The Windows registry is a crucial component of the Windows operating system found in all PC’s running Windows. The Windows registry contains information your PC needs to operate properly, and if it becomes corrupted or is full of other nasties, it can cause your PC to run slowly, or worse, crash unexpectedly.

But can you know easily why your PC is running slow – or is it more complicated than that? What are the main causes of all these errors and can they be fixed?

Here is a list of 7 of the most commonly accepted causes, and a simple remedy is outlined at the end.

Cause 1. Old Entries. Every time you use your computer an entry is recorded on the registry. It’s how it works. In an ideal world these entries should be removed after you’ve finished the session, but in many cases they’re not. You can easily end up with literally hundreds of little bits of information still on the registry. They need purging on a regular basis.

Cause 2. Registry Holes. Whenever an entry is removed from the registry a vacant space, or void, is created. So when you have used your PC for a while these vacancies or voids begin to build up and fill the registry with fragmented bits, all of which are absolutely useless and only tend to slow the machine down substantially.

Cause 3. Malicious Entries. Malicious entries into your registry by malware, viruses, trojans, spyware and even adware can fill your registry with dangerous entries. The unwanted items can cause numerous potential problems and can even shut your computer down.

Cause 4. Duplicate Keys. Normally left behind on your registry when you upgrade or reinstall software. Each time you upgrade or reinstall, software keys are left on your registry. Quite often these new keys are added without removing the old ones first. Eventually your registry could be full of redundant key entries, again slowing your PC down.

Cause 5. Orphan Keys. These can be left behind whenever an application is removed from your PC. During an installation process keys are installed in the registry. In many cases some of these keys are left behind when the application is uninstalled, again causing potential problems (similar to Duplicate Keys above).

Cause 6. Embedded Keys. When installing different software, the software companies usually place embedded keys in your registry to save information about their software applications on your PC. If these keys are spotted by spyware (for example) they can become targets for the spyware to latch onto and add non-removable entries in the registry system. If you do a lot of installation and removal of software (who doesn’t), then the number of embedded keys can grow quite a lot.

Cause 7. Improper Computer Shutdown. As you use your PC the registry is stored in its memory. When you go through your normal shutdown sequence (as you should), any alterations that have been made are transferred across to the system registry. Should your PC be shutdown in any other way, such as a power failure, system crash or just switching off at the wall when it hangs (we’ve all done it!), this can leave currupted entries in the memory and possibly leave the registry damaged.

Now you know some of the common causes of Windows registry errors and slow running computers, what can you do to fix the problem?

Thankfully there are such things as Registry Cleaners available to everyone. With regular use of a good quality Registry cleaner all of these potential problems can be overcome. Registry cleaners are essential tools to keep your PC running at its optimal best at all times. I use mine regularly as a matter of course, and I can honestly say it works!

There are, as you probably know, many different Registry cleaners available these days. To try and give an unbiased opinion (as much as I can), I have done a review of 3 different ones for you to look at. Follow my link at the bottom to get access to the reviews and make your own mind up. If you need to speed up your PC and keep the registry clean, you need a good tool to do it. These are three of the best.