Registry

[Potatoman]

Hi all! I like to keep my PC as clean as possible from temp files, etc. I use window washer 5 which is very good. My question is how can i clean out the registry without the risk of killing my computer? Is it worth re-installing windows every few months or so as i heard that some people do this.

[OBonio]

Messing with the registry is a bit of a black art. There is registry cleaning software out there that removes orphan keys and keys it thinks aren't in use anymore. Some do an ok job at it but never perfect. Personally, I'd let Windows take care of the registry if you're not sure what you're doing. As for reinstalling every few months, I'd say that was a bit OTT. I have to reinstall every 12-18 months just because the PC has gotten too slow.

[Cetti]

I use the free software program called RegCleaner.

It's really good and cleans up the old useless stuff but I only keep to the simple 'do it all' setting because unless you know what you are doing you can easily wreck the machine.

[Closer]

I don't think you should ever need to re-install windows if you maintain it properly.

• Run up-to-date virus checking regularly (daily if possible)
• Run Spybot & ad-aware regularly (at least weekly)
• Have a firewall and read any warnigs that come up instead of just idly clicking yes
• Defrag your disk regularly
• If you use outlook for email, use a spam filter to cut down on the chance of opening some dodgy email
• Don't download crap, or if you do, make sure you uninstall it properly when you realise it's crap

The only time you may need to re-install windows will be as a last resort when all else has failed, and not as a matter of course every few months