Cleanup and Defrag Registry

[GaryG]

Hi,
I run Windows XP Home SP2. In an attempt to keep a bloated registry from
affecting system performance, I've been using Registry Repair Pro for a
couple of years. It repairs/deletes invalid registry entries and defrags the
registry by doing something to "hives" that I don't think I need to get into.

I haven't caused any obvious registry problems so apparently I've been doing
this safely (backing up the registry before making changes). I'm trying a new
app, RegCure, and it seems more effective in cleaning up the registry, but
doesn't have a defrag function.

Do I need to defrag? Or does simply deleting or correcting invalid/unused
registry entries also result in a reduction of the total size of the registry
files?

 

[Leonard Grey]

A "bloated registry" does not affect your system performance (except in
your head).

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi,
I run Windows XP Home SP2. In an attempt to keep a bloated registry from
affecting system performance,

"Bloated" registries don't affect system performance at all.


I've been using Registry Repair Pro for a

couple of years. It repairs/deletes invalid registry entries and defrags the
registry by doing something to "hives" that I don't think I need to get into.

I haven't caused any obvious registry problems so apparently I've been doing
this safely (backing up the registry before making changes).

No. It's not a matter of doing it safely, it's a matter of your having
been lucky. Not everything a registry cleaner does necessarily causes
problems, but the risk of problems is always there. Backing up the
registry is certainly good to do, and will help you if you experience
some kinds of problems, but will do nothing to help you if the problem
the registry cleaner causes is an unbootable computer.

I'm trying a new
app, RegCure, and it seems more effective in cleaning up the registry, but
doesn't have a defrag function.

Do I need to defrag? Or does simply deleting or correcting invalid/unused
registry entries also result in a reduction of the total size of the registry
files?

The registry doesn't need to be cleaned, and the registry doesn't need
to be defragged (other than the normal defragging it gets when you
defrag your entire drive).

You're playing with fire. Stay far away from *all* such registry
cleaning programs. None of them can help you at all, and all of them
have the potential to hurt you severely.

 

[GaryG]

Ken and Leonard,
Gentlemen! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your advice. Everywhere I
look today there are apps for sale that maintain the registry. I will no
longer use them.

One question though, because my PC no longer performs as it used to (and it
is NOT loaded with apps). Perhaps I'm to blame. Is it possible that I've
muddled my registry? Is there a way to tell?

To address the gradual performance decrease I have experienced, would it be
reasonable to try a "shotgun" approach, doing a "repair install" or
reformatting my hard drive and reinstalling XP altogether? I found a Web site
- (michaelstevenstech.com) with directions for doing a "repair install"
provided by someone who identifies himself as having been an MS MVP from 2001
to 2007, so I think I can trust it, but it is not a trivial procedure. Would
this seem to be a reasonable option to try?
Thanks Very Much, Gary

 

[Jim]

Ken and Leonard,
Gentlemen! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your advice. Everywhere I
look today there are apps for sale that maintain the registry. I will no
longer use them.

One question though, because my PC no longer performs as it used to (and
it
is NOT loaded with apps). Perhaps I'm to blame. Is it possible that I've
muddled my registry? Is there a way to tell?

To address the gradual performance decrease I have experienced, would it
be
reasonable to try a "shotgun" approach, doing a "repair install" or
reformatting my hard drive and reinstalling XP altogether? I found a Web
site
- (michaelstevenstech.com) with directions for doing a "repair install"
provided by someone who identifies himself as having been an MS MVP from
2001
to 2007, so I think I can trust it, but it is not a trivial procedure.
Would
this seem to be a reasonable option to try?
Thanks Very Much, Gary

Leave the registry alone....

Defragging your disk may help performance.
Setting the size of the pagefile to "system managed" may help performance.
Adding RAM may help performance, but there is seldom need for more than 1GB.

That is about it, unless you spring for a new computer with a faster CPU,
more Cache, faster disks, and lots of RAM.
Jim

 

[Chet]

Of great historical significance to all, GaryG

Ken and Leonard,
Gentlemen! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your advice.
Everywhere I look today there are apps for sale that maintain
the registry. I will no longer use them.

