Registry Cleaner

Any suggestions for a good (and safe) registry cleaner for Windows XP?

I've used both CCleaner and PC Tools Registry Mechanic. RM is a little more aggressive than CCleaner, but I've never had a problem with it. Actually, I'm looking for something comparable to RM's registry cleaning ability, but I don't really care much about the other included performance tools.

 

The safest is probably CCleaner for the very reason you mention...it is not as aggressive like some other ones wich I am fine with and I like that. Works great after uninstalling/updating software and it doesn't need to be more aggressive I think. It has a good balance as it is.

 

Why do you need one? OCD, frequent interaction with registry database, or?

 

The best one is "None".

 

To echo what others have said - why do you need one ? These so-called cleaners are a quick way to bricking your O/S.

There are so many other ways of removing the paths of old software, stuff you don't want others to see, etc - the docs are there, the onus would be on you to find them.

Good luck.

 

I totally agree with the last 3 posts--you don't need one! Stay away from them. They will eventually just create heartache and pain. Seriously, you don't need them.

 

Registry cleaner is the last program I will recommend to others. It not broken, don't fix.

 

Sorry guys but I cant agree with you I understand each wise and reasonable causes for which registry cleaning can be harmful but I have my own experiance that speak me "clean it". It's hard to belive that you have never seen situation when after uninstalling a program some files...autostart entries...services...virtual devices, etc...stil are active and can cause specific problems:
- you can't remove/delete files
- you can't disable some processes/services
- you can have problem while installing other new software...such process can be canceled/stopped
- you can have some stupid alerts while system is working...conflicts or even system crashes
It's specialy important for security apps that can have strong effect on system. BufferZone, Comodo, SpyBot, WSA, Malware Defender, Panda - that are examples of apps making sometimes trouble and probably many others on different machines and systems.
I'm always manualy searching registry entries after uninstalled software using Regseeker...always try to find obsolete file/folders...and I don't see in that something wrong.
BTW...I know...there are possibilities to quick restore system from image/snapshots but we are speaking about registry cleaning

 

Those scenarios are rarer than registry cleaners causing problems especially when followed blindly. You should use uninstallers built for the job, or follow specific instructions for removal.
Manually searching the registry (which I always do that when registry editing) isn't the same as using those dangerous software flagging entries for you.

 

Registry cleaners remove predefined keys/values and some others based on certain conditions that the author of the program has set. For example: they clean your MRU cache and remove certain values in certain keys if they point to an executable that doesn't exist on the hard drive anymore.
If the registry cleaner is safe to use, that would mean it cleans harmless stuff. The more aggresive it is, the higher the chance it could potentially fix an issue but even much higher chance of it causing even more (serious) issues. In theory a registry cleaner can be made to be (rather) safe and effective but that would require a HUGE amount of time and work accomplish, and no developer would do that. Besides, that would probably up the price to at least $100-150, and no user would pay that much.
That's why all registry cleaners are designed to remove mostly harmless stuff that's basically just sitting there doing nothing + the occasional value/key that makes things worse. A quick and easy way to take money from uneducated users.

 

In XP I used Registry First Aid many times, without problems. I have use it occasionally in Windows 7 also. Some functions must be used with care.

 

Don't be such a woose. The Registry is nothing to be afraid of in spite of so much fearmongering about it.

ichito is absolutely right! Left behind remnants regularly are responsible for everything pointed out.

I use on a regular basis WinZip Regiistry Optimizer for one, RegCure Registry Cleaner, and Perfect Registry. These programs are very much well refined in that like security apps, you can manually add to an Ignore list which won't break working extensions and so forth.

The key to a safe routine registry sweep is to use a Full registry backup program you can trust. Tweaking.com RegBackup is just that sort of program.

It takes some testing with any reg cleaner to see what it breaks compared to what's ok to remove. You should however never just throw any reg cleaner at your system and expect magical results from it. Things will break.

Careful management is thankfully been integrated into those good one's i just posted above and use myself. They come a long way in removing the fear factor that use to prevail.

The registry is an area of great curiosity for windows users but also demands respect as much as our curiosity.

 

Well nothings 100% safe...that said ive never had any trouble with
Vit registry fix,theres a free version or $5.95 for a lifetime licence.
http://vitsoft.org.ua/en/index.html

 

how does this compare to other registry cleaners out there, and are there any advantages to buying the pro version compared to the free version.

