To access the Custom Scan settings screen, click on Settings in the left navigation menu and then click Custom Scan from the list of settings.

A Custom Scan allows you to select the sections to be included within the scan.

Configuring Settings for a Custom Scan:

1. Click the Settings button in the left navigation panel, then click Custom Scan.
2. Select the sections of the registry that you wish to scan by selecting the appropriate check boxes. These are listed below.
3. Click Save to save your settings for subsequent scan sessions.
4. Click Start Scan to run the custom scan. Note that the links to Start Scan from the Main Status and Summary Screen will run a full scan. You will need to click the Start Scan link here for a custom scan.

Registry Integrity

This section contains critical Windows shell folder entries, which include folders such as My Documents, Favorites, Profiles, etc.

Registry Mechanic repairs Windows shell folder entries that do not or no longer exist at the locations specified in the registry.

Software Locations

This section contains the locations of software applications installed on the system. These locations are registered in the registry during application installation.

Registry Mechanic repairs the registry entries which reference software applications that do not exist or are no longer present at their specified locations.

Windows Fonts

This section contains the list of fonts that are registered in the fonts folder of the Windows operating system.

Default fonts folder locations are:

Windows 95 / 98 / Me / XP - C:\Windows\Fonts

Windows NT 4.0 / 2000 - C:\WINNT\Fonts

Registry Mechanic repairs the registry entries which reference fonts that do not or no longer exist in the Windows fonts folder.

Help and Resources

The Windows standard states that applications should register their help files in this section of the registry.

Registry Mechanic repairs the registry entries which reference help files that do not or no longer exist in their specified locations.

Shared DLLs

This section contains the list of information associated with shared control files that are registered on the system.

Registry Mechanic repairs the registry entries which reference shared control files that do not or no longer exist on the hard drive.

Startup Programs

Windows registers items that are set to run at Windows startup in this section of the registry. These registry entries contain references to the locations of these items on the hard drive.

To view the items that are set to run when Windows 98 / Me / XP starts up, click on Start -> Run -> type "msconfig" -> OK. When the System Configuration Utility displays, select the Startup tab to display the list of Startup Items.

Registry Mechanic repairs Startup Items in the registry that do not or no longer exist at their specified locations on the hard drive.

Add/Remove Programs

Software can be cleanly uninstalled using the standard Windows 'Add or Remove Programs' applet, which can be accessed from the Windows Control Panel.

If software removal was not conducted via the 'Add or Remove Programs' facility (for example, if a program was removed from the system by deleting the actual program installation folder through Windows Explorer), the link to the uninstallation file will remain in the 'Add or Remove Programs' list.

When this option is selected, Registry Mechanic removes these orphaned entries in the 'Add or Remove Programs' list.

Virtual Devices

This section contains the list of information associated with virtual drivers that are registered on the system.

Registry Mechanic repairs the registry entries which reference virtual drivers that do not or no longer exist on the hard drive.

File Extensions

This section contains the list of file extensions that are usually registered in the registry during application installation.

Registry Mechanic repairs Windows file extensions that are no longer associated with applications installed on your system. These problems can occur when the uninstaller of the application removes the program files from the hard drive, but does not remove the associated file extensions from the registry.

Custom Controls

When applications are installed, they register their custom control file locations as new entries in this section of the registry.

Registry Mechanic scans through the registered custom controls in the registry and repairs invalid registry entries which point to files that are no longer present on the hard drive.

Deep Scan

The Deep Scan section covers areas of the registry not covered by the above-mentioned sections.

When this section is scanned, Registry Mechanic utilizes an advanced 'drill-down' algorithm to identify problems nested deep in the registry.

Temp Files / Shortcuts

When a registry scan is conducted, Registry Mechanic scans all selected locations in the Options -> Shortcut Settings screen and removes orphaned shortcuts, temporary (.tmp) files and Scandisk or Checkdisk fragment (.chk) files from the hard drive.

Windows Fonts

This section contains the list of fonts that are registered in the fonts folder of the Windows operating system.

Default fonts folder locations are:

Windows 95 / 98 / Me / XP - C:\Windows\Fonts

Windows NT 4.0 / 2000 - C:\WINNT\Fonts

Registry Mechanic repairs the registry entries which reference fonts that do not or no longer exist in the Windows fonts folder.