Is there a Microsoft licensed registry cleaner? I have heard horror stories about the unlicensed products available out there.

To second this answer and second my own post concerning the registry cleaner of System Mechanic 10.7 I resoundingly advise against anyone thinking of using such a thing on their operating system ! Yes there had been a few occasions in my earlier experience with Windows wherein performance was either repaired or sped up but the risk of what has happened to me recently is JUST NOT WORTH IT !!! I repeat again I LOST OVER A TERABYTE OF DATA traced to the use of this thing on my operating system. Please warn all newbies and those that are considering the use of a registry cleaner !!! If you want performance get a solid state hard drive and you will never notice those registry errors and in the future troubleshoot your software problems and after backing up the registry you might find careful editing of the registry is part of the troubleshooting answer but it is not something you leave to a REGISTRY ROBOT.

Jim  - CET,A+,ACMT

Found this thread while searching for any Microsoft support regarding the registry and other Windows 7 related issues. It's MS's product and it should not require third-party fixes for these issues.  Being a 30+ year veteran of working on PC's, I'm the default go-to person for my non-tech friends and some of their friends (though I try to not get involved because of the time required), but usually I agree to take a look after they've browsed the web and found, downloaded, and implemented the many fixes that are out there which have now really messed things up for them.  I've used reg-checkers/cleaners for years and learned early on to use them for reference only and never allow them to fix anything.  I'll review the list of 'problems/issues found' and decide which ones need attention.  If you allow the registry checker programs to auto-fix anything, you're going to compound your issues, guaranteed.  Microsoft can do better.  They can create a simple program that, prior to anything, will at least backup the current registry.  Don't explain how to do it, just provide the button that does it.  Once that's done, take a look at it and see if the default values for those registry items that you know are supposed to be there are correct, and if not, change them (you have the backup).  Registry problems are common and should be serviceable.  If there is a Microsoft utility that will verify, check, and fix the registry, I haven't found it.  I found a lot of papers ... stuff the average computer user will never read or understand.  To the average computer user who is not computer-savy, this is a nightmare, and they usually get hosed by the 3rd party software programs they've downloaded and/or purchased or by the tech support they're forced to surrender their computers to, often for at least a week.  Spending two to three hundred dollars to fix a 3-year old $500 dollar laptop is stupidl, especially when the problems found are in the OS.  If the OS is corrupt, the manufacturer of that OS should have the resources available in the most user-friendly format and language that any user can utilize to fix it.  I have a couple PC's that I used to use and now keep around for testing and reference.  My current computer of choice (actually since '84) has been the Mac.  But I used my PC's extensively up thru 2009.  We went computer shopping and I bought a Mac while by girlfriend bought a Dell laptop.  I asked if she could buy one without Windows and was told 'no', but that there was a process where it could be deinstalled, returned, and a credit given ... so in other words, 'no'.  Since 2009 she has had so many problems that I feel like I'm back to writing code I spend so much time in the terminal.  I've had zero problems with my Mac,  I spend a lot of time with studio recording, and those using PC's are constantly experiencing head-scratching confusing configuration issues and crashes.  The Mac has required a reboot from time to time to initialize a piece of equipment that didn't get recognized or got lost upon shut-off.  I'd like to see Windows get to that point, where simply turning the computer  off and on resolves the problems.  I'm not sure what a 'Microsoft licensed' app would be, that sounds like it's got a price tag attached.  Microsoft should address the many problems their OS has in a user-friendly way using their own resources at no cost to their customers.  And maybe, they could put an auto-responder on all those 'send reports' that follow the errors experienced so that the user at least feels someone is listening.  To me it's a button that does the same thing as 'close'.

If there is a Microsoft utility that really does verify, check, and repair the registry, I'd be most appreciative to get a link to it.