Backing Up the Registry

What Is The Registry?
The Registry in Win9x contains much of the information needed for the proper setup, configuration, initialization and execution of the hardware and applications installed on your computer. It contains all the user preferences and the plug and play information and resources allocated at startup. It tells the operating system how to access the modem, what background color is being used on the desktop, and where to find all the files required to run an application.

The registry keeps track of all associations. In other words, it knows which program to open when you double-click a document file or a graphic file.

Windows 3x also had a Registry of sorts (reg.dat), but most of the setup info was provided in initialization (.ini) files, including the System.ini and Win.ini. This produced miles of .ini files in the Windows directory, most of which remained, even after an application was removed.

Windows 95 made an attempt to get rid of a good number of these .ini files and consolodate all the information into a single Registry.

During the crossover, there were still lots of .ini files being written to the Windows directory. Of course, the older DOS programs still used the .ini files, and so did some of the newer programs that were supposed to be written specifically for Windows 95.

It takes a while to break old habits. Besides, people don't want to have to replace all their equipment and programs every time they upgrade the operating system, so any new OS is designed to maintain backward compatibility.

The odd initialization file still shows up in the Windows directory, and some applications will put .ini files into the program's directory for easy access to various basic changes that can be made without changing the Registry every time.

Remember, when you install a new program, it can write files to many different folders on the hard drive, and can change the contents of several files that already exist and are required at startup, or used in the execution of other programs. And it will make changes to the Registry.

So What's The Problem?
One problem is that every application program out there seems to consider itself to be the most important thing on your computer! Some will make changes without any consideration as to the impact these changes will have on the applications already installed.

Other programs might not remove themselves properly, or the user may not remove them properly. Over a period of time, as programs are added and removed from a system, unassociated information and orphaned entries are left in the Registry, bloating the files, slowing down performance, causing erroneous errors and possibly halting the system.

Another problem is buggy programs. When you consider the hundreds of thousands of lines of code that go into today's programs, it's easy to believe that every program you use has bugs in it, some more than others.

Today's large programs are generally written by many different programmers, each working on a different part or section. Let's take a quick look at the process!

Once a programmer completes the code for an individual section, its checked for mistakes or problems, and repairs are made until the code performs properly. This is the debugging process, and is a very large and time- consuming part of the programmer's job.

The programmer also has to create error handlers (more code) for the many possible improper responses or input errors that can occur when thousands of different users interact with the program.

When all the bugs they can find are worked out, the program is compiled into a working application (not necessarily complete) and tested.

You've got to remember however, that these people wrote the program. They know it inside and out. Without conscious effort, they may be working around a problem that isn't recognized.

So, the program is distributed to other associated individuals that use it for a period of time, and identify user difficulties or bugs. Enhancements or fixes are made by the programmers. This may be done several times, and is known as Alpha testing.

Now the application is ready for Beta testing. Beta versions of the program can be downloaded from the Internet by unassociated individuals and installed on their computers for testing.

The idea is to have a wide variety of users try it out over a period of time and report on any problems that they find. This allows the program to be tested alongside a multitude of other applications, on thousands of different computers using many different hardware and software configurations.

Bugs and problems then found by the average user can be identified and addressed by the developers. But you take your chances. They are not necessarily complete programs.

Here's where you find another problem for your Registry! Beta versions have been known to screw up the Registry and corrupt files used by other programs. They really should be installed on computers dedicated to Beta testing. They are not meant to be used on the typical home or business computer that has important data on it. Beta testing is not for everyone.

But, everyone wants the latest version of their favorite program! The popularity of the Internet has made Beta versions available to hundreds of thousands of individuals that don't understand the possible consequences, or what Beta testing is. Kids are amazingly fast at picking up computer skills and learning to understand the Internet and it's possibilities, but most seem to think 'Beta' stands for "This is the new version, you must have it!"

Everyone has seen (and downloaded) Beta versions of Windows, Internet Explorer, Netscape, ICQ and a multitude of others on the Internet. Yes, these are often full working programs, but they're being made available for testing before they are released to the general public as complete programs.

Just so you don't get confused, there are completed versions of these programs available for download also. If they are Beta versions, they will say Beta version.

What about shareware or freeware? There are thousands of excellent programs available on the Internet. I use them all the time. Just be aware that ShareWare may not be complete until you register and pay for it. FreeWare programs may have been written by a single programmer, and might go through shorter periods of Alpha and Beta testing.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from testing Beta programs or using shareware or freeware, I'm only commenting on some of the hundreds of ways that the Registry (or any of your files for that matter) can become corrupted, and the importance of properly backing it up.

Like I said before, even store-bought programs from reputable developers, right out of the box, can cause problems for any number of reasons.

And don't forget viruses. They quite often attack the Registry. If your computer is suffering from unexplainable problems, always do a virus check. Upgrade your virus program every year, and download new virus signatures on a monthly or semi-monthly basis.

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