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So,
you've got a sluggish computer that hardly runs, crashes all
the time and displays more "error notifications" than
your Grade 5 Math Teacher...
What
to do now?
Here's
a 3-step "action plan" for slapping your PC back into
shape and making it behave the way it used to - the way it's
supposed to:
1.
Isolate a Faulty Registry as the Culprit
First
things first, let's isolate the problem so that we can deal
with it effectively. Let's eliminate the possibility of your
PC's ailments being caused by a third-party program, application
or virus by running your Anti-Virus software, followed by a
Spyware Scan as well.
If
neither your virus scan or your spyware scan turn up any problems,
then there's a good chance that you've got a problem with your
windows registry.
Here's
what to do next:
2.
Backup The Windows Registry
Please
Note - If
you use a reputable registry cleaner program like RegCure,
it will backup your registry for you, automatically
- saving you all the hassle of this step...
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Before
you do any tampering with the Windows Registry, you'll want
to do a backup, just in case things go bad - which they easily
can, especially if you're going to attempt some changes manually,
on your own.
Backing
up the registry is done differently on each different version
of Windows. Here's a basic run-down of how it works for each
version of Windows, starting with Win95. Click a "quick-jump"
link below to hop down to your version of Windows:
Windows
95 | Windows 98 & ME | Windows
2000, 2003 & XP | Windows Vista
Windows
95 - Registry Backup & Restoration Instructions:
How
to Backup the Registry in Win95 - Tutorial:
a)
Restart (or turn on) the computer, and when you see the "Starting
Windows" screen, press F8. Choose "Safe Mode - Command
Prompt Only" and then press the Enter key to continue
b)
Enter the following commands...
cd
\windows (press "Enter")
attrib
-r -h -s system.dat (press "Enter")
attrib
-r -h -s user.dat (press "Enter")
copy
system.dat *.bak (press "Enter")
copy
user.dat *.bak (press "Enter")
Please
note: This tutorial assumes that, prior to conducting the registry
backup, your hard disk contains no files named "system.bak"
or "user.bak". If it does, then be sure to rename
the extension in the above instructions as necessary.
c)
Restart your computer
And
you're done - the registry has now been backed up successfully.
Restoring
the Registry in Win95 - Tutorial:
a)
Restart (or turn on) the computer, and when you see the "Starting
Windows" screen, press F8. Choose "Safe Mode - Command
Prompt Only" and then press the Enter key to continue
b)
Enter the following commands...
cd
windows (press "Enter")
attrib
-r -h -s system.dat (press "Enter")
attrib
-r -h -s system.da0 (press "Enter")
attrib
-r -h -s user.dat (press "Enter")
attrib
-r -h -s user.da0 (press "Enter")
ren
system.dat system.daa (press "Enter")
ren
system.da0 system.da1 (press "Enter")
ren
user.dat user.daa (press "Enter")
ren
user.da0 user.da1 (press "Enter")
copy
system.bak system.dat (press "Enter")
copy
user.bak user.dat (press "Enter")
c)
Restart your computer
And
you're done - the registry has now been restored successfully,
assuming that you've used the same filenames and extensions
for both the backup and the restoration of the registry.
Windows
98/ME - Registry Backup & Restoration Instructions:
How
to Backup the Registry in Win98 & ME - Tutorial:
a)
Go to "Start", and then "Run". In the text
field, type in scanregw and press "OK"
b)
The program will scan the registry for errors. After the scan
is complete, it will ask if you'd like to make a backup of your
current Windows Registry. Click "Yes", and the backup
will begin. When it completes the backup, press "OK".
And
you're done - the registry has now been backed up successfully.
How
to Restore the Registry in Win98 & ME - Tutorial:
For
Windows 98...
a)
Restart the computer and hold the "CTRL" key. Choose
"Safe Mode - Command Prompt Only" when the option
appears. You will arrive at a command-prompt DOS interface.
For
Windows ME...
a)
Restart the computer with the Startup Disk and select the option
that says "Start Computer Without CD-ROM Support".
You will arrive at a command-prompt DOS interface.
