If you’re running Windows Vista then I highly recommend looking into some software maintenance products to help you keep it running at peak performance.  Vista is very memory intensive, so the problem with a cluttered system is that it can really cause things to get bogged down.

The best registry cleaner will allow you to scan the regisry for obsolete and invalid files and folders and then remove them with just a few simple clicks.  You don’t have to be a computer expert to use this type of program, which is a great advantage.  I personally recommend RegCure.