Free Reg cleaner available

[Just Me]

I was running RegEdit and found many references to old OCX's that I wrote
and will never use again.

Can't imagine how much more stuff there must be there from old applications
that will never again be on this machine.

Is there a free reg cleaner that you would recommend.

In the past I've used Norton (not free) but Norton put stuff all over the
computer (you'd think it was the reason you bought the computer) so I don't
want to use that on this machine.

Thanks in advance

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

I would not recommend a free, unsupported registry cleaner
for Windows XP. There is no need for one. However, the
registry cleaner/optimizer utility found in System Mechanic
(www.iolo.com) is a good one. Remember to backup your
current registry before performing any changes.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I was running RegEdit and found many references to old OCX's that I wrote
| and will never use again.
|
| Can't imagine how much more stuff there must be there from old applications
| that will never again be on this machine.
|
| Is there a free reg cleaner that you would recommend.
|
| In the past I've used Norton (not free) but Norton put stuff all over the
| computer (you'd think it was the reason you bought the computer) so I don't
| want to use that on this machine.
|
| Thanks in advance

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

The XP Registry manages itself. Using some of these so called 'cleaners'
can cause more problems than they are worth - including rendering a system
unbootable. I don't recommend using any of these 'cleaners' for the
Registry.

 

[Just Me]

"There is no need for one" - "the registry manages itself"

What is that all about.

Does the registry clean itself some how?

I was only going to get rid of things that I could reccognize,
but after your input decided to forget it.

Thanks

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Some Registry 'cleaners' remove entries from the Registry that shouldn't be
removed. One example is the Help files. The 'cleaning' program has to be
setup manually so as to leave those particular entries alone.

 

[Just Me]

Thanks

Hi

Some Registry 'cleaners' remove entries from the Registry that shouldn't
be removed. One example is the Help files. The 'cleaning' program has to
be setup manually so as to leave those particular entries alone.

--

Will Denny
MVP - Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Pivert]

Well "manages itself" : why then so many entries left over when apps
uninstall ! Over the time that makes many many useless entries.

I peridically do some cleaning ( but only delete what I knwo I have used and
uninstalled)

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Just Me - In my experience all of these Reg cleaners, even the best, are
fraught with danger. I advise against using them except in one specific
instance, that is when you have one that is capable of doing specific Reg
searches, and you NEED (not just WANT) to remove the remaining traces of
something that didn't get uninstalled correctly. (and you didn't have
foresight enough to install it using Total Uninstall,
http://www.geocities.com/ggmartau/tu.html or direct dwnld here:
http://files.webattack.com/localdl834/tun234.zip, in the first place.)

Lastly, if you must screw around with your Registry, then at least get
Erunt/Erdnt, and run it before you do the Reg clean. You'll then have a
true restore available to you. Read below to see why you might not just
using the Reg cleaner's restore:

Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/index.htm I've set it up to
take a scheduled backup each night at 12:01AM on a weekly round-robin basis,
and a Monthly on the 1st of each month. See here for how to set that up:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/erunt.txt, and for some
useful information about this subject.

This program is one of the best things around - saved my butt on many
occasions, and will also run very nicely from a DOS prompt (in case you've
done something that won't let you boot any more and need to revert to a
previous Registry) IF you're FAT32 OR have a DOS startup disk with NTFS
write drivers in an NTFS system. (There is also a way using the Recovery
Console to get back to being "bootable" even without separate DOS write NTFS
drivers, after which you can do a "normal" Erdnt restore.) (BTW, it also
includes a Registry defragger program). Free, and very, very highly
recommended.

FYI, quoting from the above document:

"Note: The "Export registry" function in Regedit is USELESS (!) to make a
complete backup of the registry. Neither does it export the whole registry
(for example, no information from the "SECURITY" hive is saved), nor can the
exported file be used later to replace the current registry with the old
one. Instead, if you re-import the file, it is merged with the current
registry, leaving you with an absolute mess of old and new registry keys.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

 

[Just Me]

Well "manages itself" : why then so many entries left over when apps
uninstall ! Over the time that makes many many useless entries.

I peridically do some cleaning
How?

( but only delete what I knwo I have used and
uninstalled)

 

[Just Me]

Thanks
I was only going to get rid of things that I caused to be put there - like
old OCX references.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

I use EasyCleaner. I haven't had any problems since version 1.7f.4, when
[[The infamous bug in Windows XP/ME that made help & support unusable after
registry clean ]]

EasyCleaner is now at V.2.0.6.373.
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm

Also consider....
ERUNT and NTREGOPT

ERUNT The Emergency Recovery Utility NT
Registry Backup and Restore for Windows NT/2000/2003/XP
NTREGOPT NT Registry Optimizer
Registry Optimization for Windows NT/2000/2003/XP
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I was running RegEdit and found many references to old OCX's that I
wrote and will never use again.

Can't imagine how much more stuff there must be there from old
applications that will never again be on this machine.

Is there a free reg cleaner that you would recommend.

In the past I've used Norton (not free) but Norton put stuff all
over the computer (you'd think it was the reason you bought the
computer) so I don't want to use that on this machine.

Thanks in advance

Having seen the results of inexperienced people using automated
registry "cleaners," I can only advise to you to avoid them all.

The only thing needed to safely clean your registry is knowledge
and Regedit.exe. 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.

I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment
far more than I would any automated registry cleaner.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Just Me]

All I want a cleaner to tell me is if the key points to something that does
not exist.

Thanks

 

[John Ski]

Subject: Re: Free Reg cleaner available

From: " Just Me" (e-mail address removed)
Date: 10/7/2004 9:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id: <#[email protected]>

All I want a cleaner to tell me is if the key points to something that does
not exist.

Thanks

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
***Arthur C. Clarke***