I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned out
to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I tried
a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is to be
believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and I was
just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised against
using that product, and for two reasons:
1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer speed,
by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
internet speed.
2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will impair
the functioning of the computer.
What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.
Thanks very much
--
laurence withau

laurence withau <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned out
>to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I tried
>a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is to be
>believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and I was
>just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
>with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised against
>using that product, and for two reasons:
>1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer speed,
>by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
>internet speed.
>2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will impair
>the functioning of the computer.
>What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
>shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
>result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.

It is completely, totally, absolutely AND without a doubt CORRECT.

Not to worry about the test results. NO TO WORRY.

Richie Hardwick

"laurence withau" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message news:0F9D75F7-78ED-4614-B39A-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned
>out
> to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I
> tried
> a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is to
> be
> believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and I
> was
> just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
> with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised
> against
> using that product, and for two reasons:
> 1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer
> speed,
> by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
> internet speed.
> 2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will impair
> the functioning of the computer.
> What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
> shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
> result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.
> Thanks very much
> --
> laurence withau


No, you shouldn't buy these products especially as you can compromise your
computer by the use of a free one..


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx

"Mike Hall - MVP" <mikehall@remove_mvps.com> wrote in message
news:uWE7q$(E-Mail Removed)...
> "laurence withau" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> message news:0F9D75F7-78ED-4614-B39A-(E-Mail Removed)...
>>I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned
>>out
>> to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I
>> tried
>> a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is to
>> be
>> believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and I
>> was
>> just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
>> with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised
>> against
>> using that product, and for two reasons:
>> 1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer
>> speed,
>> by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
>> internet speed.
>> 2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will
>> impair
>> the functioning of the computer.
>> What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
>> shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
>> result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.
>> Thanks very much
>> --
>> laurence withau
>
>
> No, you shouldn't buy these products especially as you can compromise your
> computer by the use of a free one..

.. . . and the commercial ones are mostly snake oil. They operate on the FUD
principle: Create Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt in order to make a sale.

On Dec 19, 4:16*pm, laurence withau
<laurencewit...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned out
> to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I tried
> a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is tobe
> believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and Iwas
> just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
> with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised against
> using that product, and for two reasons:
> 1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer speed,
> by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
> internet speed.
> 2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will impair
> the functioning of the computer.
> What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
> shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
> result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.
> Thanks very much
> --
> laurence withau

You should stay away from those programs.Call your ISP to check out
your slow internet connection issue.

"laurence withau" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message news:0F9D75F7-78ED-4614-B39A-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned
out
> to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I
tried
> a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is to
be
> believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and I
was
> just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
> with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised
against
> using that product, and for two reasons:
> 1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer
speed,
> by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
> internet speed.
> 2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will impair
> the functioning of the computer.
> What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
> shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
> result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.
> Thanks very much



First off, a registry cleaner could potentially do more harm than good.

Under some very special conditions, one who knows exactly what they are
doing may find such a utility useful...
but unless you know exactly what you are deleting, you could wind up in big
trouble.

If one really feels they know how to use a registry cleaner,
there are too many free ones out there to even justify purchasing one.


Also...even if a registry cleaner genuinely finds a few un-needed entries,
it's very unlikely they'll do any harm...
it's kind of like having an extra sock in your drawer <G>

On Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:16:01 -0800, laurence withau
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned out
> to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I tried
> a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is to be
> believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and I was
> just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
> with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised against
> using that product, and for two reasons:
> 1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer speed,
> by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
> internet speed.
> 2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will impair
> the functioning of the computer.
> What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
> shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
> result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.


Yes, the advice you read is correct. Don't buy such products and don't
worry about the test result.

Here's my standard post on the subject:

Registry cleaning programs are *all* snake oil. Cleaning of the
registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and
don't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, and
what vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of,
having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you.

The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously
removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit
it may have.

Read http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:16:01 -0800, laurence withau wrote:

> I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned out
> to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I tried
> a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is to be
> believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and I was
> just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
> with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised against
> using that product, and for two reasons:
> 1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer speed,
> by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
> internet speed.
> 2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will impair
> the functioning of the computer.
> What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
> shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
> result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.
> Thanks very much

AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
Note the comments from Mark Russinovich and the reference concerning ERUNT.

