Need a Windows Registry Cleaner

[soni1]

Why Do I Need a Windows Registry Cleaner?

[Eagle Creek]

You don't.

Sometimes, registry keys point to files that don't exist anymore. These keys usually aren't deleted by the uninstaller because it simply wasn't made properly, or because the uninstaller had insufficient rights.

If you suspect a specific application experiences problems because of faulty regkeys, you can use a regcleaner to delete those keys.

Regcleaners don't speed up your system, and do have a reputation of doing more bad than good.

And please don't open 4 threads for the same question, thanks.

[RAD]

CCleaner is safe and free. But registry cleaning is not its prime function. It is a very good cleaning utility, though.

Uniblue Registry Booster has been working very well for me.

Wise Registry Cleaner and Auslogics Registry Cleaner work, but are a bit too aggressive, and have wiped out some entries that forced me to reinstall programs. Same with MS Free onecare registry scanner.

[Eagle Creek]

Oh sure, there are some programs out there that do more good than bad. However, none of them are required to be used regularly to keep your pc running fine.

[HKEY1952]

If cleaning the Microsoft Windows Registry is not needed.....

Then why is it that Microsoft promotes and recommends Registry Cleaning on the Microsoft Windows Live OneCare Web Site?
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-Us/article/registry_cleaner_why.htm

What is the Windows registry? Why should I clean it? (Microsoft Windows XP) = click fourth FAQ on left side:
http://help.live.com/help.aspx?mkt=en-us&project=WL_Safety&format=b1&querytype=keyword&query=abtscaty#faq6

What is the Windows registry? Why should I clean it? (Microsoft Windows Vista) = click fourth FAQ on left side:
http://help.live.com/help.aspx?mkt=en-us&project=WL_Safety&format=b1&querytype=keyword&query=abtvst#faq6

You now have encountered seemingly good advice that contradicts other seemingly good advice.....I most certainly will not ignore Microsoft's advice.


Microsoft Live OneCare Clean Up Scanner for Microsoft Windows XP (hard drive and registry cleaner):
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/cleanup.htm

Microsoft Live OneCare Full Service Scan for Microsoft Windows Vista (only full service scan available):
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/whatsnew.htm


HKEY1952

[HAN]

This topic comes up here every so often. As there are no definitive, factual answers on this subject, one must do what one feels is the best approach.

FWIW, it's my opinion is that using an automated registry cleaner for the sake of just housekeeping is not something I do or recommend. My reasoning is that automated cleaners make generic assumptions that may or may not be correct for individual systems. The only time I recommend automated registry cleaning is if it's the last thing to try before having to do a complete re-install of Windows. (At that point, what do you have to lose??)

As for recommendations that automated cleaning is good, necessary, whatever, I always notice that they always seem to come from subjective reviews, marketing blurbs, vendors, etc. To date, I have never seen a trustworthy, objective test that automated registry cleaning is always a good, reliable thing.

I should mention that on occasion, I do some manual cleaning when I feel leftovers from something I've installed/ran might cause an issue. But I do so very, very sparingly.

[Fly]

-{ Quote: "If cleaning the Microsoft Windows Registry is not needed.....

Then why is it that Microsoft promotes and recommends Registry Cleaning on the Microsoft Windows Live OneCare Web Site?
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-Us/article/registry_cleaner_why.htm

What is the Windows registry? Why should I clean it? (Microsoft Windows XP) = click fourth FAQ on left side:
http://help.live.com/help.aspx?mkt=en-us&project=WL_Safety&format=b1&querytype=keyword&query=abtscaty#faq6

What is the Windows registry? Why should I clean it? (Microsoft Windows Vista) = click fourth FAQ on left side:
http://help.live.com/help.aspx?mkt=en-us&project=WL_Safety&format=b1&querytype=keyword&query=abtvst#faq6

You now have encountered seemingly good advice that contradicts other seemingly good advice.....I most certainly will not ignore Microsoft's advice.


Microsoft Live OneCare Clean Up Scanner for Microsoft Windows XP (hard drive and registry cleaner):
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/cleanup.htm

Microsoft Live OneCare Full Service Scan for Microsoft Windows Vista (only full service scan available):
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/whatsnew.htm


HKEY1952" }-

It's part of their product. They want to promote it. So that's not strange.

Of course, I don't know what that registry cleaner does. Doesn't Ccleaner also clean up the registry ?

Usually, (automated) registry cleaners are a bad idea. Cleaning the unimportant stuff is relatively safe, but does little for performance. Cleaning critical items could improve performance, but is risky.

[andyman35]

Personally I find Ccleaner is a gentle way to clean up any registry junk without being overly aggressive.I always uninstall programs using Revo Uninstaller rather than the standard add/remove however,this ensures there's very little left over to remove.

[the Tester]

Do you need a registry cleaner?
That's your choice. If you don't do a lot of installing/uninstalling of software, you probably don't need a registry cleaner.
I use Revo to unistall and it does clean up a lot of traces sometimes. It's been safe so far me. System TuneUp has been safe as well.

If you do decide to use a registry cleaner be sure to back up the registry with Erunt.

[xMarkx]

Hello,

I don't have that much experience with registry cleaners. I have used a couple in the past like RegVac, RegCure, and CCleaner. I find that some (such as RegCure) cause additional problems and the others don't really improve performance that much. A lot of people recommended to avoid them because of just that. Therefore, be sure to create a backup of your registry if you do end up using a registry cleaner. Most registry cleaners have an option to do this or even do it automatically. There really isn't a strong argument as to why you would require a registry cleaner.

