1. Control your software

Every time you install a program dozens (sometimes hundreds) of registry entries are created. These registry settings are required to control the software you’ve just installed. The more programs you install, the more settings are written to the registry. Plus even more registry entries are created when you update your programs. When you uninstall a piece of software, registry entries should be deleted as well. However, that’s not always the case, as a lot of software programs leave their settings behind. As a result, the program is gone but all its records remain even though they are no longer needed. These obsolete registry entries can cause various errors and conflicts, as well as interfere with your other software. That’s why you should use a registry cleaner every time you uninstall a program to make sure all its settings are deleted as well.

2. Remove viruses and malware

Viruses and malware is something every Windows user avoids. Malicious programs can wreak your PC and cause a lot of harm to your files, programs and operating system. Only too often users are forced to format their hard drives and reinstall Windows to get rid of particularly nasty viruses. But luckily most viruses can be deleted with the help of antivirus software. You can learn more about how to remove common viruses from a book called “Shields Up! Complete Guide to Windows Security and Mac Privacy”.

However, a lot of malware infections modify the registry and leave entries behind even if the malicious program itself is removed by an antivirus. Registry settings left by malware damage the registry and cause serious system errors. That’s why you should clean the registry every time you delete a piece of malware to make sure all its records are gone for good.

3. Defragment the registry

Running a registry cleaner to delete obsolete registry entries is a good way to make sure your registry stays error-free. But deleting entries creates one problem. When you delete a bunch of registry records, bits of empty spaces are left behind. These bits of space bloat the registry and increase its size. The larger the registry, the longer Windows will need to fully load it on computer startup. So if you are experiencing slow PC startup, you need to run a registry defragmenter to compact the registry and get rid of those bits of empty space.

Following these simple tips will help you keep your registry healthy and make sure you computer runs error-free.

There are several ways to back up the Windows registry. Here are the most effective backup methods.

1. Create a System Restore Point

Creating a system restore point is one of the best ways to not only back up the registry, but to ask back up your computer so that you can roll back changes if any of them cause harm. System restore returns your computer to a previous date without deleting your recent files, emails or program settings. Remember that a system restore doesn’t actually back up your files, but it does create a reliable registry backup.

To create a restore point, do the following:

1.    Go to Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – System Restore
2.    Click Create a restore point, then click Next
3.    In the Restore point description text box name the restore point, so that you can easily find it in case you need it
4.    Click Create

2. Export a Selected Branch of the Registry

This backup method is more reliable than creating a system restore point. In addition to that, it needs less disk space because only the selected registry branch is backed up. This method is preferred if you are changing a particular registry key.
Here is how you can export a registry branch:

1.    Click Start – Run
2.    Type regedit in the box and click OK
3.    Find  the registry key you are going to edit and click on it
4.    Go to the File menu and click Export
5.    Select where you want to save the file
6.    Name the file and click Save

Now you can restore the backed up registry key if something goes wrong when you are editing registry values. To revert the changes you’ve made, simply double-click on the backup file and the settings stored in it will be added to the registry.

What is a registry cleaner?

First of all, let’s answer the question what is a registry cleaner, as some people are not sure what registry cleanup software does. Basically, a registry cleaner is a program that is used to manage the Windows registry – the main database of your computer. As time goes by, the registry accumulates different entries. These entries are keys, controls and references. Most of the time the registry works in a proper way, but sometimes things go wrong and some entries become corrupted. That’s how you start getting registry errors. The more there are, the slower your computer runs. A good registry cleaner removes empty entries and fixes corrupted registry items, so that your registry stays healthy and your computer runs fast.

Why do I need to clean the registry?

The registry is a bit like your car engine – it can work well for ages even without maintenance, but one day a single error may bring your computer to a halt. That’s because corrupted entries and missing references accumulate over time. When you install a program, it writes its settings to the registry. When you open a files, the registry is accessed. When you update your Windows, your registry is updated as well. That’s how the registry grows in size. However, entries can become outdated, especially when you uninstall software. As a result, some registry entries will become empty and you may start getting errors. Registry cleanup will help you keep your computer in top form and ensure that it’s fast and stable. A registry cleaner will find errors and glitches and eliminate them.