Why I don¢t use registry cleaners!
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html

I'd use:
CCleaner - Free
Cleans temporary internet files, cookies, history, recent URLs, application
MRUs, etc. ... (*Tune out the registry scanning/fixing option!*)
http://www.ccleaner.com/download/bui...wnloading-slim
If Windows Defender is utilized go to Applications, under Utilities uncheck
"Windows Defender" (so it won't delete the history of WD);
Followed by:
NTREGOPT
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

"Kayman" <kayhkay-nospam-@operamail.com> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:16:01 -0800, laurence withau wrote:
>
> > I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned
out
> > to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I
tried
> > a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is
to be
> > believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and
I was
> > just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd
check
> > with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised
against
> > using that product, and for two reasons:
> > 1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer
speed,
> > by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
> > internet speed.
> > 2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will
impair
> > the functioning of the computer.
> > What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
> > shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
> > result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.
> > Thanks very much
>
> AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry Cleaner?
> http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
> Note the comments from Mark Russinovich and the reference concerning
ERUNT.
>
> Why I don¢t use registry cleaners!
> http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html
>
> I'd use:
> CCleaner - Free
> Cleans temporary internet files, cookies, history, recent URLs,
application
> MRUs, etc. ... (*Tune out the registry scanning/fixing option!*)
> http://www.ccleaner.com/download/bui...wnloading-slim
> If Windows Defender is utilized go to Applications, under Utilities
uncheck
> "Windows Defender" (so it won't delete the history of WD);
> Followed by:
> NTREGOPT
> http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/



Here is a cookie cleaner that I use

http://www.ampsoft.net/

You have the option to preserve *wanted* cookies

then can delete all the others in about two seconds

laurence withau wrote:
> I have XP/sp2. My computer internet speed slowed recently, and it turned out
> to be an ISP fault, now rectified. But before discovering the cause, I tried
> a commercial registry cleaner free test, the result of which, if it is to be
> believed, is that my registry has about 178 faults.This worried me, and I was
> just about to pay to have the cleaner downloaded when I thought I'd check
> with Wikipedia first, under 'regisrtry cleaners'. An article advised against
> using that product, and for two reasons:
> 1/ that the cleaner would make only a marginal difference to computer speed,
> by which I suppose they meant the speed of the pc itself, rather than
> internet speed.
> 2/ that there is a risk that cleaning the registry in this way will impair
> the functioning of the computer.
> What I would like to know is whether this advice is correct, so that I
> shouldn't buy such products, and whether I should be worried by the test
> result, 178 faults, or dismiss it as scareware.
> Thanks very much


It's scareware. Your caution is to be commended.

There is no such thing as a "good" (meaning useful or beneficial)
registry cleaner, free or otherwise. Some are less harmful than others,
but because they're all nothing but snake oil, I won't recommend any.

Why do you even think you'd ever need to clean your registry? What
specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some program's
bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be fixed by
using a registry "cleaner?"

If you do have a problem that is rooted in the registry, it would
be far better to simply edit (after backing up, of course) only the
specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are causing the problem. After
all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will do the job? Additionally,
the manually changing of one or two registry entries is far less likely
to have the dire consequences of allowing an automated product to make
multiple changes simultaneously. The only thing needed to safely clean
your registry is knowledge and Regedit.exe.

The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of
the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the location of the
device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the
registry can have severe consequences. One should not even turning
loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully
confident that he knows *exactly* what is going to happen as a result of
each and every change.

Having repeatedly seen the results of inexperienced people using
automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the most
experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all.
Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not safe in the hands
of the inexperienced user. If you lack the knowledge and experience to
maintain your registry by yourself, then you also lack the knowledge and
experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner,
no matter how safe they claim to be.

More importantly, no one has ever demonstrated that the use of an
automated registry "cleaner," particularly by an untrained,
inexperienced computer user, does any real good, whatsoever. There's
certainly been no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate that the use
of such products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's
performance or stability. Given the potential for harm, it's just not
worth the risk.

Granted, most registry "cleaners" won't cause problems each and
every time they're used, but the potential for harm is always there.
And, since no registry "cleaner" has ever been demonstrated to do any
good (think of them like treating the flu with chicken soup - there's no
real medicinal value, but it sometimes provides a warming placebo
effect), I always tell people that the risks far out-weigh the
non-existent benefits.

I will concede that a good registry *scanning* tool, in the hands
of an experienced and knowledgeable technician or hobbyist can be a
useful time-saving diagnostic tool, as long as it's not allowed to make
any changes automatically. But I really don't think that there are any
registry "cleaners" that are truly safe for the general public to use.
Experience has proven just the opposite: such tools simply are not safe
in the hands of the inexperienced user.

A little further reading on the subject:

Why I don't use registry cleaners
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=643

AumHa Forums • View topic - AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry
Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot