Compacting the registry. Is it a good idea?

[glenwood]

I've seen lots of utilities that claim to improve performance by compacting
the registry.

Is this a good idea and if it is which of the many programs available is the
most efficient and trouble free?

Comment would be appreciated as I'm a bit nervous when it comes to registry
matters.

Thanks

Tenga

 

[dev]

glenwood said:

I've seen lots of utilities that claim to improve performance by compacting
the registry.

Is this a good idea and if it is which of the many programs available is the
most efficient and trouble free?

Comment would be appreciated as I'm a bit nervous when it comes to registry
matters.

For most users, it's minimally helpful, and potentially dangerous, in my
opinion.
If you test and delete lots of programs, it could prove useful on occasion.

Whatever "cleaner" is used, be sure that it has an UNDO function, in case
of problems. And be aware of how to restore your system.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

I could make sense. I would first "Export" the entire registry out to a
filefrom within Regedit. Then, I would try the compact program. If the
system becomes unstable you should be able to import the backup of the
registry you made.

Compacting should only really be done if you install new hardware/software
often and your Windows system has not been re-format/re-install in years.
Other people recommend a complete reformat of Windows XP yearly but my
motto: if it ain't broken, don't fix it. This is only for software.

Y.

 

[Richard]

Compacting the registry, and cleaning the registry, are
two entirely different things. The registry is a database
of everything that has to do with your computer, it's
settings, software installed/removed etc. Like every
other database, when something is removed/changed, the
space is not cleared up. The space originally used is
claimed as occupied, in perpetuity - forever. That is why
a data base, such as Microsoft Access, has a tool for
compacting the data. It does speed up the searching of
the database.

I have compacted registries on computers that have been
up for 2 years. I have seen a 35% decrease in the
registry size after compacting, and a resultant increase
in the speed of the computer, especially during booting.
Your mileage will vary!

I have been using ntregopt, which is part of the package
ERUNT, available here:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt. It
allows you to backup or compact the registry.

 

[glenwood]

I could make sense. I would first "Export" the entire registry out to a
filefrom within Regedit. Then, I would try the compact program. If the
system becomes unstable you should be able to import the backup of the
registry you made.

Compacting should only really be done if you install new hardware/software
often and your Windows system has not been re-format/re-install in years.
Other people recommend a complete reformat of Windows XP yearly but my
motto: if it ain't broken, don't fix it. This is only for software.

Y.

Thank you all for the very helpful advice.

Tenga

 

[dev]

Richard said:

dev said:

Compacting the registry, and cleaning the registry, are
two entirely different things. The registry is a database
of everything that has to do with your computer, it's
settings, software installed/removed etc. Like every
other database, when something is removed/changed, the
space is not cleared up. The space originally used is
claimed as occupied, in perpetuity - forever. That is why
a data base, such as Microsoft Access, has a tool for
compacting the data. It does speed up the searching of
the database.

I have compacted registries on computers that have been
up for 2 years. I have seen a 35% decrease in the
registry size after compacting, and a resultant increase
in the speed of the computer, especially during booting.
Your mileage will vary!

I have been using ntregopt, which is part of the package
ERUNT, available here:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt. It
allows you to backup or compact the registry.

Point taken, though in the minds of most users I wager that the terms are
synonymous. And a registry that has been untended for a long period of
time may benefit.

But like the "cleaners", Erunt, too, can cause problems. After its use
here, occasionally XP will crash during reboot. And no matter how many
times the tool is invoked, it always reports a reduction of 2% or so, in
my experience.

 

[Tom Lake]

But like the "cleaners", Erunt, too, can cause problems. After its use

here, occasionally XP will crash during reboot. And no matter how many
times the tool is invoked, it always reports a reduction of 2% or so, in
my experience.

Does that mean if you run it 50 times, you won't have any registry left?
;-)

 

[dev]

Tom Lake said:

Does that mean if you run it 50 times, you won't have any registry left?
;-)

Sure, if the process is similar to these gas saving strategies...

Buy low friction tires, and save two miles per gallon.
Use an additive and saved another mile.
Put in a special carb and lop off five miles a gallon.
Drive conservatively...

I knew a guy who did all this.
He came out to start the car and the gas tank had run over........

 

[Alex Nichol]

I've seen lots of utilities that claim to improve performance by compacting
the registry.

Is this a good idea and if it is which of the many programs available is the
most efficient and trouble free?

It has marginal effect in XP - there is so much in the registry that
getting rid of slack space has little effect. If you want to do it,
then the useful backup tool ERUNT from
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt
comes with NTREGOPT (and is free).

As far as registry *cleaning* goes, I suggest caution, and be sure that
*any* tool you try allows you to unwind what it did. Some are known to
delete things that are needed. I tried a new one that is in test, and
although it appears to have worked entirely correctly, the effect was
only about a 5% reduction in size, on a registry that had been growing
over two years, which is not to me worth the risks