People just keep saying, "ignore" the problem!!
I have to ask, is English your second language?
Because nowhere in this thread has anyone said "ignore it".
I still think it sucks if the OS goes down I have to reinstall every app.
Again, rolling backups. You can back up not just Windows, but everything that you installed.
In the event of a catastrophic failure, such as running in an Admin account on a system that is connected to the net (it's only a matter of time). You can restore from your backup everything, including your apps.
I love on Amiga that apps are seperate from the OS.
If I want to install a different version of the OS or test out Workbench replacements, that has ZERO effect on my programs partition.
You do know you can have partitions on x86 systems too, right? And that there are apps that are designed to run as standalone for windows, yes? Even big name applications.
The "united" registry of crap-dome is a bad design.
You repeating a lie does not make it true.
Other OS's that use a database to store key settings, hardware config details and file locations for quick access include but are not limited to:
BeOS, MacOSX, Linux, BSD, IRIX, Solaris.
Having a database for these things is sound system design. That some third parties play fast and loose with it is not Microsofts fault any more than it would be for any other OS producer.
That it isn't easy to understand to the layman also isn't a bad thing: It scares off some people who might otherwise be tempted to start messing with settings.