 

Well i have licenses for ace utilities ,and jv16 powertools ,and tried a few other like glary ,tuneup etc but prefer vit registry fix over them all.I like the fact that after a registry clean ,it prompts for another scan if any activex stuff has been removed (see pic).I also like that its clean and simple and not bloated.Of course the major point for me is that its never caused me any problems even though it seems to find a little more than the others i mentioned,and is actively updated.The pro version is version 12 whereas the free is 9 so i believe its a few versions behind,but still performs well.You will also get a pop up now and then telling you there's a pro version.For $5.95 for a lifetime license i personally think its a no brainer.

 

thanks for the reply i forgot to ask , does it need to be online for activation or use any hardware fingerprinting etc........

 

I couldn't remember so i just uninstalled it disconnected the internet and reinstalled it again ,and put in the key and it registered fine ,so it doesn't need to be online for activation.I just checked the email i had when i purchased and it contains the license info which is NAME ,ID NUMBER and SERIAL.There is also a registry file attached which basically is the info above which then gets entered to the registry. I don't think it uses hardware finger printing either as Ive installed it on my laptop and desktop with no problems.

 

CCleaner can in rare cases cause problems unless you uncheck the option to scan of empty software keys. But, with that unchecked, it it seems to never give false positives. Registry Mechanic is equally safe to use.

Vit Registry Fix which has been mentioned in this thread is safe to use if you uncheck the deep registry scan option. Also Auslogics Registry Cleaner is safe to use.

Almost all other registry cleaners can cause problems. However, as has been pointed out here and speaking from using registry cleaners for many years, it is extremely rare for a registry cleaner to make your computer noticeably faster or fix any crashes or error messages. The chances of a registry cleaner actually making your computer work any better is probably about 0.1%

If you're already using Registry Mechanic, I see no point in using anything else.

 

Agreed. These apps have a high placebo response.

 

Wise Care 365 Free, it contains well known Wise registry cleaner, I use it regularly along with CCleaner and I remove everything without checking, so far no problems. It actually cleans more files than PrivaZer, which scans for at least 30-40 min and WiseCare scans only for a few seconds. What a shame on PrivaZer .

Funny comments about cleaners. It is like saying do not maintenance your car, wait until it brokes to fix it. I can not even say how many problems it solved, miraculously.
A simple example, how many times I have read just on Wilders, that people could not install new AV, because there were file and registry leftovers of an old AV.

 

No it's not. There is simply absolutely no need to every clean the registry ever. All the hundreds or even thousands of registry "errors" that accumulate simply don't matter at least 99.9% of the time.

I wish I could say the same. I've used registry cleaners probably thousands of times, and only about twice have they fixed any problems, and only once have they made a noticeable difference in the computers performance.

I regularly fix computer which are having problems. There are many time I have run a registry cleaner when a computer is having performance issues which I can not resolve myself after very extensive troubleshooting. In every single case cleaning the registry has made absolutely no perceivable difference in performance.

I removed over 10,000 registry errors once (yes ten thousand) from one of my own laptops using multiple registry cleaners, being very careful to use registry cleaners which would not give false positives or blindly remove hundreds of empty registry keys, and then did a registry defrag followed by rebooting. The end result was that my computer was not running any faster than before cleaning the registry.

Registry cleaners won't help with the file leftovers and more than likely won't do a good enough job with removing registry leftovers. Using the specific removal tool for the antivirus is a much better and safer option.

 

Yes always, first the AV uninstaller, and then a quickie with CCleaner.

 

A registry cleaner should be considered a tool to help remove remnants of registry entries that are not valid or perform no function any more.I personally have never considered a registry cleaner something that would "fix" or "speedup" up my computer.Cleaning a gig of .tmp files off a 1 terabyte drive isnt gonna do anything to make the drive faster either.Its just a matter of keeping things tidy and in order.I personally dislike having registry entries pointing to software/files that i no longer have installed,and in that respect a tried registry cleaner is useful imo.

 

slightly off topic here but i think registry cleaners are just an easy way to get money from the uninitiated or just a seemingly easy fix for the lazy. its a problem with poorly written software that causes the need for cleaners or other fixes, or you could argue that its a conspiracy designed to make more money .

a safer method would be to use an image but this isnt always practical or sometimes just plain overkill. another option might be to monitor the installation with an uninstall program and remove with the logs it created. obviously there are lots of other ways but those are the 1s i could think of.......

 

Yes they are a seemingly easy fix. But the truth is that 99.9% of the time they don't work.