Registry cleaning?

Ive just started using this handy program called AAtools (http://www.wugnet.com/shareware/spow.asp?ID=445), was playing with the registry cleaner and wondering if someone could give me some advice as to what registry keys i should be using and which i can get rid of?

The scan processed 178724 keys and it said that there were 90 "invalid entries".

Here are a few examples of the "invalid" files :
C:\WINDOWS\System32\MSXML3A.DLL PATH: Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ SharedDlls

C:\WINDOWS\System32\blank.htm PATH: Software\ Microsoft\ Internet Explorer\ Main

C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Windows Media Player.lnk PATH: Software\ Microsoft\ MediaPlayer\ Setup\ CreatedLinks

C:\DOCUME~1\****\LOCALS~1\Temp\_iu14D2N.tmp PATH: Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ ShellNoRoam\ MUICache

C:\Program Files\Real\RealOne Player\normal.vs|normal PATH: Software\ RealNetworks\ RealPlayer\ 6.0\ Preferences\ CurrentSkin

C:\WINDOWS\System32\CMMGR32.EXE,1 PATH: Software\ Classes\ Connection Manager Profile\ DefaultIcon

C:\Program Files\Real\RealOne Player\datacache.zip PATH: Software\ Classes\ Software\ RealNetworks\ Update\ 6.0\ Preferences\ Components\ Player

Thats just a few. So can i delete most if not all of these? Anyone have any links where i can learn whats what? Or will i have to go through them all myself and figure out whats what? Also some keys seem to be listed from files that dont exist anymore so im guessing i can get rid of the obvious ones?

Anyway thanks for any advice in advance.

Cheers... Huey.

 

Huey,
If you have to ask, then i'd suggest you don't play with your registry.
If you do, then you better make an image before you start, as you will quickly find a mistake can be very costly !

 

I'm with Mickey.

If you want absolute certainty (impossible, incidentally) , each registry key needs to be examined in detail, looking for dependencies, checking installed software, and so on.

Anything anyone advises you as to whether you can or can't remove a certain key is at best an educated guess.

 

Thanks for the advice guys... i guess it will give me something interesting to do

I was in the hope that maybe someone has used a similar program though because the program specifically is a registry cleaner and i assumed that i could delete all the 90 "invalid keys"? I just didnt want to jump the gun and do something i could seriously regret. I also thought that registry cleaning was the next step from using a program like AdAware and could help me identify more security and spyware risks.

But one thing I am certain of though is that it has to be possible to at least understand and identify what those 90 keys are used for... i just thought someone could give me some direction... its all good

 

Although the keys are often comparable, the data therein are highly system specific, depending on installed hardware, software, configuration.

I suppose that your Registry Cleaner makes backups of what it removes.

I'd check that before doing anything.

If you're certain it does, you could give it a go.

If anything were to misbehave, restore the backups, reboot, and you ought to be back in business.

No guarantees, though.

 

Hi Huey,

AAtools backs up the Reg Keys that you delete. I would suggest that you make a backup of your Registry before you delete anything. Then delete one key at a time and see if you have any problems. But be very careful the Registry is the backbone of your system make a mistake and you may have to re-install your OS. Please be careful.

 

Follow what these guys say if your not sure dont mess with it.I made that mistake once with a program called nuts an bolts it offered to clean up my registry so i let it lol worse mistake i ever made totallly fragged the registry and forced me to format and re-install again.Goodluck and be careful.

 

I've really got to wonder why you're not simply using either RegCleaner or jv16PowerTools - kind of hard to screw up with either of those as long as you don't let them remove anything except what it marks safe to remove. Pete

 

I would like to second Pete's advice...please think about it.

 

I use Reg Cleaner 4.3 by Jouni Vuorio.It is a nice program and has a back up.I've used it a lot,mostly cleaning my registry of programs I have deleted .It is newbie friendly.I won't get into the manual registry cleaning because I know that right now it's over my head.A plus about this particular Reg Cleaner is it has the windows logo.It is xp compatable.I am careful and I haven't had a problem with it's use yet.

 

Thanks guys.. I will give the reg cleaner a look