All these registry cleaner Threads...

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by sportsfan7700, Jun 24, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. sportsfan7700

    sportsfan7700 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2010
    Posts:
    499
    Location:
    Fort Worth, Texas USA "Where the West Begins"
    ...even the one I have started, got me to thinking, don't they generally do more harm then good? We have all seen the ads online/TV, etc. but in general I seem to subscribe to the thinking "they seem to be all scams and shouldn't be trusted. Am i just completely wrong? Are there any with "proven results"? Or am i right?

    -I really do not count Ccleaner as it is more then safe. I run Auslogics Registry Cleaner and I am a tad weary about it. Matt
     
  2. abu shofwan

    abu shofwan Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2010
    Posts:
    358
    Location:
    Earth
    here from I picked from Aumha
    Summary of Registry Cleaner Software:
    Do not bother with this. It it unlikely to help, it can cause harm.
    There are no end-user benefits from running registry cleaners. Unecessary entries in the registry do no harm. This should not be a regular maintenance chore. It most certainly if done should not be automated.

    I hold to the singular distinction I made in the beginning: there are times that a fast registry editor with search is needed to fix a single issue under Expert hands. There is no justification for the regular use of automated registry cleaning tools; and as the results above show, they are of dubious merit as the "fix" for even one-off problems that need solving.

    Bill Castner
    MS-MVP, Aumha VSOP & Moderator


    I rarely use Reg Cleaner.
     
  3. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Posts:
    2,098
    Location:
    USA
    There are 2 fairly polarized camps of thought on auto registry cleaners. In my case, I don't buy into the hype and have really looked at them objectively. There's no factual evidence they help 100% of the time for 100% of the users. And if they don't, then, IMO, they aren't worth it because you'll never know if your the one that they make things worse for...
     
  4. PJC

    PJC Very Frequent Poster

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2010
    Posts:
    2,959
    Location:
    Internet
    There are Reliable Registry Cleaners,
    like jv16 PowerTools, TuneUp Utilities, Ace Utilities, and Reg Organizer,
    and there are "Registry Cleaners" that can Wreck your System!

    With Windows Seven, the need for Registry Cleaning has been reduced:

    "In Windows Vista, the Registry has been Virtualized, and hence unlike XP,
    does not tend to suffer from bloat. The same has been continued in Windows 7.
    Virtualization basically means that, applications are prevented from writing to System Folders
    in Windows 7's file system and ALSO to the 'machine wide keys' in the registry.
    " Source
     
  5. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
    .
    Presumably "reliable" means the app does no harm, but what good does it do? I've tried registry cleaners and have known others who use them and I have never seen any perceivable or measurable benefit. I see no point in using a product where the best case scenario is it won't cause me problems. Registry cleaners are right up there with ram defraggers. If someone needs visual entertainment I suggest screen savers - they're safer and more interesting :)
     
  6. Aaron Here

    Aaron Here Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2006
    Posts:
    1,205
    Location:
    USA
    Orphaned registry entries and such do no harm, nor do they slow down your system to any measurable degree. Windows does not 'stumble' over invalid registry entries, it skips right past them. Read and listen to what industry experts say on this subject...

    Mark Russinovich is the founder of Winternals (now Microsoft Sysinternals), author of many Windows diagnostic programs like the famous Process Explorer. He is now a senior member of the Microsoft staff...
    http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-xp/61015-xp-fixes-myth-1-registry-cleaners.html

    Ed Bott has been a tech writer, blogger and Windows enthusiast for over 20 years. He has investigated all things Microsoft and reported them accurately and clearly to the public. His is a voice that has earned industry respect... http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=643

    The message doesn't get any clearer - Registry cleaners are "snake oil." Don't use them. They provide no discernible benefit and have the potential to damage your Windows installation.
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2010
  7. Seer

    Seer Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2007
    Posts:
    2,068
    Location:
    Serbia
    I agree.

    It is not about the actual "help" they provide from technical aspect, it's more down to compulsive urges (you have to admit that the average computer user IS quite compulsive, and I'm speaking out of personal experience) that everything must be clean and tidy as much as possible, with no unnecessary files, folders and registry entries. It does not matter if a given registry entry doesn't slow down or in any other way harm your system - it must be cleaned! Registry cleaners are tools for the more compulsive among us. It soothes their pain (yikes!) and calms them down. A psycho thing.
    The same can be said for... defragmenters i.e. RAM optimizers, as mentioned earlier above. etc.
    Just my 2 cents.
     
