A Safer Way of Fixing Registry Related Problems
No need to go “under the hood” to fix registry related problems when you have something that does it automatically, giving you the chance to fix other problems you might not know about. For you who wants to fix the problem, the safer way.
Instead of guessing what registry-related problems are lying around your computer, why not fix them all in one fell swoop? You had an idea of how time consuming manually fixing a file association problem in Windows XP is - and still you have this problem, unsolved.
You won’t read one long guide. I will not bore you by listing each and every file association problem there is and how to manually fix them - instead, I’ll be describing to you how I actually took care of a couple of file association errors I thought was gone using just one piece of computer software.
Note: The software I used is not free. I am telling you this from the start because I want to save you the surprise of finding out that the tool I used comes with a small price tag. If you are conscious about paying a few dollars for a tool that can help you for as long as you use Windows, then don’t continue.
It All Starts With The Download
As with other software, the first thing I did was to avail of my copy first. After finishing downloading my copy, double-clicking on it will proceed with the installation. It pretty much looks like other installation prompts except that it didn’t offer advanced installation options (which is a good thing because you only needed to pick where to install the program).
It’s not like a Microsoft Office installation where you have too many decisions to make(like what components to install) so the default values is enough to start installation. Besides, it only takes a little amount of space and it won’t clutter a hard drive.
Step One. Telling What To Scan For
When its done installing, I now run the program by double-clicking its icon on my desktop. On the screen that shows up, there are other options beside fixing file association problems (Windows Startup Items, Uninstall Entries, etc.). Although we are at the topic of finding and fixing file association problems, I still set my copy of the software to scan my registry by putting a check on most of the boxes. After all is set, a click to the Start button and it starts to scan my computer for problems.
Step Two. How Many Registry Problems Did It Find?
It didn’t take long to finish a scan so there’s no need to wait too long or leave my seat. When it’s done scanning, it tells you what it found out in a results page. I did a scan myself and as you can see, my PC has some problems as well. The plus sign tells me what category the registry problems it found belongs to. In this case, here’s what it found out:
- I have shortcuts pointing to files and/or directories that doesn’t exist (a broken file reference or association).
- Bad file extensions (Invalid file extensions)
- Etc.
After reading the results, its time to fix the problems by clicking the button labeled Fix.
Step Three. To Backup or Not?
After clicking on the Fix button, before the software proceeds to fix the problem, it will give you the chance to make a backup of the registry entries it will clean. Since I have an idea of what the problems mean, I chose not to do a backup but in your case, I recommend that you do.
*Tip: Name your registry backup with something easy to remember.
I am now ready to proceed with cleaning my registry of broken file references. It just takes a couple of seconds to fix the problem and when its done, I’m shown a summary of what happened.
I’m Done
That’s all there is to it. And I didn’t have to dig through Windows’ registry to fix the problem. It took care of it for me automatically. Instead of spending too much time digging through the registry, I took care of the problem with just a couple of clicks, saving precious time. Well, there goes one of my secrets… As for me, I’m off to another client who complains of a Nhatquanglan virus infection. I hope this short article has been of use to you my friend. And before you go, I leave you with some tips…
How To Avoid This Problem in the Future
A file association problem (or an invalid file extension problem) is the result of a poorly maintained and corrupted Windows XP registry. The best way to keep problems like this from happening in the first place is to keep your Windows’ Registry healthy. You do this by making sure that it is optimized, with as few messed up entries as possible. I’d recommend you use registry optimization software if you don’t want to worry about editing the wrong registry settings.
The trick here is to use software that can automate this work for you. Although you have plenty of options on this one with free programs out there, you might want to stay away from those because some, if not most of the free programs have nagging advertisements and in worst cases, installs spyware and viruses.
When looking for registry cleaners, it would be wise if you know that the software does find and fix file association problems, or you’d be just wasting your time. And if you paid close attention to the screenshot I gave you, you’d know that such a software exists and is available to you right now.
Also, make sure that the programs you install come from trusted sources - and this also includes opening only trusted websites. With the proliferation of spyware and viruses, you are in greater risk of having your Windows registry corrupted. Just be cautious when opening files and websites O.K.?