For
Both Windows 98 & ME, Continuing...
b)
In the command prompt interface, type c:\windows\command\scanreg
/restore (press "Enter")
c)
ScanReg will display a list of all previous Windows Registry
backups. Use the arrow keys to select the backup you'd like
to restore, and then press "Enter".
d)
When the restoration process is complete, press "Enter"
when prompted to restart the computer. If you have Windows ME,
remove the boot (StartUp) disk before restarting.
And
you're done - the registry has now been restored successfully.
Windows
2000/2003/XP - Registry Backup & Restoration Instructions:
How
to Backup the Registry in Win2000, Win2003 & WinXP - Tutorial:
Note:
You may need to be logged in as the administrator in order perform
the following tasks.
a)
Go to Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >>
System Tools >> Backup. If the Backup Utility does not
exist in your start menu, then ensure that it's installed by
inserting your Windows CD and making updates/installations as
necessary.
b)
When the Backup program launches, ensure that you're in the
"wizard" component of the application. Press the button
that says "Next" to proceed.
c)
When prompted, select "Only back up the System State Data".
Follow the prompts and proceed by clicking "Next"
until the backup is completed. Press "Finish" to initiate
the Registry Backup. When the backup is complete, close the
program.
And
you're done - the registry has now been backed up successfully.
How
to Restore the Registry in Win2000, Win2003 & WinXP - Tutorial:
a)
Open the Backup Utility, as before (instructions listed previously).
b)
Again, ensure that you're in "Backup Wizard" mode.
You'll be presented with list of all previous registry backups.
Simply select the System-State backup you'd like to restore
and press "Next", and then "Finish". Close
the program when the restoration is complete.
And
you're done - the registry has now been restored successfully.
Windows
Vista - Registry Backup & Restoration Instructions:
How
to Backup the Registry in Windows Vista - Tutorial:
Note:
You may need to be logged in as the administrator in order perform
the following tasks.
There
are actually two ways to backup the registry in windows vista,
one is to create a "System Restore Point", and the
other is to export the registry in its current state using Reg
Edit to a folder on the hard drive - or an external drive.
To
do so, you can go to Start >> All Programs >> Accessories
>> Run >> "Reg Edit". From there, export
the desired registry keys or folders to a location on your hard
drive, or an external drive. You can later import the data back
into the registry in the same way.
The
safer way to backup the registry is using System Restore,
which is what we'll cover in this tutorial...
a)
Go to Start >> Control Panel >> System >>
System Protection.
b)
Select the hard drives you'd like to create a restore-point
for and then cllick on the "Create" button to create
a new restore point.
c)
Follow the prompts in order to complete the backup process
How
to Restore the Registry in Windows Vista - Tutorial:
a)
Go to Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >>
System Tools >> System Restore.
b)
Click "Next", select the restore point for which you'd
like to reset your PC, and then click "Next" again.
c)
Follow the prompts in order to complete the restoration process.
3.
Fix The Problem(s) With The Registry
WARNING
- Only
attempt to edit, modify, "fix" or otherwise
tamper with the windows registry if you're an IT professional.
Even the smallest error or change to the registry
can cause severe problems with your PC - even to the
point of complete inoperation.
We
strongly recommend using a reputable registry repair
program such as RegCure
- instead of potentially disabling your PC and losing
all of your files!
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Depending
on what the problem was with your registry, fixing it will range
from "somewhat straightforward" to "re-installing
windows".
Hopefully,
you'll be able to simply do a system restore from a date prior
to the initial error. If it's not that simple, then you're left
with 3 options if you don't want to format the hard drive and
re-install Windows:
1.
Use the system's Registry Editor to manually remove or edit
the "problem" files (folders/keys)
2.
Hire a computer repair business to correct the registry for
you
3.
Save yourself the trouble (and hassle) of steps 1 & 2 and
use RegCure
to automatically backup your registry, isolate and correct problems
in a matter of minutes.
So
if you're a professional, then step 1 may be an option for you.
If
not - short of losing all your data by reformatting your
hard drive and reinstalling Windows - then using a program like
RegCure
is literally the only option that makes sense.
Click
the button below to start your scan - and find out exactly what's
wrong:
Fix
Your Registry & Make Your Computer Run Like New
Again...
...In
One, Simple Click!
Download
and Run the RegCure Scanner For FREE:
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