I would probably never pay for a registry cleaner again but I do occasionally use CCleaner on my older (slow) PC to clean up temporary files and the registry a bit. CCleaner is free, hasn't caused any additional problems but again I haven't seen a significent performance improvement either. But it does tidy everything up.

So in the end it's up to you.

Regards,

Mark.

[1boss1]

Yeah i had RegCleaner wipe out the .exe file association once in the past, which means Windows didn't know what to do with any exe program when double clicked and hence i couldn't run any programs.

So yeah, indiscriminate and aggressive "purging" of the registry has it's risks. For me personally i believe the best solution is:

Keep the registry as clean as possible from day one, by uninstalling programs with an advanced uninstaller like Revo or Total Uninstall. Also test programs in Sandboxie/VM so they don't litter the registry when you decide an hour later the program isn't what you wanted.

Use a semi-automatic cleaner where you can individually accept/decline items to remove, along with a basic understanding of the hive.

Backup before cleaning.

Having said that, CCleaner is pretty mild and i don't recall reading of any cases where people have bricked their system using it.

[HKEY1952]

Once every Week I manually update Windows then clean and compress the Microsoft Windows Registry with:
01)- Registry First Aid Platinum (main registry cleaner)
02)- Amust Registry Cleaner (secondary registry cleaner) (very good at cleaning out CLASSID's and excellent compression utility)
03)- Microsoft Live OneCare Online Clean Up Scan (sometimes finds what the other two missed)

Together, Registry First Aid Platinum and Amust Registry Cleaner complement each other very well.
I have never had an problem afterwards and all three registry cleaners have never removed needed or in-use registry entries.

Oh, by the way, I received an Post Card from The Secretary, informing me that an extended paid for trip from Paris to Greece had been given.
The Substitute Secretary in place was able to provide to The Boss in an timely record breaking manner the notes that are so often requested by The Boss.
Being that The Secretaries desk is full of orderly piles of notes results in the Substitute Secretaries extraordinary performance. The Post Card also
informs me that The Boss asked the Substitute Secretary to the institution of marriage because of such record breaking extraordinary performance.
Boy, I hope The Secretary still has an job waiting upon returning from Greece.


HKEY1952

[Eagle Creek]

I know Live OneCare contains a registry cleaner, and I also was a bit surprised when I first noticed it.
Microsoft did have RegCleaner in the past for Windows 98 systems.

I'm not sure what Live OneCare cleans compared to other cleaners. In general you could say a Microsoft product for a Microsoft OS is more trustworthy than a third party program.

[HKEY1952]

-{ Quote: "I know Live OneCare contains a registry cleaner, and I also was a bit surprised when I first noticed it.
Microsoft did have RegCleaner in the past for Windows 98 systems.

I'm not sure what Live OneCare cleans compared to other cleaners. In general you could say a Microsoft product for a Microsoft OS is more trustworthy than a third party program." }-

NOTE THAT THIS POST IS NOT AN "A" VERSES "B" PRODUCT AND IS ONLY AN COMPARATIVE OF COMBINED STRENGTHS OF REGISTRY CLEANERS
THE BELOW TESTS ARE UNOFFICIAL AND ONLY THE END RESULTS OF AN PERSONAL TEST AND EXPERIENCE


Here is how I tested and the end results:
The unofficial test was performed over several months time involving several registry cleans using different scenarios.

Scenario 01: Cleaned registry with Registry First Aid Platinum followed by Amust Registry Cleaner
Scenario 01 Results: Amust Registry Cleaner found no invalid registry entries most of the time, and found many invalid CLASSID's most of the time

Scenario 02: Cleaned registry with Amust Registry Cleaner followed by Registry First Aid Platinum
Scenario 02 Results: Registry First Aid Platinum found many invalid registry entries most of the time, and only found an few invalid CLASSID's occasionally

Scenario 03: Cleaned registry with Registry First Aid Platinum followed by Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner
Scenario 03 Results: Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner found no invalid registry entries most of the time, and found several invalid CLASSID's most of the time

Scenario 04: Cleaned registry with Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner followed by Registry First Aid Platinum
Scenario 04 Results: Registry First Aid Platinum found no invalid registry entries most of the time, and only found an few invalid CLASSID's occasionally

Scenario 05: Cleaned registry with Amust Registry Cleaner followed by Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner
Scenario 05 Results: Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner found many invalid registry entries most of the time, and only found an few invalid CLASSID's occasionally

Scenario 06: Cleaned registry with Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner followed by Amust Registry Cleaner
Scenario 06 Results: Amust Registry Cleaner found no invalid registry entries most of the time, and only found an few invalid CLASSID's occasionally

Scenario 07: Cleaned registry with Registry First Aid Platinum followed by Amust Registry Cleaner followed by Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner
Scenario 07 Results: Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner found no invalid registry entries most of the time, and only found an few invalid CLASSID's occasionally

Scenario 08: Cleaned registry with Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner followed by Registry First Aid Platinum followed by Amust Registry Cleaner
Scenario 08 Results: Registry First Aid Platinum and Amust Registry Cleaner found no invalid registry entries most of the time, and only found an few invalid CLASSID's occasionally

SUMMARY: Registry First Aid Platinum + Amust Registry Cleaner = Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner
Microsoft Live OneCare Registry Cleaner still has an leading edge because of its ability to find what Registry First Aid Platinum + Amust Registry Cleaner miss.
In the end, who exists the ability to clean the Microsoft Windows Registry better than Microsoft?


NOTE THAT THE ABOVE TESTS ARE UNOFFICIAL AND ONLY THE END RESULTS OF AN PERSONAL TEST AND EXPERIENCE


HKEY1952