Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: System Restore Tool
• Method 2 of 2: CCleaner Program

Your Windows 7 registry contains a detailed "plan" for installing the operating system. If the registry becomes corrupted due to bad drivers, improper installation of applications, or many other reasons, in most cases the error can be corrected using a system restore tool to the point when the computer was working normally. You can also use special programs to clean and fix registry errors, such as CCleaner.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: System Restore Tool

1. 1 Open the System Restore window. If, due to recent changes in the system, errors began to occur, you can return the computer settings to their original state using system restore points. There are two different ways to open the standard System Restore utility:
   • Click on the Start menu and write "Recovery". Select "System Restore" from the list of results provided.
   • Click on ⊞ Win+Pause and click on the link "Advanced system settings". Select the "System Protection" tab, and then the System Restore button.
2. 2 Select a restore point. If System Restore is enabled on your computer, Windows will choose the most recent restore point. Restore points are created when there are significant changes to the system. If you do not have restore points, then try another method.
   • Click Show other restore points to see previous restore points if the error persists for a long enough time.
   • Each recovery point has a time stamp and a brief description of why the recovery point was created.
3. 3 Click Search for Affected Programs. In this window, you will see all programs and drivers on the computer that will be removed, as well as a list of programs that most likely will not work correctly after a system restore.
   • System Restore will not affect your personal files.
4. 4 Click Next and then Finish to start the recovery process. The process may take several minutes. Your computer will restart immediately after the recovery is complete.

Method 2 of 2: CCleaner Program

1. 1 Download and install CCleaner from the developers site. CCleaner is a free utility developed by Piriform. You can download it from the site piriform.com/ccleaner/... The free version of the application is suitable for fixing registry errors.
   • When installing CCleaner, most users can leave all the default settings.
2. 2 Start CCleaner. This program scans the registry for errors and then helps fix them.
3. 3 Select the "Registry" option from the left menu.
4. 4 Make sure all items are selected. This allows CCleaner to scan the registry for as many errors as possible.
5. 5 Click the "Search for problems" button and CCleaner will start scanning the registry and all errors will be displayed on the right side of the window.
6. 6 Click the Fix Selected Errors button. By default, all found problems will be checked.
7. 7 Make a backup copy of the registry, if suggested by the program. A backup will help you to be confident that you can restore all system settings if something goes wrong with CCleaner.
8. 8 Click the Fix Selected Errors button. You will be able to view each error and fix it manually, but in general you can trust CCleaner - as a rule, the program fixes all errors correctly.
9. 9 Click Close when done.
10. 10 Reboot your computer. If the problem persists, you may need to reinstall Windows 7.
    • You can also try to fix registry errors manually using the Registry Editor tool, but this is only recommended for advanced users, since one wrong edit can damage the computer and the system will have to be restored or reinstalled.