Safety Precautions

• Before attempting to clean the registry, you must back up all necessary files and the registry in case you delete the wrong item. Microsoft recommends installing the Backup utility and backing up the system using that utility. Microsoft also recommends backing up all items to an external drive, CD or other such device as an alternative. Microsoft also recommends using an outside program such as Acronis True Image to back up files for a Windows Vista-based machine. You could also use the built-in System Restore function in either program as well. Once you have backed up the system as needed, you may then proceed to cleaning the registry.
  
  

Finding Software

• Download a registry cleaner of your choice. A good place to look for recommendations for a registry cleaner compatible with your computer is on the website How-ToGeek.com or on PCTools.com. When you find a cleaner, download it and save it to the desktop. This is so you can easily find it when you are ready to run it.
  
  

Running the Cleaner

• For Windows Vista users, you need administrator privileges to run this program. For both Windows Vista and Windows XP users, double-click the icon to bring up the window to run the program. Click "Run" to bring up the Install Wizard, and follow directions to finish the installation. The program should open automatically, but if not, click the "Start" button, then select "All Programs' and click on the name of the program you want to run. Follow directions to scan the registry. This can take up to 20 minutes or more, depending how full the registry is. When the program finishes scanning the registry and brings up the names of registry items to remove, some may be questionable. If there are questionable registry items, search the names of the registry items in a search engine such as Google, Yahoo or Bing to make sure they are safe to remove and are not necessary for running the system. Most times, the cleaner scans and brings up items that are safe to delete, but no program is perfect and sometimes may want to delete a necessary item. When you finish checking all entries and all are safe to delete, follow directions to allow the program to delete the registry entries. Once this is complete, you are finished and can safely close the program.
  
  

Warnings

• Before starting any cleanup program of the registry, consult an IT technician. If the program deletes something that should not have been deleted and the PC does not run properly, restore the registry to its previous state with the backup files you made before hand.