For many, the reasons for cleaning Windows XP registry are unclear, this articles gives an overview of them and outline practical steps that users can follow

Rapid overview of Windows XP registry -Windows XP registry one of your PC's key component. PC user should clean Windows XP registry regularly. IT experts often refer to the registry as the brain, heart soul and mind of Windows. The registry is used by Windows XP to store the devices and file associations of the computer. Registry is also used to store critical information on directories, drivers, Windows applications and much more. Users who are not experts with Windows XP operating system, should use registry repair software instead of attempting any manual repair of the registry.

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Are you sufficiently knowledgeable about Windows XP registry? - If so, read the following paragraphs
 
Take a backup - When carrying out the process to clean windows XP registry, it is possible to make the entire system inoperable. Hence, taking a backup of your file is necessary. Fortunately, there are many registry tools available. These tools can find the potentially questionable or unused references, and they prompt the user to review any entry that may cause a problem once removed.
 
Start menu - To begin cleaning Windows XP Registry manually, go to the start menu, and click on run. Type "regedit" in the text field, and press enter.
 
HKEY sections - Windows XP registry has many different entries separated in sections namely HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_USERS, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and HKEY_CURRENT CONFIG. There are different entries in each section, which are related to various aspects of Windows XP operation. Click on the plus sign to clean windows XP registry. You will notice a + sign alongside the root directory. This will expand a detailed list of directories and make it easier to find the entries needed to clean up the registry.
 
Entries causing conflicts - Next step to clean Windows XP registry is to erase the entries which are causing conflicts or are no longer required, such as redundant ActiveX components for example (click on repair activex for more information)
 
Clean boot records - It is also advisable to clean the boot records. This can be done easily by changing the list of programs that load when the system starts up. Expand the CURRENT_USER and LOCAL_MACHINE directories, you should notice the "Run|" and "Run Once" options. This makes is possible to remove redundant registry entries which can cause certain programes to run at start up.
 
Clean twice a year - Ideally you should clean windows XP registry once every six months. This sweeps out the items no longer in use. Machines which are extremely slow usually have a large number of software, or those where drivers are constantly being installed and uninstalled, require more frequent cleanups (click on computer extremely slow for more information).
 
However tempting a manual clean or repair may be, remember that, using the appropriate registry cleaner to repair windows XP registry is usually a superior solution than attempting this manually . Many programs also prevent data loss by automating backup and also offer optimisation functionality which will greatly improve computer performance.