Users of ageing PCs will know all too well that system performance can deteriorate over time – and Windows is often the focus of their irritation.

Slowdown can be caused by any number of things, but the Windows Registry is often at the root of the problem. Programs such as Registry Mechanic 7.0 pledge to clean, repair and optimise the Registry so you don't have to get your hands dirty.

We installed Registry Mechanic 7.0 on a test PC that already had installed Spybot Search & Destroy 1.5, Ad-Aware and CCleaner – so we were doubly impressed when the DeepScan tool discovered a large amount of junk that had been left behind from installation processes and uninstalled applications, as well as recent Internet activity.

DeepScan is quick, extremely thorough and provides results in an easily understood format.

The Registry Mechanic 7.0 system optimiser includes five components: optimisation, processes, performance, drive space and system information.

It's useful to have these elements in one place, but it could be argued that this part of Registry Mechanic 7.0 is window dressing – the optimisation component offers a defragmentation function that simply opens the Windows Defrag application, while the processes section shows a carbon copy of the processes content from within Windows Task Manager.

Nonetheless, it's handy to have access to this by simply right-clicking on the Registry Monitor icon in the bottom-right of your screen.

Which brings us to the real reason to recommend Registry Mechanic 7.0 – the Registry Monitor runs quietly in the background and provides the reassurance that any alterations to the Windows Registry will be brought to your attention.