Windows registry checker tool

The Windows Registry stores configurations and settings for the operating system and programs. Windows Registry is crucial, but the accumulation of clutter is expected due to constant use. Windows registry cleaning is recommended to maintain and clean obsolete entries.

What Is the Windows Registry?

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All versions of Windows operating systems after Windows 95 use a hierarchical database, also called a repository, to store configurations related to software programs, hardware devices, user preferences, and the operating system itself. It is called a Windows registry.

For example, when a new program is installed, a distinct set of instructions and file references may be appended to the registry in a particular location related to the program. It enables other programs that may interact with it to refer to the registry for additional information, such as locating the files or selecting the appropriate program options.

The registry offers keys and values referred to by the operating system to retrieve relevant data for programs and applications.

The registry holds crucial information that Windows utilizes in its ongoing operations. It includes individual user profiles, installed applications on the computer, file type associations, customized folder, and application icon settings, the hardware configuration of the system, and active port usage.

The registry is divided into several sections, each called a “hive, each representing a different part of the system. The hives are:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – Contains hardware, installed program, and system configuration settings.
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER – Stores settings for the currently logged-in user.
• HKEY_USERS – Contains settings for all system users.
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT – Contains information about the file formats linked with various applications.

The registry can be edited manually, but it is not recommended to do so, as it can be very easy to make a mistake and cause serious problems. However, it can be edited by experts by taking the backup of the Registry.

To conclude, the Windows registry is where Microsoft Windows stores configuration settings for hardware, software, and system configurations, acting as a DNA for the operating system. It stores user changes and has keys and values. Physical registry files are stored in different locations depending on the version of Windows.

The sub-sections below will see various methods to fix the broken or corrupted Windows registry.

Reasons for the Registry to Be Broken

Under normal conditions, the registry functions appropriately. However, tampering with registry keys can lead to corruption or damage.

The primary culprits behind broken registry items are malware, viruses, registry fragments, and errors resulting from system shutdowns. Even corrupted programs and applications will leave broken registry keys.

So, it is vital to create a copy of your registry to ensure that a secure version is stored on your hard drive and retrieved whenever required.

In the following section, you will find various methods to fix the broken registry of Windows 10 and 11.

Implications of a Broken Windows Registry

The Windows registry maintains critical files required for the effective operation of the Windows operating system, applications, and processes, and any of these malfunctionings will lead to unwanted registry entries.

And also, users personalize their PCs resulting in many unneeded files that stay even when no longer required in the Windows registry.

The reasons for breaking the registry are varied, such as a build-up of redundant files that may cause harm, corruption, and, eventually, malfunctioning of the operating system. Furthermore, system failures, unexpected shutdowns, faulty hardware, and malicious software can all compromise registry items.

As a result, a build-up of damaged registry items might impair your computer’s efficiency, slow its functioning, and potentially cause startup problems.

Even the registry can have broken items that slow down the computer after uninstalling/deleting a file, and cleaning them up is beneficial.

It causes a frustrating user experience that often requires professional help to resolve.

Methods to Find Out Broken Registry

The Windows registry stores vital Windows settings, but errors can lead to system crashes.
The signs to watch to find out broken registry are slow system performance, frequent crashes or freezing, and errors while installing new programs.

One common tool to find out the corrupted or broken Windows registry is the built-in Windows Registry Checker tool (Scanreg.exe). This tool can scan and repair issues within the registry, restoring it to a healthy state.

Another option is to use third-party registry repair software, which will scan your computer for any errors and fix them. Another way is to manually check your registry using Windows built-in Registry Editor tool.

How to Fix Broken Registry Items?

After identifying the cause and source of the problems you may have with your registry, the next step is fixing the broken registry items. Before fixing the Windows registry, it is important to take a backup of the registry.

The following is one of the easiest methods to back up your registry for Windows 10 and 11.

Go to the search box on the taskbar -> type in “regedit” -> select the option “Run as administrator” as shown below:

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In the Registry Editor window, select ->File and go to Export as shown below and select a location to save the registry backup

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Once you have backed up the registry, then you can proceed to fix the broken or corrupted registry using the following methods.

#1. Disk Cleanup

Windows Disk Cleanup utility is included with every version of the Windows Operating System and has been proven to be reliable. It quickly removes Windows residues like program files, registry entries, internet files, and cache with just one click.

Follow the steps below to fix registry issues with Disk Clean up.

Step 1: Open the search box on the taskbar and type “disk cleanup.” and press enter.