  8. sportsfan7700

    sportsfan7700 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2010
    Posts:
    499
    Location:
    Fort Worth, Texas USA "Where the West Begins"
    If registry cleaner's are "snake oil", what is the difference with ccleaner? Because it has a registry cleaner as well.
     
  9. Matthijs5nl

    Matthijs5nl Guest

    CCleaner just removes empty registry keys. That is: registry keys with only a name but no value, or registry keys with a value point to a non-existing file (or a file extension not being used).
    Other registry cleaners also look at possible errors and unnecessary registry keys.
    You can easily try it by running CCleaner and another one on a computer in quite good condition. CCleaner will find a max of like 20 items, others will find 200, or even more.
    The truth is I had experiences with others deleting all my shortcut icons for example. CCleaner never failed me in all those years I have used it, I even don't make backups of the registry when they ask me to.
     
  10. Seer

    Seer Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2007
    Posts:
    2,068
    Location:
    Serbia
    What difference? With other cleaners? There is none. CCleaner's registry cleaner is snake oil as well - it provides no benefit at all, except what I mentioned above.

    CCleaner is just a "safe" tool, in a sense that it won't delete something it shouldn't.
     
  11. PJC

    PJC Very Frequent Poster

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2010
    Posts:
    2,959
    Location:
    Internet
    Registry Defragmentation is what I'm interested in (more than Cleaning).

    Mark Russinovich about Registry Defragmenters:

    "Unlike Registry Cleaners, defragmenting the registry can improve performance.
    Paging and Registry file fragmentation can be one of the leading causes of
    performance degradation related to file fragmentation in a system." Source
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2010
  12. acuariano

    acuariano Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2005
    Posts:
    786
    hey guys i think even microsoft has a registry cleaner online.....or not?..well
    also Russinovich made pagedefrag which i think is excellent....also ntregopt is good.
     
  13. Aaron Here

    Aaron Here Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2006
    Posts:
    1,205
    Location:
    USA
    Ain't that the truth.... ;)
     
  14. DasFox

    DasFox Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2006
    Posts:
    1,825
    Not one person here mentioned one of the most important reasons to having a reg cleaner.

    To help clean out virus, malware,spyware, reg entries... ;)

    It's not just about keeping clean and tidy but about helping to get out the infections listed in the registry! :D
     
  15. DOSawaits

    DOSawaits Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2008
    Posts:
    469
    Location:
    Belgium
    Reg Cleaners are snale oil, CCleaner too.
    Some people are addicted to them, most to CCleaner, some are addicted to smoking, it doesn't serve any good either, but still they are.
     
  16. PJC

    PJC Very Frequent Poster

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2010
    Posts:
    2,959
    Location:
    Internet
    The Primary use of CCleaner is Junk-File Cleaning.
    Part of the Malware-Removal process includes Junk-File Cleaning.
    CCleaner is one of the Best Tools for that.

    As far as its Registry Cleaner,
    CCleaner
    has a very mild (= non-aggressive) Registry Cleaner
    which covers the very basic areas.
     
  17. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2004
    Posts:
    3,581
    Location:
    Garden State, USA
    Your verdict Matt - pro or con?
     
  18. sportsfan7700

    sportsfan7700 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2010
    Posts:
    499
    Location:
    Fort Worth, Texas USA "Where the West Begins"
    Probably Con at this point so far. I have used ccleaner in the past and if I ever felt the need I'd use it, but I think I'm going to lean towards a puran defrag kind of setup.
     
  19. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2004
    Posts:
    3,581
    Location:
    Garden State, USA
    To your benefit. Regedits are warranted when and where - need be.
     
  20. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Posts:
    6,219
    Location:
    USA
    .
    The difference with Ccleaner is it has many capabilities. I only use it to clear temp/junk files. Obviously the registry cleaner component can be ignored.
     
  21. crofttk

    crofttk Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2004
    Posts:
    1,979
    Location:
    Eastern PA, USA
    :isay:
    I expect that fever has broken.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.