Vista Registry Fixing Software

[james]

Hi,

I tried nortons WinDoctor to help fix any problems with missing
shortcuts,missing shared files, etc etc and my pc wouldnt startup the next
time! It used to work really well with XP and never did XP not start after
WinDoctor,it only speeded the pc up,in my experience.Im reluctant to "try"
any other registry fixing software,unless there are some well known Vista
registry fixing software that someone can recommend in here ???


Thanks very much for help,in advance

 

[Richard G. Harper]

I don't use registry cleaners and don't recommend their use except for
certain narrow needs that are fairly unique such as virus cleanup, etc.
They often cause incidental damages to systems that are otherwise fine, like
the damage done to your system.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi,

I tried nortons WinDoctor to help fix any problems with missing
shortcuts,missing shared files, etc etc and my pc wouldnt startup the
next time! It used to work really well with XP and never did XP not
start after WinDoctor,it only speeded the pc up,in my experience.Im
reluctant to "try" any other registry fixing software,unless there are
some well known Vista registry fixing software that someone can
recommend in here ???


Thanks very much for help,in advance

There's no such thing as a "good" registry "cleaner" for any
Windows OS. About the best that can be said for any of them is that
they don't always render the computer unusable each time you use one.

Why do you think you'd ever need to "fix" 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.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


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

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I agree with Richard and Bruce. Hard drive space used to be at a premium
back in the Win9x days and editiing and compressing the registry became
popular simply to save space. Now the registry takes up an insignifcant
percentage of a hard drive and little is gained picking at it.

Vista is not a descendent of Win9x. The issues and solutions are not the
same. The risks of a corrupted registry, however, are still the same.

 

[james]

Well,iv been using the nortons Windoctor for years,and it has always speeded
up my pc.It has never stopped XP from working properly and my pc has always
restarted,except this time with Vista.

Almost everytime i have installed programs on my pc [i dont check it after
every single program has been installed] but if i install the programs that
i need and always install on my pc,i find that my pc is much slower,until
after i have used the Nortons WinDoctor,which seems to show that files are
changed when new programs are installed and when programs are UNinstalled,as
files seem to go missing etc.And after sfc /scannow, my pc is running much
faster.

 

[Malke]

Knowing this is an old post, I could not help but reply. It is SAD when

(snip long post)

Thanks for the information, but no one knows to whom you are giving this
information since you are not posting on a real forum as you think you are
and you didn't quote any of the thread to which you are replying. You are
using a web interface that leeches Usenet posts and most of the rest of us
are using real newsreaders. We don't see what you do. If you want to
participate in Usenet, the better way is to set up a newsreader. This is
very easy to do and I'll give you information about that below. If you
prefer to use a forum, then here are two excellent ones:

http://forum.aumha.org/index.php
http://http://computerhaven.info/

Since you are using a web interface, you may not realize that this is really
a newsgroup. You will get far more out of this resource if you learn to use
a newsreader. There are many good newsreaders for Windows, but you can use
Outlook Express (XP) or Windows Mail (Vista) since you already have it.
Here are some links to information about newsgroups:

About Usenet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/ - Usenet FAQs from the Internet FAQ Archives
http://www.usenetmonster.com/infocenter/
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Usenet - a brief explanation
of newsgroups

Outlook Express/Windows Mail as Newsreader:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm
http://rickrogers.org/setupoe.htm
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/accessing_newsgrousp_with-windows_mail.htm

How to Post:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Usenet
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 - How to Ask a Question
http://users.tpg.com.au/bzyhjr/liszt.htm - How Not to Get Technical Help on
Usenet


http://aumha.org/nntp.htm - list of MS newsgroups
microsoft.public.test.here - MS group to test if your newsreader is working
properly
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/munad.htm - how to munge email address
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossposting - crossposting
http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm - multiposting

Other Newsreaders for Windows:
http://www.forteinc.com/main/homepage.php - Forte
http://www.mozilla.org - Thunderbird

Malke

 

[Chad Harris]

Knowing this is an old post, I could not help but reply. It is SAD when
so many out there feel there 'software' is performing adequately.
Registry errors occur on a regular basis, even within VISTA. You are
correct that 'Vista is not a descendant of Win9x; however, it is of
WinXP. This alone makes this operating system every bit vulnerable as
previous OS releases.

Microsoft programmers may be 'decent', but ten million other
programmers are out here doing what they can to 'rip things apart'.
From 2002, Norton's WinDoctor has performed wonders on numerous systems,
and as shown is available with 2009 Basic.

The 'registry problems' one experiences may stem from not understanding
what the registry checker is performing. With WinDoctor, one may NOT
simply click on the "Repair All" button WITHOUT first going completely
through all intended 'repairs' manually to be certain the pending
solutions will be correct.

This is where a system gets 'corrupt' as you state. Knowing how the
software works is the first major step in happy computing experiences.
Without checking your registry now-and-then..... you're missing at least
one-third computing power your system could offer... to up to half your
system's capabilities.

While my site is old/not up-to-date.... the information still holds
true.

I've been 'correcting' windows OS's since 1998 and I fully know Vista
is little different than 'old' XP. Vista is merely an overlay of pretty
graphics with tons of security thrown in originally missing from XP.
The under-the-hood is still quite similar. This is how to keep people
paying for what you offer.... make it better so they'll buy it again.

Compressing files? Guess some need to, but at harbek.50megs.com, the
novice button provides plenty of reason why computers become
'corrupt'.... off the shelf software is just one MAJOR contributor.

Before pouncing one for their 'trials', consider possibly that what
they are attemping may help others in the long run... Trial -n- Error
is the teacher over 'believing' what you receive to be correct.

Your thoughts on 'cookies' (probably) is they're no threat either... so
how about an 'off-the-shelf' program purchase that installs a program
doing little more than 'updating' that 'cookie'... so the providing
'company' can continually gather information from your computer.

Think your registry is 'okay'? Just research which registry editor you
choose before putting it into operation on your system.... that's called
'user choice' and falls under 'freedom of choice' from the American
Constitution. What's truly happening with computers is called;
"Infringement on Civil Rights".

Hi HarBeK--

What question is this information answering? Who's the OP?

Your portrayal of Vista as merely a superficial overlay of the old XP is
simply dead wrong. It is markedly different than XP under the hood as is
Win 7.

Ed Bott who writes the Windows Inside Out Books for MSFT Press and is very
familiar with registry fixers is against them, and many of us are.

The bottom line is that that while there may be registry errors that result
from bad programming of 3rd party software, or less than optimal programming
of it, of from a variety of everyday computing moves, when these so-called
registry fixers do their scans and come up with eleventy hundred errors they
never tell you what the hell precisely they're doing to the registry or
anything else. It's a little like driving your car off a cliff while
blindfolded after consuming a few fifths of liquor.

It's far better to fix Windows by the methods MSFT provides, and if you
believe your registry is damaged, and have solid evidence of it, you can fix
the registry problems at the registry, or you can use startup repair which
fixes systemic Vista and Win 7 problems whether someone can boot or not.

I haven't seen a Symantec program yet that tells you what it's doing or
frankly one that isn't buggy, often requires manual uninstalls that are time
consuming, and certainly not one purported to fix the registry.

It's AV programs for end users are bloated and require way too many
resources than many out there that do a better job.

Best,

CH