Your computer registry is a kind of database where all the configuration information of your computer is stored. Additionally, the commands and other information related to all the installed programs on your system are also stored in the registry.
For the general upkeep of your computer, cleaning your registry at periodic intervals is quite important. Such cleaning ensures that all corrupted or unreferenced data in the registry is removed which directly results in increased speed of your system.
A slow speed of your system is a sure indicator of a corrupt windows registry. In such a scenario there is an urgent need to fix your registry incase you dont want to wait for a system crash.
In case you have concluded that your windows registry is corrupt and you want to fix it then you can find several free registry cleaners online by doing a simple Google search. Although this sort of free solution may sound nice way out, I can assure you that nothing could be farther from truth. I hope you have heard the old saying of no free lunches in life. That saying definitely applies when it comes to free registry cleaners.
Truth is, all registry cleaner softwares are not built equally. Some are more robust than others due to the differences in inbuilt features available in both. Hence, one registry cleaner may be more efficient and accurate in fixing your registry as compared to another. All corrupt registry files are quarantined before being deleted by a good registry cleaner.
An option is then presented to the user before the deletion of such files. You should check that you only delete those files which belong to programs uninstalled in the past. In case you come across an entry belonging to a recently installed program then you must not delete the same. Most good registry cleaners will automatically delete the entries which it deems as corrupted and harmful.
Problem with free registry cleaners is that they are quite rudimentary in their operation and hence will only isolate some of the problems related to the registry. They are often not robust enough to detect and delete corrupt keys present in your computers registry. Then there is an additional problem of direct deletion.
What this means is that the free registry cleaners will directly delete the registry files which it deems as being corrupted without giving you the option for deletion. Hence, this leaves the room open for loss of critical registry files. This is a major drawback since if a critical system registry key is lost then it could crash your entire system instead of fixing it!
Hence if you have decided to fix your registry then you must not go and lookout for a free registry software. This does not mean that you have to buy a registry repair program right away. There are several paid registry cleaner programs out there which offer a free trial before purchasing the final product.
Usually this free trial version will last a month before you can decide on buying the paid version. Moreover, this will provide you with an additional opportunity of knowing all the features which the software has to offer before making the purchase decision.
Hence, you must not use a free registry cleaner for cleaning your registry but instead you can go for a free trial version of a paid product. Once the trial period is over then you can decide on buying the full version. Also, the full version usually comes with a money back guarantee and hence your purchase is completely safe should you decide to return the product.
Bottom-line is, dont risk your PC with a free registry cleaner.