Registry Mechanic wins PCbanter award

Registry Mechanic

I'd had my Windows XP system about 18 months, and had installed and uninstalled lots of different bits of software in that time, browsed hundreds of thousands of internet sites (well probably...) and written many documents.

My system wasn't quite right but I couldn't put my finger on it. I've always used anti-virus software (I wasn't showing any viruses), my firewall works 24/7 and hadn't been breached, I had been the victim of some ad ware and spy ware in the past (and still get from time to time) but that had been removed.

But my system ran slow, and often at the end of booting-up it just hung.

I did all the usual stuff but I couldn't solve my problem. I consider myself quite tech savvy, and read up in the Windows forums (which I administer) on possible options. I put off touching the registry until everything else was eliminated, but it was no good. 'The registry' had reached the top of the list.

Microsoft states that with XP registry maintenance is a thing of the past. Clearly they have never used my PC.

This was the part I had been dreading. I'd had it engrained in me the dangers of touching the registry. Every article you read carries a disclaimer of sorts 'Do this wrong and your PC may never boot up again' and 'Back up you hard drive, house and contents of the garage just to be sure' or similar.

The thought of buying a piece of software for something that can be done yourself was alien to me, but after reading another horror story of do-it-yourself registry editing I decided to take the plunge.

After searching the internet and reading various reviews I opted for Registry Mechanic from WinGuides.

It was pretty much an anti-climax. Load the software, press scan and it takes over. There are a series of set-up options, but the defaults all looked pretty good and about 10 minutes later it presented me with about 80 errors.

This was the point I had to make a leap of faith.

The errors are all listed out for you, and you can choose which ones to fix (or not), but I just went with the software and asked it to repair all of them. I re-booted the systems (I don't know why I did this, it wasn't required!) and I noticed the difference straight away.

The hanging on boot-up had gone and it definitely felt like it was running quicker.

As a result of this experience, I am pleased to announce that Registry Mechanic has been given the first PCbanter 'recommended’ award.

Use this software with confidence.

Read more or download trial version of Registry Mechanic

UPDATED August 05

Version 5 is now available, with many more features.

Also awards for this software from ZDnet, PCPlus, PC World and Download.com

As a result of my experience, I have become affiliated with this product. PCbanter receives a small commission for each sale which goes towards this sites overheads.