and all of those icons take time and resources to load. Right click a blank area of the Desktop and select Properties. Choose a default Windows background or browse your computer for your own image. Pay attention to the image size and opt for one with a small file size rather than a large one. For example, given a choice between a 5 MB image and one that is 700 KB, choose the 700 KB image. It will look just as pretty but won’t be as memory intensive.

Remove Themes

While you’re at it, if your kids have applied special themes to your computer, remove them. Themes are neat in that they change the look and feel of your operating system. However, they require more system resources - resources that a slow PC can’t afford to lose.

Manage Startup Items

RegCure comes with a neat feature for managing the startup items. Programs that automatically load each time Windows starts up are often not needed frequently, yet they’re running all the time. By removing them from starting automatically, you’ll free up memory.

Defragging the Hard Drive

Finally, after sweeping your Windows registry, wiping away malware, and removing startup items, give your hard drive a thorough defragging. As time goes by, the hard drive becomes fragmented as your hard drive attempts to manage its contents. The built-in defrag utility (Start >Programs>Accessories >System Tools> Disk Defragmenter) will rearrange the files in a more orderly fashion.

What is RegCure?

RegCure is a registry cleaner that offers users many features to keep their computers running smoothly. It offers backup and restore features as well as locates and removes incorrect shortcuts that can slow you computers performance. RegCure can be set to schedule scans at startup, weekly or monthly - whatever schedule works best for you. It will get rid of any empty registry keys, manage your startup items and improve the speed of your PC. You can also customize it to scan only those registry items that are of concern. You can find RegCure here: http://www.filetonic.com/regcure/

What is a Registry?

The registry is the component on your computer that controls the operation of Windows. If it isn’t working properly, the operating system can get corrupted, crash or freeze at any time. The registry records the relationship between your computer’s hardware, memory and addressing. Older versions of Windows store the registry in two files - system.dat and user.dat, while newer versions store the information in files called hives that are stored on the hard drive. A centralized registry system can be a failure point and incorrect handling can result in a slow running system or even an inability to boot up completely.

Cleaning the Registry

You can clean the registry manually by going into it and deleting any unwanted items. Doing it this way can take time and can be dangerous if you delete the wrong thing.

Programs such as RegCure will clean your registry automatically while giving you a measure of control over how it works. If you need more information on this particular product, see the RegCure whitepaper: http://www.regcure.com/media/regcurewhitepaper.pdf .

RegCure offers a free scan download which may be offered as an MSN Featured Offer. In fact, Filetonic.com also offers this free scan download because it can tell you about problems in your system that you may want to address. Many of us tech jocks swear by it. Once you are aware of registry issues, you can choose to purchase the program from RegCure to clean your system, use another program or do it yourself manually. That is most likely where the confusion about the charge came in. At no point are you forced to purchase the program, and you would be told of the charge before completing your purchase.

Registry Cleaners Improve Performance

You are correct in deciding that a registry cleaning utility will help your computer’s performance. That’s because a huge number of computer errors and system slowdowns start in the registry. By fixing the problem at the root level, your computer’s performance will improve dramatically. For example, the Windows registry contains tens of thousands of instructions and variables. The operating system refers to the registry for performing its functions. However, if a registry entry is obsolete, incorrect, missing, or damaged, then Windows can’t follow the instructions properly or efficiently. The result: a computer error or slow performance.

The Problem with 64-bit Versions of Windows

Unfortunately, users with 64-bit versions of Windows are outside of the “mainstream.” While these operating systems offer numerous benefits, they also are not as widely supported by third party software developers. Hence, you’re having a tough time finding a registry cleaning utility for your operating system. Fortunately, you asked a Tech Jock who asked a major software developer for help. I contacted ParetoLogic software and asked if RegCure would work on your system. This is one of our recommended tools and a personal favorite of mine. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until 2009 when they release a 64-bit version.

Recommended Registry Cleaners

You don’t want to wait, do you? I didn’t think so. I did find a 64-bit registry cleaner online called CleanMyPC. This product is built for 64-bit operating systems and is fully aware of the nuances of your system. This is a commercial product that costs about $30 for a one-year subscription. A lifetime subscription is also available. They offer a free 15-day trial so that you can get a feel for the software and what it can accomplish before you buy.

In addition to working on the 64-bit version of Windows XP Professional, this software also works with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista. For those who need an alternative to RegCure and don’t want to wait for the 64-bit version, consider this as an alternative. Come back to Filetonic.com and let us know how it worked out for you.

Unfortunately, many malicious programmers create utilities designed to trick users into downloading malware. For example, free screensavers and registry cleaners are often nothing more than lures - once a user nibbles and the program is downloaded, the malware takes over. Not knowing the name of the registry fix utility, I can’t say for sure that this happened to you but it may have.

Since downloading doesn’t appear to be an option, try http://housecall.trendmicro.com/  This is a free web-based scanning tool from Trend Micro, a well respected anti-virus and anti-spyware company. This tool should be able to detect and repair malware on your computer.

