Registry cleaner: Tell me why?

With great trepidation, I think I want to try RegClean. But please tell me why I want to. Why do people clean their Registry? Does it make the computer go faster? Make it safer? Thanx.

 

There is a speed difference, too. As with any index, the more entries, the greater the time it takes to go thru them.

 

I failed to mention that I have Win98 1st Edition. As far as backing up the Registry is concerned--how do I do it? I don't even know where the Registry is--don't even know WHAT it is. Where do I find it; how do I back it up?

 

Microsoft KB on How to back up your registry

That link should help, but most good reg-cleaners have backup/restore utilities in them already (i.e. any changes it makes you can undo)

 

Thank you, Goldfish. Lots of reading there. I take it that it is not necessary (or possible?) to copy the Registry onto a floppy or a CD--right?

 

with the backup utitlity yes it is. just make a new job, and copy the competley job (this is the bit where you select to backup Sysetem State)

also, you can export the whole registry with "regedit" but when you export it, select "all" in the save dialog.

if you ever need to restore from it, just double click on it

Oh yes, System Restore does basically the same thing

 

frybo,

Take a look at these tiny files I wrote a few years ago for 98 and 98SE. There's a readme in the zip with two bat files: Rescue98 and Backup98.

Backup98 backs up your whole 98 registry and a few other important files to a folder on C:, and Rescue98 runs from a DOS prompt and restores the registry and those important files if you ever have to boot from a floppy and rescue Windows.

The instructions are clear, I hope, and you can examine the batch files to see exactly what they'll do for you if you just right-click on them and choose Edit.

My Win98 Reg backup-restore files HERE.

 

Anybody know if MS if going to change the registry to an SQL-driven database? Longhorn has WinFS, which is an SQL-driven file system. Would make the registry so much more efficient than the heirarchy method they've got now.

 

Wouldnt be good for upgrading... eeek.... but it would make registry programming a LOT easier..

 

Well, upgrading an OS is never a good idea. But you'd basically create a script to parse through the registry and add each entry to a new SQL database. When you were done, you'd reconfigure Windows to use SQL searching instead of whatever proprietary POS system they have right now. The all you do is create a field for each entry called "OldSkoolLocation" that had the heirarchy location in the old DB.