How to choose a good registry cleaner?

Choosing a good registry cleaner is not an easy task. That’s because the Web is cluttered by bogus and ill-written registry cleaners that do more harm that good. That’s because these registry cleaners are made for the sole purpose of making you pay for the software. That’s why you need to be careful when choosing a registry cleaner. Here are some tips that will help you:

• Read user reviews on websites like CNet and Softpedia
• Make sure the reigstry cleaner creates a backup before it does anything
• A good registry cleaner finds fewer errors than a bad one because it plays safe

Now you know why you should use a registry cleaner. Remember to clean the registry once a month and your computer will keep running in top form.

There are quite a few registry repair tools that can help you repair registry errors. Some tools, like RegAce, have better functionality and include the tools to fully optimize your computer. Others (mostly free registry cleaners) only fix a handful of registry errors. Naturally, it’s best to use an advanced registry cleaner and system optimizer. But even if you use a more basic program, following these tips will ensure the best possible registry repair results:

• Uninstall software you never use – if you have any programs that you never use, uninstall them before running registry repair. Having too many programs installed only consumes disk space and thus makes your computer slow. When you uninstall programs, they can leave empty registry keys behind. These registry errors will be repaired when you run your registry repair software.
• Delete temporary files – temporary files are created every day by pretty much all the software that you use. Temporary files accumulate over time, clutter your system, and create unnecessary errors.
• Configure system startup – a lot of programs configure themselves to run automatically on Windows startup. They write their settings into the Windows registry, thus cluttering it and making your PC boot longer. Disable unnecessary startup entries before cleaning up the registry, so that all corrupted and missing references get repaired by your registry cleaner.
• Create a system restore point – before you run registry repair software, create a system restore point. Having a system backup will guarantee that you will not lose any files in case registry repair goes wrong.

These simple tips will help you ensure that repairing registry errors on your computer is flawless and 100% effective.

1. Make sure your PC is not infected

First of all, you need to find out whether the svchost.exe process is run by Windows or by malware. To do that, you’ll need to check its path. If the file is located C:\Windows\System32 folder, then it’s run by Windows. However, if you find it in any other folder, like Program Files, kill the process in the Task Manager and uninstall the software that runs it – it contains malware that can harm your computer.

2. Fix registry errors

The next step is to scan your computer with good quality registry repair software, such as RegAce, to eliminate registry errors. Registry errors are one of the most common causes of svchost.exe 100% CPU usage. As you install and uninstall software, the registry can get corrupted and important entries can become “broken”. A corrupted registry entry can interfere with svchost.exe tasks and cause annoying errors. Running registry repair will fix broken registry entries and thus solve svchost.exe problems.

3. Identify the source of the error

If registry cleanup doesn’t help, then you’ll need to fix the svchost.exe error manually. The first thing you need to do is open the Task Manager (press Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and go to the Processes tab. Click on the Name column heading to sort all running processes by name. Locate the svchost.exe process. There might be more than one svchost.exe instance running on your computer. If that’s the case, download Process Explorer (free), save it to your desktop and launch it. Locate the svchost.exe instance that is causing the error and hover your mouse over the process name. The program will show which Windows services and applications are running that particular svchost.exe instance.

Once you’ve identified the error source, you can proceed with fixing it. The first thing to do is try to update the application that is responsible for running the svchost.exe process. Chances are that a bug fix has been released to deal with this issue.

If the svchost.exe process is run by a non-essential Windows service, you can safely disable the service and thus fix the error. Click here to see the list of Windows services and find out which of them are safe to disable. To manage Windows services, click on Start – Run and type services.msc. This will allow you to modify services startup type and change it as you see fit.