Linux Bigot --Maybe Me -- but why does Windows NEED a registry  

Now you can mark it solved, Jimbo.

Restoring a windows install takes me around 10 minutes - I image before I start, If there are registry edits involved I backup the registry separately It takes second to backup, and restore. I do perform registry edits, byt mostly to correct bad programming by developers, or to attempt to correct errors introduced by the user

Although todays Windows systems are simple to operate, including realy young children, the ease of use does come at the price of the higher complexity of the system itself, this is not a windows thing it is a simple fact of life.

If you look at other technology, the same thing applies, at one time a car was owner maintainable, I could normally fix an old ford with a set of five spanners, a screwdriver and a hammer, these days my current Beast, (not that new but highly tuned) needs specialist equipment that I cannot justify buying for the use i would get from it, The cars electronics are not a major issue for me I can read the chip and let my Mechanic know the mechanical fault that need repair, and I often supply the specialist level parts they need to use myself, but £50 per hour, (I get a good price better than the £200 the dealer charges), can soon build up.

The specialist is required more these days than they ever were, as we all want everything to be easy - but Simplicity is the most complex thing to design this takes time and thus money, (we're not all communists (or capitalists using child labour))

I meet many users who have never seen the command prompt, most would not know what the registry is never mind want or need to edit it. How many people driving to work this morning would know how to change a spark plug, many would not even know what, or where, it was or if it would give a particular fault if it failed.

Windows has the market for personal computers because it is easy to use, this is for those who want to use it for something, business, scientific, education games or other entertainment. These make up 95%+ of the Windows users. (so over 90% of personal computer users)

Then, there are some like the many on these forums that use Windows because they are enthusiasts interested in Windows specifically, or work in the industry itself. the other users here come because they have an issue with Windows, (and windows 10 specifically).

This is a windows site and will remain so

It was designed to replace the old INI file way of storing settings.

swarfega said:

It was designed to replace the old INI file way of storing settings.

yes, it was. Linux Bigot --Maybe Me -- but why does Windows NEED a registry

One last comment: using the Registry Editor/regedit has a nice feature just as CCleaner does, always do an Export or backup before making changes.

Yes, CCleaner does an excellent job of keeping your registry cleaned up.

It was a compliment to the post before it, reply #16

I would personally never trust any registry cleaner software I've seen too many systems completely "borked" by what are basically just Snake oil.

The reason I feel this way is ...

Yes you can always produce a backup of the registry and the complete system, but this takes time to recover from a total system failure, only minutes these days but still time, which is expensive

Apart from specific malware type attacks that are designed to cause maximum damage, I have never seen a remnant of some software that the user trialed and decided was not for them, cause any serious issues or slowdowns. Good software developers have always been cautious when writing the uninstall routines for their software, this is due to the modular design of modern software,

This applies to DLLs, and registry entries, it's not unknown for software from different developers to share code like this - if the code is there why duplicate it, aside from if some overzealous cleaner removes the original to save a few bytes

There is sometimes a need to make a surgical strike to remove an infection or damaged registry keys, usually due to bad user practice, backups not made prior to major installs, this is fine as long as you do take the precautions

The way that our own Shawn @Brink handles registry additions and removals, using a downloadable file, is probably best and more importantly, the safest way to do so for anyone who does not have extensive experience