all of my own ringtones are under "My Documents...My Ringtones" ... my "Windows...Rings" folder is empty. I don't think anything about ringtones is in the registry, but if you delete one of the sets, make sure you go to your contacts and double check that the "link" to the custom ringtone is still good. I deleted doubles once and then it killed the links 'cause I deleted the ones I originally made the link to. Quick fix, though.
I hope I explained that well enough. Sounds rambly, but the besst I can do.