Windows registry
I understand that cleaning the registry will make my computer operate more efficiently but before I pop for the cost of a registry maintenance download (am looking at RegCure) , I am wondering if Microsoft offers something that can clean up the registry. I have XP Home with SP2 running on a Dell Inspiron E17051 person needs an answerI do too
March 21st, 2010 5:08pm

Ron Sorry to disillusion you but those products will not make your computer discernibly faster or more efficient! Here are a few things that may help to speed up your XP computer. Not all of them will apply to you but look through the list and try those that seem appropriate:1. Make sure you are free from malware as that can slow it down. If necessary, run your ‘anti’ programs.2. This is an oldish website but much of it still applies regarding the programs that slow Windows down, here http://www.thepcspy.com/read/what_really_slows_windows_down/53. If you’re using Windows Defender, stop it from auto-scanning and check if your antivirus program is scanning at boot time.4. You’ll get a slightly faster start up if you optimise the boot files and applications by running a special defragmentation, i.e. in a Run window (Windows key+R), type cmd and press Enter to open a command prompt then type defrag C:\ -b (note the two spaces) and press Enter. 5. When you have a slow boot, check that no external drives have media in them. If they have, experiment by booting with it inserted and without. If you have a built-in card reader remove the little plastic cover that protects the slot, which can cause a slow down, albeit rarely. 6. Reduce the number of programs that start up when you switch on the computer by downloading and installing the free Quick Startup, which is better than Microsoft’s msconfig, get it here http://www.glarysoft.com/qs.html?tag=download To disable (recommended action) an entry, remove the tick alongside its name. To delete an entry, highlight it and click Delete in the left pane. If you are unsure about an entry and want to know more about it, highlight it and then click ‘More information’ at the bottom of the screen.7. You can use Process Explorer to see what services are running. To see the svchost processes, let the mouse pointer hover over each svchost.exe in the left pane. Download it from here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx Also, speed up Internet Explorer:8. These two registry key changes will make web pages display slightly quicker as the number of simultaneous downloads is increased. Backup the registry in Windows 98 or create a system restore point in XP before making the changes. In a Run window (Windows key+R), type regedit, press Enter and in the left pane navigate toHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InternetSettings Look for two keys in the right pane, MaxConnectionsPerServer and MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server. If they exist, then right-click on each in turn and Modify the value to decimal 10 (hex a). If the strings don't exist in the right pane, they will need to be added manually. To add the two keys, right-click in the white space in the right pane, select New > DWORD Value, type the first name as the string name, press Enter and then repeat the procedure for the second one. Now modify the values to decimal 10 (hex a). As the registry key is a CURRENT_USER one, the change needs to be done for each user of the computer.9. Turn off 'RSS Feeds' by going to Internet Options > Content Tab > Feeds and Web Slices > Settings and uncheck Automatically check feeds for updates.10. Run Internet Explorer with no add-ons, i.e. click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Internet Explorer (No Add-ons). If the slowness doesn’t occur, it must be caused by an add-on, so go to IE > Tools > Manage add-ons and disable any unnecessary add-ons.
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March 21st, 2010 6:09pm

In the context of the notion of a registry cleaner, I like Mark Russinovich's (technical fellow at Microsoft, and author of Windows Internals books and Sysinternals utilities) statement (from Registry Junk: A Windows Fact of Life ). I haven't and never will implement a Registry cleaner since it's of little practical use on anything other than Win2K terminal servers and developing one that's both safe and effective requires a huge amount of application-specific knowledge.
March 21st, 2010 7:13pm

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