There is no aspect of computer maintenance that is more fraught with danger for the average user than modifying the Windows registry.
Whenever you are troubleshooting an issue, the last resort is always to do some type of modification to the registry.
Notice that most documentation states that modifying the registry should only be done by advanced users.
Messing up your Windows registry can cause your software to quit working, or even worse, your PC to not boot up at all.
You need a good registry cleaning program to do the difficult work for you.
These programs scan your system, finding and cleaning the common types of problems.
You can browse the Internet and find many registry cleaner comparison sites that show the pros and cons of one software program over the other.
Read them carefully.
Make sure your program does a thorough job, and allows a backup of your settings.
Also make sure you get a good money-back guarantee pledge from the software maker.
A good registry cleaner comparison would include setting up multiple PCs with identical operating systems and introducing the same set of registry problems for the test programs to cure.
Many review services only do a subjective review, make sure the site you rely on is doing a real head to head test.
It's easy to find these sites that perform the registry cleaner comparisons, do your research and shop carefully.
Then get one of these helpful programs, if you use your PC regularly, it's a matter of time before you'll find the program to be a lifesaver.