Registry errors and corruptions are on just about every windows machine that have been used for more than a few months of time regularly.
File associations, shortcuts, application settings, and other problems can become errors, get orphaned, or become corrupt needing to be changed, fixed, and cleaned in the registry to clear out these problems.
Editing the windows registry is not for the faint of heart.
You really need to know what you are doing before attempting this because mistakes can mess up your machine.
The first step is to literally back up all your files.
It's probably best to begin on a machine that doesn't matter as much to you, but nonetheless backup.
To get to the registry editor: 1.
Click on START 2.
Click on RUN 3.
Type "regedit" into the box.
(You do not use the quotes).
4.
Click OK This should get you to the registry editor program.
It's best to make a backup of all the registry files before making any changes so that you can revert back to the original state in case you make mistakes.
This backup can be made in a few ways.
First, you can rely on your system restore function in windows to go back to a previous state before you messed up something in the registry.
You can also use registry cleaner software that can backup the settings so that you can play around with the files and learn.
It's not a bad idea to get a registry cleaner software because it can help fix all the errors and corruptions in the system with a click of a button.
If you are trying to learn how to fix registry errors on your own, this software can backup and help identify errors if you want to try and fix them.
But the software will fix all these errors for you if you can't figure it out.