Invalid References Repairing Steps

Starting Entry Repair

To repair invalid references detected by Automatic Registry Cleanup, click the Repair Selected button located on the Results tab in the Automatic Registry Cleanup window.

Remember: Reg Organizer will try to repair only references you selected. If you do not want some reference to be repaired, leave it unselected.

Reg Organizer will then search the disks of the computer for the files that the invalid references refer to. When scanning is complete, you will see the the results in the Repair Invalid Registry Entries window.

Entry Groups

When disk analysis is complete, you will see the Repair Invalid Registry Entries window with information about repairing invalid references.

You will see a list with groups of entries at the top of the window. When the window is first opened, some groups may contain no items (for example, the Fixed entries group). More items will appear after you repair at least one reference.

If you select one of the groups at the top of the window, information about it will appear in the table labeled References in the selected group. Viewing items from one group at a time makes it easier to work with invalid references.

Viewing Information about Entries in the Selected Group

The References in the selected group table shows the following information about each entry.

Invalid Reference

The reference to the missing file.

Variants Found

The number of correction variants found for this invalid reference. See Invalid reference correction variants below for details.

Approved variant

The correction variant selected as the best option for this invalid reference. This variant will be used when you click the Repair button. If an invalid reference has no approved variant, "Not set" is displayed.

The Selected reference bar is located below the table. It contains information about the reference currently selected. Here you can see the Registry key containing the selected invalid reference. You can use the Correction variant drop-down list to select a different correction variant for the current invalid reference.

Invalid Reference Correction Variants

As noted above, Reg Organizer searches for the files that the invalid references refer to before it displays the Repair Invalid Registry Entries window. Suppose it finds an invalid reference (referring to a missing file) that looks like this:

«C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\My Documents\Report.doc».

Reg Organizer searches for this file and detects possible matches in two folders:

«C:\Documents and Settings\Smith\My Documents\Report.doc»

and

«C:\Old documents\Report.doc»

As you can see, both include the name of the file the reference refers to. Reg Organizer will offer both of them as correction variants for the invalid reference specified above. You will see both variants if you select this invalid reference and open the Correction variants drop-down list.

Sometimes Reg Organizer can automatically detect which correction variant is better for repairing the invalid reference. If so, it will automatically approve the correction variant for the invalid reference. When an invalid reference has an approved correction variant, it is moved to the Entries for which the correction variant was approved group.

When Reg Organizer cannot automatically select the best correction variant, they are moved to the Entries for which the correction variant was not approved list. You should select (approve) the correction variant you want for these references. If you do not approve one, the Repair function will have no effect because Reg Organizer repairs only those references that have a correction variant approved for them.

Final Repairing Stage

No changes will be made to the Registry (and no invalid entries will be repaired) until you click the Repair button in the upper-right part of the window. When you click this button, entries in the Entries for which the correction variant was approved list will be repaired. Note: Any changes you make can be reversed using the Backups feature, which you can access with the Backups... item in the main menu.

Manually Selecting Disks to Search

By default, Reg Organizer searches all non-removable media for missing files. However, sometimes you may need to search only some of the available disks.

Suppose a temporary hard disk is currently connected to the computer, and you know that it has no files on it that invalid Registry references refer to. You can save time repairing references by excluding this disk from the search.

Open the Invalid References Repair options by clicking the corresponding link at the bottom of the window. Alternatively you can go to program settings using the main menu and switch to the Repairing invalid Registry references tab.