If you've landed on this review page for Registry Mechanic 8, you're most likely experiencing a case of the computer-system blues. Slow boot times, sluggish internet access, and applications running at a fraction of the speed they did when you first installed them. Many of these problems can be attributed to your Windows registry, a storage area that your operating system pings continuously to keep your PC running. As applications are added and removed, hardware changed, and user settings updated, the registry can become a mess of keys that are corrupt or orphaned. The end result is a slow system as the PC must traverse the tangled hierarchy of the registry. Thankfully, Registry Mechanic 8 is here to make your computer-system blues disappear!

Registry Mechanic is one of the most popular registry cleaners available, boasting as many as 300,000 downloads per week. Does this popularity translate into the best overall registry cleaning experience on the market? You're about to find out in Reg Cleaner Review's comprehensive review of Registry Mechanic!

The first thing you notice upon launching Registry Mechanic is the clean interface with large labels and buttons that are clearly marked. You'll also notice some colorful icons. Though it's in the icons that we have a problem. Several icons don't really convey the functionality of the section they link to. For example, there is a Venn chart diagram on the upper-right of the main interface. The first thing that immediately comes to mind is reporting. However, the icon actually links to the registry compacting feature (more on that later). If you were to click the interface without reading the label, you would probably be scratching your head thinking "this isn't what I wanted".

Another thing we didn't like about the interface is the lack of continuity. For example, if you click on the Optimization button, the interface changes to a series of icons aligned vertically to the top, with no clear breadcrumbs back to the original page. This makes for an awkward and somewhat confusing user experience. You'll find a similar morphing of layout with each section you access adding even more complexity and confusion to the user experience.

Overall we have to say we're disappointed with the interface. It's easy enough to use once you get the hang of it, but each screen requires you to interact in a different way and introduces new layouts. Although judged on it's own merits, one can't help but to feel the interface is far behind that of RegCure. RegCure is a little lighter on the flash, but has a much more streamlined and easy to navigate interface.

The features and options in Registry Mechanic 8 are on par with that of RegCure and boasts an impressive list. One of our favorite additions to Registry Mechanic is the concept of a plug-in architecture.

Plug-in Architecture
This new architecture allows for expandability of the app as new features and options can be added easily. We're not sure if it's open for third parties, but either way it's a welcome addition.

Smart Updates
The application is web-centric and will perform smart updates to pull in the latest changes to the application and user interface. Smart updates ensure you always have the most current version available.

Tune-up services
Registry Mechanic boasts Tune-Up Services, which is just a glorified interface to adjust the start-up settings of various Windows services. Although nothing new, the tune-up services in Registry Mechanic are a convenient way for casual users to change service settings without getting deep into Microsoft’s own built-in management tools.

Management tools
Speaking of management tools, Registry Mechanic offers a suite of tools that are essentially a graphical and watered-down layer to the built-in Windows management tools. Once again, this is convenient for casual users but will leave experienced users under-whelmed.

Registry monitor
This feature is an interesting one, though not necessarily all that helpful. Registry Mechanic has a registry monitor feature that alerts you when a number of changes have been made to key areas of the registry. If you schedule routine scans this is rather redundant information as your nightly scan will eliminate any errors that occur during the day.

Checks and Balances
Registry Mechanic also includes several other features found in most advanced registry cleaners.

• Scans for Invalid Program shortcuts
• Removes Duplicate files
• Checks invalid Active X, OLE and COM
• Checks invalid System services
• Checks invalid Class Keys
• Checks Shell Extension
• Checks invalid Help Files
• Checks Invalid CLSID/Typelib/Interface Entries
• Checks Invalid Shared known DLL’s
• Checks invalid Paths
• Checks Application Path Keys/Orphan References
• Checks Invalid Fonts
• Checks Invalid File Types//Extensions/Entries
• Checks Invalid Sounds

Registry Mechanic's feature list is as long and advanced as most of the competition, and what they do they do well for the most part. Still, there are some questionable inclusions that we don't find much value in and the lack of a scheduler for scanning hurts. Overall a solid feature list that holds its own.

Registry Mechanic was tested on an older system, but not one quite as old as the one we put RegCure through the paces on. When we ran the scan it was quick and seemed reliable. A total of 730 registry errors and bad keys were found. The cleanup was quick and did the job it was supposed to. After the scan was completed we did notice applications booted faster, but we didn't necessarily notice major speed increases.

We scheduled Registry Mechanic to run on Windows boot-up as it was one of the only options available. As mentioned earlier in the review, there is no built-in scheduler. In any case, Registry Mechanic ran quickly and reliably on each boot sequence. It kept our registry tidy and helped boost speeds on application boot times.

Registry Mechanic's support features include FAQs and an online help desk. They provide a knowledge base with answers to common questions and issues, which is an excellent way to quickly get an answer to common problems. If the knowledge base doesn't help, you can get support through email or through a very welcome toll-free 800 number. Overall, excellent support options.

Registry Mechanic is a very solid contender in the Registry cleaner market. It features a powerful and exciting array of features that are on-par with other top registry cleaners, such as RegCure. Even though it's labeled as a registry cleaner, it's more like a complete system tuning suite. The built-in features for system management, open-ended plug-in architecture, and service manager ensures casual users will do more than just clean their registry. Advanced users, however, will skip the management tools and will use Registry Mechanic solely for cleaning their registry.

Overall we recommend Registry Mechanic. It's a reliable and quick running application that is hindered only by a somewhat confusing interface. If you're a casual user looking for an application that will do more than just clean your registry (and you have the patience), you'll do good by choosing Registry Mechanic.