Have a look here;

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=How+Windows+Registry+Works

Here's a few more in case you didn't like that one;

http://www.easydesksoftware.com/rworks.htm

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Registry

and lastly;

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=How+To+Avoid+LMGTFY

thanks for the lmgtfy. i'm not like most people and just ask stuff. i have googled it and i had some cool links, but i didnt find any that was explaining it in detail. i still don't know if im gona delete keys.
google is my best friend and i know how to use him. i was just asking you guys coz maybe you knew of some sites that i missed.

but thanks anyway.:-)

Basically the registry stores data for users programs and the OS. Everything from options, to file associations. In comparison, UNIX-like systems use text-files instead of one centralized registry.

Generally, programs should tidy up after themselves, but often they dont. Most "registry cleaners" are a scam and just break things. The only one ive had any success with is CCleaner's registry cleaning function. Its not too invasive, but ive never had any adverse affects from it.

No offense meant. I usually post that as a joke and then include the serious links, which BTW, did you look at them and did they help?

The registry works by giving a place for components to store configuration directives and behaviors. The registry is a collection of key/value pairs. Each key is a unique identifier for the value it contains. Keys are then used by the core application and components to lookup those values in order to function according to their definition.

As jbennet mentioned, most "Registry Cleaners" do more harm than good and there are only 2 that I would recommend, one is "CCleaner" as jbennet also mentioned and the one I prefer and use is "ASC Free" (AdvancedSystem Care) from Iobit, been using it for a couple years now and never had any problems.
It also contains some other useful tools including an automatic backup.

The only keys that would need to be deleted are leftovers from uninstalled programs.

Don

thanks guys.
ive used CCleaner in the past and currently have Advanced System Cleaner installed. but heres the thing. i ran ccleaner once, and after that, i ran asc, but both of them 'found' errors and fixed it. so im thinking thich one actually did the job.

i understand the explanations they give on the net, and sort of what the differnt hives mean, the thing is, because the keys are sometimes associated with some other key, i am not sure that it will be okay if i delete a certain key that was left over.

here is what i want to do so maybe you guys can say if it will work.

i uninstalled a bunch of programs in an attempt to clean up my pc and make it faster. i went through my programs and i wrote down everyone that i want to keep, as well as the ones that i uninstalled that left keys in the registry. so now i want to go through the registry and delete all the entries that were left over from the programs i uninstalled. i dont know if it will do anything im just trying to clean it up. asc and ccleaner dont do that.
im scared to delete these left over keys coz i dont know if they are used by other services or associated with other programs.

this is my problem.
:-)

First, read this;
http://free-backup.info/how-to-make-...g-regedit.html


In order to completely uninstall a program and remove all its tracks from the Registry, you have to uninstall it first, using Add/Remove Programs or the program's own Uninstall option. After you have done that, you can proceed to the first step

1. Go to Start, Run, and type regedit.exe in the text box.
2. First, create a backup of your registry. Go to File and choose "Export" ("Export Registry" on Windows 98 or Me). Save this file in C:\, naming it registry-backup, regbackup or something easy to remember.
3. Now go to Edit, Find and type the program name in the search box, then press F3 to search.
4. You will find various items with the name you typed in. As soon as you find one related to the program (you will have to make sure it is really related to the program, so that you don't break anything), delete it (press the Delete key). Press F3 to search for another item, and stop when there are no more items to remove.

Make sure that you do not delete anything else but what you have to delete. A lot of the settings in the Registry can be re-created by the programs who own them, or can just as well go away, but some are vital for your computer's functioning. If you encounter problems (failure to boot, strange errors at boot time or when you log in to your account), you can restore the registry from the backup file you have created. This is why it is important to create that backup.

thank you adamsappleone, this is exactly what i needed. step by step instructions. i wasnt sure if i could do this but i just did and my pc is still running. no problems at all. thanks for you instructions.
thanks to the other guys too, your links helped too. bookmarked them. :-)

Glad to hear that.

Please mark your thread as solved.

Don