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If you’re reading this article, it probably means you’re not happy. You’ve probably just lost some work, saw that infamous blue screen of death, or just got some kind of error message about some corrupted registry values or something. No matter what, you’re here because your computer is having some major issues and you need to recover your windows registry to correct things.

Recovering from a registry error:

Fortunately, recovering the windows registry isn’t that difficult. In fact, there are a ton of recovery programs out there that can help you, and some of them are even free. First off, before we start tinkering with the windows registry (it’s the database that lists everything on your computer and helps everything work together, so it’s not something you want to mess with unless you’re sure it’s the problem), I recommend doing a scan of your registry to see if the issue truly lies there. You can find reviews of a number of free windows registry scanners at our website

Once you’ve scanned your registry, the scanner may give you the option to repair any problems it found. Some free online windows registry scanners may simply say you have registry problems and point you to registry recovery software that you have to buy, but some won’t.

Of course, you can also search our website for registry recovery programs to download. Often, these programs are free or have a free trial period, and they will go through your registry and fix any problems they find.

Post-recovery:

However tempting it might be to think that you are done and that the problem is gone as soon as you’ve downloaded a program and repaired your registry, you should be aware that registry problems are likely to be something that plagues your computer repeatedly. Since this is something you’ve experienced before you will undoubtedly be able to go back online and download another program to fix the problem, but the errors are likely to keep returning every few months.

“Why is this something that is destined to haunt my computer,” you ask. Well, the answer is that registry problems may appear simple and easy to remedy, but a one-time repair is unlikely to fix the root of the problem. This occurs because of the way the registry functions as a database. This means that every time you put a new program on your computer or take one off, the registry has to adapt. While theoretically this should mean that when the programs are removed completely when you delete them, this is not always how it works in practice. These floating fragments of programs as well as adware, spyware, and different viruses can also corrupt your computer’s registry.

Protection:

So how can you keep this from happening? Simple: use that registry scanner you found on a regular basis. You don’t need to do it every day, but you should scan your windows registry at least once a month if not every two weeks or so. Doing this will keep your computer running smoothly and insure that you don’t lose all your work due to a crash.

One thing you can do to help you remember to complete the registry scan is to set aside a day every couple of weeks to run all of your spyware, virus, and registry scans all at once. Mark it on your calendar, kick the kiddos off the computer and just spend some time scanning your hard drive. If you wanted to you could even set it on an automated scan schedule, but there are sometimes conflicts if you forget that it is set to run and you are on the computer it can slow you down tremendously.

So, here’s everything you need to remember about battling registry issues and keeping your Windows registry intact:

* Do a scan to make certain the registry is the problem. There’s no sense messing with it if it’s not causing your computer issues.

* Check out the registry repair systems and download one to repair your registry.

* Make sure that you keep up on the routine registry scans to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Last 5 posts by Zachary S Bartlett

• How to Select the Right Registry Repair Tool - May 1st, 2008
• Common signs you have a Windows registry problem - April 29th, 2008
• How to go about repairing your Windows registry - April 19th, 2008

Tags: Computers