First the basics
We all know the sensitive nature of Windows. Most of its operations are based on the Windows registry - the "system.dat" and "user.dat" files. It is perhaps the most important part of the Windows system, which contains all the details of the system configuration. These are the most frequently accessed files in the system. They are accessed when programs are installed/uninstalled, when modification of hardware configuration takes place, and also under normal operation. Due to frequent access, these files are prone to get corrupt easily. A buggy installation, or a program malfunction is all it takes to corrupt a registry, which is enough to bring a whole Windows system down to its knees.
It is a sad truth that the speed and efficiency of the Windows decreases with time and the only solution is to reinstall it. This is because when a program is uninstalled, the uninstaller leaves out some files and also doesn't remove the registry entries, which keep on accumulating thus slowing the overall performance. Though reinstalling over the current installation is possible, it not a very good idea as it seldom repairs all the problems like internal errors with windows explorer (especially, it does not help a slowed down system.) Another solution is installation from scratch, though this is the best possible solution but this will require reinstallation of all programs, drivers, etc.
A potential registry problem can be avoided if backups of the registry are made before hand. The problem arises when one or more system files are corrupt. (For example, windows fails to load completely in normal mode in spite of all attempts.) Here we are using the same concept to back up the whole windows installation and not just the registry.
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