Step 2: After selecting Disk Cleanup from the list, you will get an option to select the drive as shown below:

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Step 3: After selecting the drive, generally, the Windows installable folder (in most cases, c:) is selected to clean up the broken files.

Step 4: The following window will appear to select the files to clean up. You can select all files that you want to delete. And all selected files will be deleted from your system.

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Step 5: In the next step, to delete system files, select Clean up system files, as shown below. It will remove unwanted system files from your hard drive.

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#2. System File Checker (SFC) ScanNow

System File Checker is used to scan Windows and restore corrupted files.  

If you are running Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, or Windows 8, then first run the inbuild DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) before executing System File Checker.

To run the following command, open the elevated command prompt (command prompt with admin privileges).

To scan the Windows image for corruption, run the following command on the command prompt:

<strong>Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth</strong>

After successfully executing the above command, the tool will display whether the image is healthy, repairable, or non-repairable, as shown below.

If the image is non-repairable, you should discard the image and start again. If the image is repairable, you can use the /RestoreHealth argument to repair the image.

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To Repair the Windows Image

Type the following command on the elevated command prompt and press Enter. 

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Note: DISM uses Windows Update to retrieve files to fix corruptions. If your Windows Update client is broken, you can use a running Windows installation as the repair source or a Windows folder from a network share or removable media.

In this case, the following command can be used: 

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\RepairSource\Windows /LimitAccess

Note: Replace the source argument with the location of your repair source. 

Once the above steps are completed, then you can run sfc /scannow from the command prompt as shown below: 

sfc /scannow

The sfc/scannow program scans all system files and replaces corrupted files.

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One of the following four scan results will be displayed after this process is completed:

Any errors in the output of this command will be saved in the CBS.Log file located at %WinDir%\Logs\CBS. 

Even running the System File Checker scan in safe mode will resolve the issues that you encounter in elevated mode. 

Once the registry cleaner has finished, it is important to restart your computer to ensure that all changes take effect properly.

#3. Windows Startup Repair- Automatic Repair Tool

Windows Startup Repair is an inbuilt diagnostic tool that fixes broken registry items that obstructs the startup process.

Go to the search box on the taskbar -> type Settings, and select the Recovery option as shown below.

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Then select Advanced Startup and click Restart.

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The system will restart in advance start-up mode.

Navigate to Troubleshoot button -> Advanced options button-> and click the Startup Repair button as shown below:

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After entering your login credentials, the tool will automatically fix the issues and will reboot the system.

#4. Check for Malware on Your System

One of the very common reasons for registry manipulation is Malware infected systems. The malware can modify registry entries and, in some cases, damage registry entries. So, it is highly recommended to do a complete scan of your computer using Windows Defender to ensure your Windows system’s security and proper functioning. 

The steps below will help you perform complete Windows system scanning using windows defender, which is inbuilt virus protection for Windows 10 and 11.

Step 1: Go to the search box on the taskbar -> type in “Security,” and you will get the Windows security window as shown below.

Step 2: Click on Virus & Threat Protection option and select Scan options.

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Step 3: Select the Microsoft Defender Antivirus (Offline scan) and click on the Scan Now button.

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Windows Security will perform a deep scan of all the files on your system.

Microsoft Defender Offline uses the most recent protection updates available on the endpoint, so before running this scan, you should attempt to update Microsoft Defender Antivirus protection online through Virus & Threat Protection option -> navigate to Virus & threat protection updates and click Protection updates as shown below.

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#5. Windows System Restore

One of the easy methods to quickly fix the broken registry is system restore. You can execute this task if the above methods don’t work.

System Restore tool will save Windows files and drivers, including registry content, and revert to the last known good configuration with a restore point.

Go to the search box on the taskbar -> type in “restore point.” and you will get the system properties window as shown below.

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Click the System Restore option, and you will get options to select the latest System Restore point. By default, it shows the latest System restore point as shown below:

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Confirm your restore point selection and click next. In the next step, the system will reboot, and the Windows operating system will replace the selected system restore point, thereby replacing all files.

#6. Reset Your PC

If any of the above methods don’t work, the last option is Resetting your PC, but this option will delete all drivers and programs and restores the PC to its original state. 

Ensure you take all necessary backups before initiating reset.

Type in Windows update settings in the search box and navigate to ->Advanced Options->Recovery->Reset this PC, as shown below.

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#1. Recovery Toolbox for Registry

Recovery Toolbox for Registry is a tool for restoring information from damaged Windows registry files.

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It has an efficient recovery algorithm for fast data extraction and two modes, Automatic and Advanced, for simple or manual use. The user-friendly interface follows a step-by-step wizard suitable for all user categories. Upon completion, a tree-like structure displays the elements identified during recovery.

#2. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense

System Mechanic Ultimate Defense is a software suite designed to optimize and protect your PC. It offers features such as a PC cleaner, antivirus capabilities, data recovery software, password manager, privacy protection, and optimization.

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The software suite aims to speed up the processor, memory, broadband, and hard drives, remove junk files and registry fragments, remove malware, secure passwords, and credit cards, shield browsing habits, protect privacy, and many more, and fix over 30,000 different issues to keep your PC stable and issue-free. The software also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

#3. Advanced SystemCare 16 PRO

Advanced SystemCare is an AI-powered optimization software that aims to improve the performance of a computer by cleaning up junk files, malware, and invalid registry entries.

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It optimizes browser settings to speed up online surfing by 300% and cleans RAM intelligently to boost PC speed by 200%.

It helps fix computer problems and improve performance through AI scanning for modules that are slowing PC, cleans broken registry files, erases online traces & blocks untrusted access to prevent data theft & virus infections.

Final Words

The Windows registry is the location where the Windows operating system saves all system setup settings, such as hardware, software, and user profiles.

It plays a vital role in the operating system and is divided into five categories or hives comprising multiple keys and subkeys. Keeping it clean will help to overcome slowness in the system operations. The methods of fixing the broken Windows registry discussed above will help you to resolve registry issues and improve the performance of the Windows operating system.

Next, check out the best Windows registry cleaners to keep your PC working smoothly.

In the following section, you can find some tools that can help you to work with the Windows Registry.

If you want to download the Registry tools listed below in one zip file, click here.

RegScanner	RegScanner is a small utility that allows you to scan the Registry, find the desired Registry values that match to the specified search criteria, and display them in one list. After finding the Registry values, you can easily jump to the right value in RegEdit, simply by double-clicking the desired Registry item. You can also export the found Registry values into a .reg file that can be used in RegEdit. Картинка с сайта: www.nirsoft.net
RegistryChangesView	RegistryChangesView is a tool for Windows that allows you to take a snapshot of Windows Registry and later compare it with another Registry snapshots, with the current Registry or with Registry files stored in a shadow copy created by Windows. When comparing 2 Registry snapshots, you can see the exact changes made in the Registry between the 2 snapshots, and optionally export the Registry changes into a standard .reg file of RegEdit. Картинка с сайта: www.nirsoft.net
RegFromApp	RegFromApp monitors the Registry changes made by the application that you selected, and creates a standard RegEdit registration file (.reg) that contains all the Registry changes made by the application. You can use the generated .reg file to import these changes with RegEdit when it’s needed. Картинка с сайта: www.nirsoft.net
RegDllView	RegDllView is a small utility that displays the list of all registered dll/ocx/exe files (COM registration). For each registered file, you can view the last date/time that it was registered, and the list of all registration entries (CLSID/ProgID). RegDllView also allows you to unregister dll/ocx files that you don’t need on your system anymore. If you have dll/ocx files that don’t exist on your system anymore, but their registration entries are still exist in your Registry, you can manually remove these entries by using ‘Delete All Entries For Selected Files’ option. Starting from version 1.35, RegDllView also allows you to register dll/ocx files (like regsvr32), simply by dragging one or more files from Explorer folder into the window of RegDllView. Картинка с сайта: www.nirsoft.net
ActiveXHelper	ActiveXHelper is a small utility that allows you to view essential information about ActiveX components installed on your computer. You can view the entire (and very large !) list of ActiveX components by loading it from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID Registry key, or alternatively, display only the ActiveX components that you specify. In addition, you can temporarily disable specific ActiveX components. When ActiveX components are disabled, they cannot be used by any software, until you enable them again. Картинка с сайта: www.nirsoft.net
RegFileExport	RegFileExport is a small console application that allows you to easily extract data from offline Registry file located on another disk drive. RegFileExport read the Registry file, ananlyze it, and then export the Registry data into a standard .reg file of Windows. You can export the entire Registry file, or only a specific Registry key. RegFileExport may also be able to export some of the Registry data even when the Registry file is corrupted and cannot be loaded by Windows. Картинка с сайта: www.nirsoft.net

You can change Registry key values manually using the built-in Windows Registry Editor (regedit) in order to improve performance or make Windows work the way you want, but you need to know what you’re doing or you can seriously damage your OS. In this post, we will show you the safest & recommended ways to fix or repair a corrupted or damaged Registry in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

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Usually, the Registry gets corrupted if you make some changes using the Registry Editor. Sometimes, malware infection or Disk issues can also end up corrupting the registry file. That’s why it is more than recommended to back up your registry before changing anything as there you have all the internal settings of your Windows system.

There are several common causes of registry errors. Some are worth worrying about, and others are not.

• Orphaned entries. Orphaned entries occur when you uninstall software and small fragments of registry entries are left behind. Registry cleaner software will often claim these are an immediate issue, but in reality, they will just use up a few kilobytes of free space on your disk.
• Duplicate keys. Duplicate keys are made when you reinstall, upgrade, or update the software on your machine, including the operating system. Registry cleaner software will state that your programs will be confused by the duplicate entries, slowing the performance of your machine, but that is not true.
• Fragmented registry. The registry can also fragment when the software is uninstalled, upgraded, or updated. Registry defragmenters claim to defrag the registry.
• System shutdown errors. Each time your computer shuts down, a copy of the registry is saved to system memory. If your computer is turned off, crashes, or dies without going through the normal shutdown routine, it could cause an issue in the future, but this is unlikely.
• Malware. Many types of malware attacks can modify the registry. In particular, malware is regularly designed to change the values of startup keys so it will be activated each time you restart the PC. Changes to the registry by malware require immediate attention.

As you can tell, a registry problem means a problem with your OS, and thus, you can end up having difficulties using your device. In most cases, when the registry gets corrupted, the Windows OS must be reinstalled, which means that you are losing all of your data.

We should point out the following:

• There used to be a native Windows OS Registry Checker Tool (scanreg.exe) that quickly scanned the system registry for invalid entries and empty data blocks when the OS is started. But it has long been discontinued,
• It’s NOT recommended to use any third-party registry cleaner. These utilities could end up damaging the registry, says Microsoft.

If you have a recent Registry backup, use it. If not, then read on.

So, if you ever need to repair a corrupted or damaged registry in Windows, you can try any of the following recommended methods:

1. Perform SFC scan
2. Perform DISM scan
3. Perform System Restore
4. Reset Windows 11/10
5. Perform Automatic Startup Repair
6. Repair corrupted Windows Registry using Bootable Windows Media
7. Perform Windows In-place Upgrade Repair

Let’s see a description of these methods.

1] Perform SFC scan

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Sometimes the corruption of the Windows system files can corrupt registry entries, so here it is recommended to very first run SFC (System File Checker) in Windows to repair corrupt system files. Better still, run System File Checker in Safe Mode, Boot Time, or Offline.

2] Perform DISM scan

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In some cases where running the SFC scan won’t help you to fix registry errors in Windows 11/10, you can try running the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) command-line tool.

Read: Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM is missing or corrupt.

3] Perform System Restore

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In less severe cases, restoring your system can help resolve registry errors on Windows 11/10.

Read: How to fix corrupted System files in Windows

4] Reset Windows 11/10

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This solution allows you to reset your PC and without affecting any files. This will completely refresh the Windows system files and repair the Windows registry. You may use the Reset option in Settings or use Windows Update to reinstall the OS.

5] Perform Automatic Startup Repair

Running the automatic startup repair works as well in fixing registry errors and cleaning the registry in Windows 11/10.

6] Repair corrupted Windows Registry using Bootable Windows Media

You will need to make a bootable Windows USB drive and then boot your computer using it for this fix to work.

When you come to the Welcome Screen, click on Next and then click on Repair your computer on the bottom left portion of the window. Then click on Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.

Now, once you have got the Command Prompt window open, execute the following commands one by one in the sequence that they are given-

CD C:\Windows\System32\config

ren C:\Windows\System32\config\DEFAULT DEFAULT.old

ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SAM SAM.old

ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SECURITY SECURITY.old

ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE SOFTWARE.old

ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM SYSTEM.old

And after those are done, type in these, one by one, in the given sequence,

copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\DEFAULT C:\Windows\System32\config\

copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SAM C:\Windows\System32\config\

copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SECURITY C:\Windows\System32\config\

copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\config\

copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SOFTWARE C:\Windows\System32\config\

Finally, type in exit to close the Command Prompt window.

Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

7] Perform Windows In-place Upgrade Repair

The Windows In-place Upgrade Repair is another solution that can repair corrupt or damaged registry in the Windows operating system.

I hope you find this post helpful.

How to clean a Broken Registry in Windows?

To clean a broken Registry in Windows 11/10, the safest ways are to run the System File Checker or repair the Windows Component Store using the DISM tool. If these do not help, run the Reset PC option.

Read next: How to repair a corrupt Group Policy in Windows.