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A self-registering file is a file that can enter information about itself in the Windows registry and remove that information upon uninstallation. Other types of files can be used without entering information into the registry.

The installation of a self-registering file consists of installing the file to its desired location and then registering the file on your computer. Sometimes because of system specific issues, self-registeration may fail, causing an error message to appear, for example, "Unable to register the file xyz.dll". When an installation is unable to register a file, you may need to register it manually to make sure that the application works. To register a file manually, see How do I Manually Register a File on My Computer?