One question though, because my PC no longer performs as it
used to (and it is NOT loaded with apps). Perhaps I'm to
blame. Is it possible that I've muddled my registry? Is there
a way to tell?

To address the gradual performance decrease I have
experienced, would it be reasonable to try a "shotgun"
approach, doing a "repair install" or reformatting my hard
drive and reinstalling XP altogether? I found a Web site
- (michaelstevenstech.com) with directions for doing a
"repair install" provided by someone who identifies himself
as having been an MS MVP from 2001 to 2007, so I think I can
trust it, but it is not a trivial procedure. Would this seem
to be a reasonable option to try? Thanks Very Much, Gary

Gary,

What may be causing the loss in performance are programs that you've installed in the past that startup in the background when you boot-up. Over time and after several installs this will cause a slow-down.

Before doing a repair install (btw, I've seen Michael Stevens site highly recommended by numerous MVP's) I'd check to see what all is starting up at boot-up.

The best I'd recommend is AutoRuns (current v9.32) at the Microsoft Technet: Windows Sysinternals site. It'll tell you exactly what is going on.
<http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx>

Or if you have Windows Defender installed, on the main menu click Tools then click Software Explorer.

Last use msconfig from Run on the Start menu (or a command prompt). Select the Startup tab.

In all three you can stop programs that are starting that you don't need or are necessary. But before using any of the three, check the options in the individual program, you may be able to stop it there.

hth

 

[Leonard Grey]

Is it possible that you adversely affected your registry? Is there a way
to tell? Sure, it's possible, but there's really no way to know unless
you have a specific problem that is caused by a specific error in the
registry.

Gradual performance decrease is a fact of computing life. Since the time
you first turned your computer on, you've added lots of software. Your
security software has a lot more work to do. No one's computer performs
the way it did the first time they hit the 'on' button.

Erasing your hard disk and starting over isn't going to solve anything,
since you'll be back in the same place once you finish re-installing all
your software.

The best you can do is to maintain your computer (but don't become a
maintenance junkie), avoid malware and evaluate the demands new software
will make before you decide to install it. Learn how to use your
software to best advantage. And don't get all crazy if your computer
takes a little longer to startup in the morning than when it was
younger. So do you, my friend. ;-)

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Of great historical significance to all, GaryG


Gary,

What may be causing the loss in performance are programs
that you've installed in the past that startup in the
background when you boot-up. Over time and after several
installs this will cause a slow-down.

That's certainly a possibility.

Before doing a repair install (btw, I've seen Michael Stevens
site highly recommended by numerous MVP's) I'd check to see
what all is starting up at boot-up.

I'll add my recommendation of Michael Stevens's site.

But it's highly unlikely that a repair installation will help him at
all. That sometimes help if things don't work properly. but it's
highly unlikely to help if the symptoms are just a loss of
performance.

The best I'd recommend is AutoRuns (current v9.32) at the Microsoft
Technet: Windows Sysinternals site. It'll tell you exactly what
is going on.
<http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx>

Or if you have Windows Defender installed, on the main menu
click Tools then click Software Explorer.

Last use msconfig from Run on the Start menu (or a command
prompt). Select the Startup tab.

In all three you can stop programs that are starting that you
don't need or are necessary. But before using any of the three,
check the options in the individual program, you may be able to
stop it there.

All good advice. The two most common reasons for poor performance
these days are performance-robbing background programs and malware
infestation.

 

[GaryG]

I used Autoruns and was amazed to see how many things are running. No wonder
things have slowed. I realize that I must use this with discernment so I
don't affect something essential.

It looks like the Logon tab lists the safest area to work on. I see
"quicklaunch" entries and "tasks" for things like Quicktime and a DVD burner
app so I'll start with those and see if anything improves. This looks like a
place to be very careful so I won't muck with anything I have questions
about. Thanks for the info!

 

[Chet]

Of great historical significance to all, GaryG

I used Autoruns and was amazed to see how many things are
running. No wonder things have slowed. I realize that I must
use this with discernment so I don't affect something
essential.

It looks like the Logon tab lists the safest area to work on.
I see "quicklaunch" entries and "tasks" for things like
Quicktime and a DVD burner app so I'll start with those and
see if anything improves. This looks like a place to be very
careful so I won't muck with anything I have questions about.
Thanks for the info!

