How to repair a damaged registry in Windows

2022-11-08

Many users wonder what Windows 10 registry is, what it is used for in the system. Some have heard something about it, others have no idea what functions it performs. Typical PC users do not care about the registry at all, unless they face some unpleasant situations that require addressing and modifying the structure.

What is registry

The system registry is a database of information presented in a structured way, it is mainly used for gathering and subsequent storage of data and information on the processes occurring on the PC. The registry collects all system settings, data about pre-installed applications, tools and various services. The registry provides you with a much larger list of PC settings than the standard interface of your operating system.

The creation of the registry has made it possible to hide from the average user advanced fine system settings which, if not changed correctly, could cause serious malfunctions on the PC.

The registry has a structured look only in different Windows versions. Under Linux the registry is also present but represented as a single file.

Causes of registry corruption

The most frequent causes of registry corruption are the following:

• Power supply failure. When your PC shuts down unexpectedly due to a power outage you may experience a crash when writing system registry chunks. As a result an error message appears during the next system start.

• Faulty hardware connection.

• The computer has stopped before the process of writing to the registry was finished.

The following errors are indicated by damaged registry entries:

• Boot problems due to a corrupted or missing file (\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM.ced, \WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM, \WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE);

• Read system chunk error;

• Registry file failure (Stop: 0xc0000218);

• System unknown error (Stop 0xc0000218 (0xe11a30e8, 0x0000000000, 0x000000000, 0x0000000000));

• Other.

Most often due to registry problems the user will encounter permanent system errors which will prevent the normal operation. This may also cause incorrect operation of the connected hardware. In severe cases the damaged registry simply won't start after rebooting.

Registry Repair

Restoring a damaged registry on a PC may take several approaches. Let's look in detail at how to repair damaged registry entries, depending on the version of the OS you have installed on your computer.

Restoring a system through a restore point

In each OS version the user can restore the PC to its last working state. While working, the system automatically creates restore points to which you can return without losing personal information in case of system crash. The system restore will be available only if the user has activated the restore point backup mode in the settings.

Restoring XP registry:

1. In order to start the recovery tool go to Start -> Programs -> Standard -> System Restore.

2. Select "Restore from an earlier state".

3. The system displays a calendar with the dates in bold that the checkpoints were created. Choose the date nearest to the date of the failure and click on "Next".

4. The restore process is automatic, after the reboot the PC will revert to the state it had on the selected date.

Restoring Vista/Windows 7:

1. Switch off the PC, press the F8 key when you switch on.

2. Select "Command line safe mode" from the list proposed.

3. After the system has booted, enter rstrui at the command prompt and press Enter to launch the utility.

4. The system provides you with the last restore point created. To consult the previous restore points you should tick the option "Show other restore points".

5. Select the desired restore point, confirm your choice and read the warning that the restore process cannot be aborted.

6. After the process is completed the PC will reboot automatically.

How to fix Windows 10/8 registry errors:

1. Go to the "Settings" menu using the "Start" button.

2. Choose "Update and Security".

3. Select "Repair" in the side menu.

4. Locate to "Restore to an earlier version" and click on "Begin".

Restoring with a saved backup

To be able to restore the previous state of the registry before the modifications made, the base backup must be created initially. In order to do so follow the following steps (the process is the same for all OS versions on your PC):

1. Run the command line on your PC, you can access it from the "Start" menu under "Windows Utilities", via a search or by pressing the keys ⊞ Win + R.

2. Enter at this entry regedit.exe and click on Enter.

3. The registry opens automatically.

4. In the top menu click on "File" and select "Export".

5. Enter the file name and the path where you would like to save it.

6. The backup copy to be restored successfully.

to restore the previous state of the registry before changes were made that caused failures, simply upload the previously saved backup copy. How to restore the registry:

1. Go to the registry (method described in the previous list).

2. In the menu select "File" and then "Import".

3. Select the file of the saved backup.

If the manipulation has been performed correctly, after the reboot the system will revert to the previous state, the registry errors will not be indicated anymore.

Registry cleaner TweakNow RegCleaner

Manual author: TweakNow

License: freeware

Homepage: www.tweaknow.com//RegCleaner.html

Summary: Windows Registry Maintenance

While an operating system strives to keep its registry clean, the Registry remains a "dump" of often unnecessary branches, keys. This area is not cleaned up at all if one doesn't pay attention to this mess. And meanwhile the Registry has a significant impact on the operating system performance. The thing is that after uninstalling a program using the Uninstaller, you do not clean up the Registry. Some traces of it may still be present in the Registry.

With the number of programs installed and removed, you can only imagine how much unnecessary stuff is stored in it. Besides, the Registry stores unnecessary autorun items, file extensions and program paths you have successfully forgotten about. TweakNow RegCleaner scans the registry for such issues. As a result, it displays the keys that can be fixed manually (unless it is strongly needed). However, when the number of discrepancies exceeds a hundred or two, the program has to remove them without looking. The recipe is simple. All "broken" items are marked by yellow or green icon. Those marked green can be removed without fear. Deleting yellow ones may affect OS performance, so you need to make sure that the selected keys are not important. Just like your hard drive in general, the Registry needs to be defragmented. Standard Windows features, with a few nuances, do not allow this. TweakNow RegCleaner has a corresponding function. The program has additional functions which are not related to its name, but nevertheless typical of programs of this kind. These include:

• deleting temporary or junk /files by extension
• deleting programs through the Registry (no standard Add/Remove Programs section has hidden items)
• deleting temporary /files and settings for popular applications (Firefox, IE, Opera browsers, but also Adobe Reader, QuickTime Player, Paint .Net, Real Player)

The surprises do not end here. Through the RegCleaner you can get the most detailed system information, starting from the operating system version up to the motherboard bus speed. Thus, the program is a solid Registry optimizer with some frills. All its goodies are worth - the program is free (unlike, say, Reg Organizer) and easy to learn (Jv16 PowerTools is more complicated).