Windows Boot Problems

Every time Windows starts up, a number of programs are run automatically. Most of the application that you install using default installation like a virus scanner or an instant messenger application, also load when the Windows boots up. These applications use the system memory and take time to get going, leaving little portion of the memory for other programs to open. Some programs sneak into the list of programs that are loaded during start ups.

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Window Registry Problem


The complexity of the Windows registry and the fact that it controls the entire operation of your PC makes it the most critical component of your computer. If your are facing weird error messages or your system takes a lot of time to start, you are most likely having a clogged system registry.

Each time you uninstall or install a program or make changes in the system settings, all outdated entries remain cluttered in the registry. The traces of incomplete or improper uninstallation bloat up the registry, making it sluggish unnecessarily.

After ruling out a virus infection, if the following symptoms crop up, it is most likely that you are encountering a Windows registry problem

  • Slow start ups, shut downs and overall slow performance – which happens as the system goes through traces of items that were uninstalled or information that are not necessary. 
  • Your screen freezes while you are performing a task.
  • PC keeps crashing at critical times.
  • PC needs frequent rebooting
  • unable to remove a program using add/remove dialog
  • Error messages are displayed including ‘unable to load ***.DLL' errors’ and ‘cannot find ***.exe' errors. Sometimes errors are displayed when you try to install  new applications.
  • You are unable to open certain programs and can do so only after shutting down your PC and turning it on again.

 

Following are some the common registry problems faced by Windows users:

  • Slow Bootups
  • Frequent Error Messages (.dll, runtime, activex, etc)
  • Sluggish, Slow Performance
  • Freezes
  • Crashes
  • Programs Will Not Run
  • Unwanted browser objects
  • Corrupt Active X/COM Objects
  • Unused, obsolete Start Menu items
  • Software locations including missing
  • abandoned, broken or bad application/Windows paths, and links
  • Redundant Startup applications and uninstalled application schedulers
  • Orphaned shortcuts, temporary (.tmp) files and Scandisk or Checkdisk fragment (.chk) files
  • Missing or corrupt application IDs
  • Obsolete shared DLLs and folders
  • Unused help file references
  • Residual and unused files
  • Uninstalled software remnants
  • Unused and unwanted drivers
  • File extensions and associations
  • Unnecessary fonts and recent files list

Registry backup

Windows creates backup of your system registry as you boot your computer. A number of methods are used by the windows to restore the system registry.

  • The system registry can be restored till the system is bootable. It can also be restored from the Windows recovery environment.
  •  The Recovery Console can also restore the information. Operating Systems based on Windows NT also creates the backup of the registry structure.
  • Data of device driver and hardware can be restored by the Last Known Good Configuration option in case of Windows NT based systems.
  • To scan and fix the system registry, Windows Me and Windows 98 have checker tool, which creates back up of the system registry by default.

Registry cleaner

The quickest and most advisable way of fixing your registry would be investing in a software known as a Registry Cleaner.  Though system registry can be fixed manually using the registry editor of the Windows but it involves intricacies and serious implications.
A number of registry cleaners are available with different features. Some registry cleaners only perform error scans and then ask you to remove the error manually while some perform a proper scanning of errors and fix them as they are equipped with a fully automate tool.