NTUSER.DAT and pagefile

[Learner]

I wonder if my NTUSER.DAT file is too big: 17,920 kb
I wonder also if pagefile.sys file is too big: 2,095,104 kb

I have xp pro and office 2003

thanks

 

[Guest]

Learner,

Who told you that they are too big?

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

I wonder if my NTUSER.DAT file is too big: 17,920 kb
I wonder also if pagefile.sys file is too big: 2,095,104 kb

I have xp pro and office 2003

thanks

You have no control over ntuser.dat. If it grew to 18 MBytes then this is
because you must have installed many applications and programs. Reloading
Windows and re-installing your current apps will probably reduce it to
around 6 MBytes. But why would you - 18 MBytes is chicken-feed at current
hard disk sizes!

You should let Windows set the size of your paging file. It is directly
related to the amount of RAM installed on your machine.

 

[Learner]

Thank you for your reply and taking good note of your comments.

I think I am much more concerned with programs I install and then uninstall
but remain in the registry. I have phases when I try lots of new
application but do not necessarily keep them. Is there such a thing as a
free Registry cleaner? I remember there used to be one with win 95, oh
that's a long time ago....

thanks
_____________

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

A more appropriate question would be: "Is there such a thing as a good
registry cleaner?". IMHO there isn't: They tend to report large numbers of
"errors" (which have no effect whatsoever on the operation of Windows) but
are in fact either useless or damaging.

It is unfortunate that many programs fail to remove their own registry keys
during the uninstallation process but there is little you can do about it
other than following this procedure:
1. Create a Restore Point.
2. Install your program.
3. Use your program.
4. Uninstall it.
5. Drop the machine back to the previously created Restore Point.

At the risk of repeating myself: Your hard disk most likely has a size
exceeding 50 GBytes. 18 MBytes represents 0.04% of the total disk space.
Aren't you worring about a total non-issue? Just four average .jpg pics from
your camera will consume the same amount of space!

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thank you for your reply and taking good note of your comments.

I think I am much more concerned with programs I install and then uninstall
but remain in the registry. I have phases when I try lots of new
application but do not necessarily keep them. Is there such a thing as a
free Registry cleaner? I remember there used to be one with win 95, oh
that's a long time ago....

Whether they are free or not isn't the important thing. The important
thing is whether they are safe and useful. And the answer is that *no*
registry cleaner is safe or useful. I strongly recommend that you
avoid them all, free or not. Here's my standard message on this
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

 

[Bill in Co.]

Thank you for your reply and taking good note of your comments.

I think I am much more concerned with programs I install and then
uninstall
but remain in the registry.

If and when this happens, typically only small remnants remain, which are
usually inconsequential. But more on that below...

I have phases when I try lots of new
application but do not necessarily keep them. Is there such a thing as a
free Registry cleaner?

It's generally NOT a good idea to use them, as they can do a fair amount of
damage to your system.

If you are going to making all these tests, and really want a perfectly
clean system to revert back to after these tests, use a system backup and
restore program, like Acronis True Image, for example.

Short of doing that, you could always consider just using System Restore,
too, to get you back to the previous state, if you really feel it is
necessary.

 

[Bill in Co.]

Whether they are free or not isn't the important thing. The important
thing is whether they are safe and useful. And the answer is that *no*
registry cleaner is safe or useful. I strongly recommend that you
avoid them all, free or not. Here's my standard message on this
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

HEAR! HEAR! And I'd add: "A word to the wise is sufficient".

And I'd also add, if you don't know your way around the registry by using
regedit, you have no business being in there (and even if you do, you may
still not, at least on some occasions, LOL.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If and when this happens, typically only small remnants remain, which are
usually inconsequential. But more on that below...


It's generally NOT a good idea to use them, as they can do a fair amount of
damage to your system.

If you are going to making all these tests, and really want a perfectly
clean system to revert back to after these tests, use a system backup and
restore program, like Acronis True Image, for example.

Short of doing that, you could always consider just using System Restore,
too, to get you back to the previous state, if you really feel it is
necessary.

*If* (and it's a big if) what the registry cleaner did is not render
your computer unbootable.

 

[Bill in Co.]

*If* (and it's a big if) what the registry cleaner did is not render
your computer unbootable.

True enough.
Plus just relying on System Restore can have it's own other issues,
including the one you mentioned.

 

[dadiOH]

I think I am much more concerned with programs I install and then
uninstall but remain in the registry. I have phases when I try lots
of new application but do not necessarily keep them.

If the remnants concern you, here is a way to avoid them...

1. Make a small partition of, say, 5-10 GB. On a second physical drive
would be best but not necessary.

2. Put a second XP install on that partition. You want to wind up with a
boot menu so you can boot from it

Use that XP install for your trials. It - and its registry - are totally
independent from your main XP. If ever needed you can wipe the partition
and redo steps ! & 2 to get a totally clean install.
_______________

Here is another simpler but less thorough way...

1. Go get ERUNT
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt

2. Use it to make a registry backup before your trial(s)

3. After your trial(s) use it to restore the registry. NOTE: it won't
delete any files the trial program(s) may have placed willy-nilly nor will
it restore dll files that were changed or replaced.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

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