Microsoft operating systems have become extremely complex. Not that the early Windows operating systems, such as Windows 98 and Windows ME were simple, but today's operating systems such as Windows XP and Vista have become huge. They are known as resource hogs. In short, they are cumbersome which makes their maintenance more important than ever.

How do you maintain an operating system?

Of course, all computers need to scan for and remove any spyware and viruses programs found in them. Just about everyone knows this and it is commonplace to scan for spyware and viruses every day. However, with the complex operating systems of today, it is necessary to also use a registry cleaner to keep them operating efficiently.

Anything deleted from a computer leaves a false entry in the registry. Though this is really not a big deal, regular use of the computer will entail a lot of deletions. Even temporary Internet files once deleted, leave entries in the registry pointing to these files, which, of course, no longer exist. Therefore, the computer has to waste time and resources looking for something that is not there.

Spyware once deleted also leads to false entries in the registry. Sometimes deleted spyware will leave thousands of entries in the registry. So, the computer must work very hard just to get around these nuisance bits of code. The effect this has on the computer is to slow down all of its functions.

Can I get away without cleaning the registry?

If a registry cleaner isn't used, or if an older outdated registry cleaner is used, the computer can become very slow in a very short time. In fact, if left unchecked, this maze of registry corruption can lead to operating system damage, which may become beyond repair! Therefore it is recommended a registry cleaner be used regularly on a computer using Windows XP or Windows Vista.

A couple of years ago the word was out you should be careful not to overuse a registry cleaner because it could do more harm than good if used excessively. However, today's registry cleaners don't pose such a problem. Still the recommended time frame for using a registry cleaner is between once a week to once a month.

The exception to this rule is when spyware has been found and removed. When this happens, a registry cleaner should be used immediately to prevent a propagation of false entries from growing in the registry, which would cause the computer to slow down and become riddled by errors. It is no longer seen as dangerous to use a spyware cleaner often. In fact it has become a necessary part of regular computer maintenance.

Regular computer maintenance is...

Along with blowing the dust off the motherboard and out of the fans, spyware/virus cleaners and registry cleaners have become the most important maintenance tools and a computer operator should have at his disposal.

Just be aware the proper order of operation is to clean spyware and viruses first, and then clean the registry. If this order is reversed, the removed spyware will leave false entries in the registry which will then have to be cleaned out, so the registry cleaner will have to be used a second time.