You're welcome and thanks for letting us know how you're progressing.

 

[helakejr]

GaryG,
I bumped into your question - looking for the official MS registry crap
cleaner.

My background: SW Developer since 1979 and freelance consultant.

I agree:
- Most people should NOT muck with there registry

I DO NOT agree:
- "A "bloated registry" does not affect your system performance (except in
your head)"

Windows 98SE, ME, XP SR1-3, Vista all need to have the registry cleaned
under certain circumstances!
Why?
1) Registry Corruption
Installing and uninstalling programs leaves residue in your registry - in
fact MOST well-behaved programs DO NOT clean up after themselves on an
install.
This "crap" - registry entries pointing to non-existent software, etc. DO
slow down windows and in some cases make re-installing software fail. Many
Microsoft Betas software won't even try to uninstall themselves - subjugating
the user to "fix" themselves or deal with “support organizationsâ€...

Aka: My current dilemma, I ran Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 (note had to run
in IE7 compatibility mode because of IE8b1 crashing and failing to display
the web pages that I use – ebay, google groups, …). I received my Explorer 8
Beta 2 notice and decided to replace IE8b1 – however on my HP DV9700T Vista
Home Premium, IE8b2 won’t install because IE8b1 IS installed, Microsoft has
apparently chosen not to give you an installed (sorry long story – but my
point). I have to figure out how to de-install IE8b1 myself. Which unless I
can find an uninstaller will involve:
- removing ie8 software by deletion (harder in VISTA because of the
protections – easier in XP)
- running “ccleaner†or “glary utilities†or whatever free registry cleaner
to remove junk fro registry
- reboot your computer- to make a registry backup so if your computer
crashes you won’t go back to the corrupt registry. This also used to be
easier pre-VISTA – you can just run a command to create the registry backup…

2) Registry Defrag
Reduce the physical size of the registry to optimize performance (this
possibly is what my other esteemed colleges are referring to). I agree that
any performance gains in this arena our “in our headsâ€. Unfortunately the
utilities to fix are usually called ‘defragâ€.

I cite a Microsoft beta however in my experience this will happen and you
need to be able to fix yourself.

Reference:
- Microsoft registry defrag tool (I always thought that they discontinued
because the free registry tools are far superior)
- the one’s I use: ccleaner (free), Uniblue (paid) free to try
- Registry: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986

Recommend:
1. If you don’t have any problems leave well enough alone
2. If you have problems (can’t install a program, unexplained slowness,
crashing)– run Ccleaner to “fix†your registry as part of the process which
is:

Windows Problems do the following (do NOT skip steps, although steps 2 and 3
can be reversed):
1. run disk error check: maybe your disk information is corrupt or your disk
is failing. NOTE: DELL support could not diagnose this problem after 7 hours
on the phone with my sister who called me in tears – my first step.
2. run virus checker.
NOTE: All virus checkers are NOT equal, find one that you trust (AVG is free
for personnel use, reference rootkit revealer also for the Windows Pro)
3. uninstall software that may be there even though you think it should not
be.
NOTE: some websites cannot be trusted, and purposely install annoying or
malicious software (I find this stuff on my kids computers; six toolbars,
autostarting). When the windows uninstaller won’t work use ccleaner tools (or
equivalent) to expunge the offending junk-ware.
4. run spyware check.
NOTE: Superspyware is free for personnel use - to remove any any all
spyware (real time protection disabled)
5. Reboot (once minimum, twice or more if paranoid)

Hope this helps…

H “Ed†Lake Jr
(e-mail address removed)
--------------------------

 

[ForU]

Leonard, Try to learn being less sarcastic next time. You are here to give a
suggestion/advice on the topic/question asked. Ppl like you are proud, but
dont even think you are smart. Infact u r too dumb to not even be in a
position to answer the question!

So, nexttime watch how u answer, otherwise go find someplace else to exhibit
your sarcasim

 

[Daave]

Leonard provided factual information; there is no documented evidence
that making the registry less "bloated" significantly improves
performace. The parenthetical remark simply means that just because one
*believes* a phenomenon is occurring doesn't mean that it actually *is*
occurring.

If anything, you are the one who is exhibiting sarcasm with your "try to
learn" remark!