If you have Windows Vista, your computer should also have Windows Defender installed on it. This is a built-in tool that scans for malware. While Windows Defender does provide real time protection, if the malware is new, it may not have been caught upon installation. Update Windows Defender and run a full scan to see what Defender finds. Go to the Start button, type in Windows Defender, click the program icon, and then click the arrow next to the question mark. Click Check for Updates. Once updated, click on Scan > Full Scan.

Likewise, run a full scan with your existing anti-virus program. Many anti-virus programs do not provide real time detection. This means that viruses can get in and won’t be detected until a scan takes place.

If your computer comes up clean and the registry program is legitimate, it should have a “restore” feature. For example, RegCure, which is a legitimate registry cleaner from another well respected software developer (ParetoLogic Software), makes backups of the registry before making repairs. Should you ever have undesirable results after a RegCure registry fix, you can always go into the software, click on the Backup button, and restore your registry to its original condition. Check your registry fix utility for such a feature and restore your registry if available. By restoring the registry, your related problems should disappear.

Since your desktop is a mess, and you can’t use System Restore via normal methods, try going into Safe Mode and entering the command prompt for System Restore which is:

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

Instructions for doing so are found in this Microsoft Knowledgebase article.

Yes. Your computer can download ActiveX controls without having to buy software. Products such as RegCure aren’t designed to assist in downloading ActiveX controls or other add-ins. Nor are they designed to analyze the safety of ActiveX controls. Rather, RegCure (and other registry cleaning utilities) is designed to clean up the registry in the aftermath of failed installations and un-installations as well as remove registry entries related to malicious programming such as when a malicious ActiveX control has been installed. These products also remove obsolete entries and more.

ActiveX controls are also called “add-ons.” They are small programs that are used in conjunction with your Web browser. In a perfect world, ActiveX programs would be safe to use every time. Unfortunately, ActiveX controls have been abused by advertisers and malware writers, making it necessary to take precautions.

Your computer’s Web browser comes with options for allowing or preventing the downloading of ActiveX controls. If you have Internet Explorer 7.0 (the process is similar for other versions), go into the Tools menu and choose Internet Options. Click on the Security tab and make sure the Internet icon is highlighted. What security level is your computer set on? Each level has difference allowances. For example, at “medium-high,” Internet Explorer is told not to download any unsigned ActiveX controls.

You can also click the Custom Level button and make your own security decisions regarding how ActiveX controls are handled. Scroll to the ActiveX Controls and Plug-ins section and make your decisions. Among the options are:

• Allow previously unused ActiveX controls to run without prompt
• Allow Scriptlets
• Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls
• Binary and script behaviors
• Download signed ActiveX controls
• Download unsigned ActiveX controls
• Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins
• Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting

Each of these options has choices such as enable, disable, or prompt. Prompting is a good compromise when you’re unsure what to do about your settings. By being prompted, you can evaluate the ActiveX control on a case-by-case basis. For example, if you trust the Web site and are prompted to download an ActiveX control, you can make an informed decision about whether or not to allow the download. Likewise, if you’re on a random Web site such as one you visited based on a link in a Spam e-mail message, you probably shouldn’t allow the download without further evaluation or research.

You can also remove ActiveX controls from within Internet Explorer. Go to the Tools menu and choose Manage Add-ons followed by Enable or Disable Add-ons. From there, you can disable or delete ActiveX controls.

A registry cleaner, or a registry scanner, is designed to read and inspect your computer’s registry looking for errors or redundant files that are slowing down your computer’s functions. The registry is similar to an information catalogue where your system stores data about all the processes that the computer runs.

Over time, all computer registries will become clogged with extra bits of information that the system no longer needs. For example, when you use Windows add/remove function to uninstall programs, sometimes pieces of data are left behind in the registry that serve no purpose other than to hang around and get in the way. Other contributors to registry clutter are broken or bad links, old, unused versions of replaced programs and orphaned or bad applications.

In as little as six months of normal computer operations your computer’s registry can store enough pieces of clutter to cause problems. The first sign of a cluttered registry is sluggish performance. You might notice a longer boot up time and a longer wait for your operation system to load your programs and applications. You might also notice slow response times when you give your computer commands.

Depending on the amount of clutter on your registry, you might experience more serious problems like frequent error messages and an inability to open some programs, files and folders. If too many bits of useless information are stored on your registry, then the registry’s ability to load and execute other functions will be limited. Declining operating speed, system stalls, application errors and, in the long run, not enough speed and space to run your operating system will likely result.

Some common errors that can be fixed by running regular registry scans include runtime errors and Windows errors and program crashes that result in the ‘blue screen of death’, otherwise known as a fatal error. These errors result in the unexpected and unwanted closing of programs and the loss of unsaved information.

A registry cleaner can help you avoid all these problems. The scan will read all the files and data bits on your registry and find all those that are incomplete, corrupt, redundant or otherwise unnecessary and thus limiting your system’s performance. When the scan identifies potentially undesirable data, it will provide the user with a brief description and risk assessment. If the data is unwanted, then the registry cleaner will delete the files.

Good registry scans can be set to user specifications and have automatic update functions that can be set to run periodically. It is a good idea to scan and repair your registry every six months to prevent errors, program stalls and crashes. Before you scan your registry, it is a good idea to back up the registry because, even if you have junk to clear out, if something goes wrong you might prefer to reapply the registry rather than reformat the system.