K
kandinsky63
Hi
Can anyone recommend a good free registry cleaner.
Thanks
Can anyone recommend a good free registry cleaner.
Thanks
B
~BD~
kandinsky63 said:
I think you would be well advised to read here:
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=28099&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=registry+cleaners
HTH
Dave
--
K
kandinsky63
thanks for the advice. It just goes against advice offered by PC shops like
PC world, web sites and such like.
PC world, web sites and such like.
S
smlunatick
Avoid registry cleaner like the "plague." They tend to cause more
problems than they fix.
D
Daave
That should come as no surprise since PC World takes in ad revenue from
companies that develop and sell these largely unneeded programs!
companies that develop and sell these largely unneeded programs!
kandinsky63 said:
B
~BD~
kandinsky63 said:
Hey Ho!
I only referred you to the thread - I did *not* say that the comments there
are correct! (although they probably are!)
FWIW, Microsoft include a Registry check in their OneCare scanner, here:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm
Maybe you could try that (I have, lots of times!)
Dave
--
E
Edna
I've used Toni Arts EasyCleaner for a cpl yrs and never encountered a
problem.
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/EasyCleaner.ini
Of note is if u have MS Office, I have 2007, I've found in 2007 anyway,
Easycleaner deletes a file that necessitates MS Outlook to reconfigure itself
when first opened after using ECln. It didn't do this using Office 2003 -
not for me anyway. I'll post the file next time I see it so u can choose to
avoid deleting it.
It's an office file naturally lol and ends in something similar to
"OPI/12".
Also what i do too is right click the IE Desktop icon, click Properties,
Click Settings, Click View files and delete all the TIF files.
problem.
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/EasyCleaner.ini
Of note is if u have MS Office, I have 2007, I've found in 2007 anyway,
Easycleaner deletes a file that necessitates MS Outlook to reconfigure itself
when first opened after using ECln. It didn't do this using Office 2003 -
not for me anyway. I'll post the file next time I see it so u can choose to
avoid deleting it.
It's an office file naturally lol and ends in something similar to
"OPI/12".
Also what i do too is right click the IE Desktop icon, click Properties,
Click Settings, Click View files and delete all the TIF files.
B
Bruce Chambers
kandinsky63 said:
There's no such thing as a "good" registry cleaner, free or otherwise.
Why do you even think you'd ever need to clean 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.
A little further reading on the subject:
Why I don't use registry cleaners
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=643
AumHa Forums • View topic - AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry
Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
--
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
B
Bruce Chambers
~BD~ said:
Mind you, there's a reason Live One Care is being discontinued in the
very near future.
--
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
K
Ken Blake, MVP
I strongly recommend against *all* of them.
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
J
JS
Not a good idea.
Freeware registry cleaners can trash your PC at no cost $$$ to you.
Those registry cleaner utilities that cost money are best known
for cleaning your wallet and then trashing your PC.
Example #1
Ran a scan to count the number of entries in my PC's registry
Total was over 260,000
So if a registry cleaner (if it worked properly) removed say 1,000 entries
that would be less than one half of one percent space savings.
Example #2
I very recently ran a registry cleaner knowing in advance what some of the
fixes the cleaner should find and the suggested changes.
This was based on the fact I had uninstalled an application (knowing it
would leave some orphaned registry entries) and then reinstalled the same
application to a different directory location.
The cleaner's default suggested fix for the application's old directory
location (the orphaned entries) was to change these entries to the new
location, which was not necessary, so I manually deleted these entries.
Now here is where a registry cleaner could cause a real problem!
A few months ago I removed a large number but not all of the
$NtUninstallKBxxxxxx$ folders
(these are the folders and associated files left behind each time you
install the latest Windows Updates each month)
The cleaner reported the broken registry entries but the suggested fix was
to point the broken entries to remaining $NtUninstall files (on a random
basis) registry entries, thus royally screwing up the registry pointers. By
that I mean: if you go to uninstall (in rare cases) a MS KB patch that may
be giving you problems and due to the screwed up registry entry it instead
removes the wrong patch.
If the above isn't enough to convince you then read this:
AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
JS
http://www.pagestart.com
Freeware registry cleaners can trash your PC at no cost $$$ to you.
Those registry cleaner utilities that cost money are best known
for cleaning your wallet and then trashing your PC.
Example #1
Ran a scan to count the number of entries in my PC's registry
Total was over 260,000
So if a registry cleaner (if it worked properly) removed say 1,000 entries
that would be less than one half of one percent space savings.
Example #2
I very recently ran a registry cleaner knowing in advance what some of the
fixes the cleaner should find and the suggested changes.
This was based on the fact I had uninstalled an application (knowing it
would leave some orphaned registry entries) and then reinstalled the same
application to a different directory location.
The cleaner's default suggested fix for the application's old directory
location (the orphaned entries) was to change these entries to the new
location, which was not necessary, so I manually deleted these entries.
Now here is where a registry cleaner could cause a real problem!
A few months ago I removed a large number but not all of the
$NtUninstallKBxxxxxx$ folders
(these are the folders and associated files left behind each time you
install the latest Windows Updates each month)
The cleaner reported the broken registry entries but the suggested fix was
to point the broken entries to remaining $NtUninstall files (on a random
basis) registry entries, thus royally screwing up the registry pointers. By
that I mean: if you go to uninstall (in rare cases) a MS KB patch that may
be giving you problems and due to the screwed up registry entry it instead
removes the wrong patch.
If the above isn't enough to convince you then read this:
AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
JS
http://www.pagestart.com
J
John Barnett MVP
PC World and the like haven't a clue. The last time I went into a PC World
outlet I tied the salesman in knots (not literally
). There main aim is to
'sell you something.' Exactly the same as they keep pushing Norton Security.
PC World, et al, get a commission for every single copy of Norton they sell,
of course they are going to tell you its marvellous and you 'really' must
have it!
As for registry cleaners, just don't even go there!
--
--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com
The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
outlet I tied the salesman in knots (not literally
). There main aim is to'sell you something.' Exactly the same as they keep pushing Norton Security.
PC World, et al, get a commission for every single copy of Norton they sell,
of course they are going to tell you its marvellous and you 'really' must
have it!
As for registry cleaners, just don't even go there!
--
--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com
The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
kandinsky63 said:
L
*Laughingstar*
thank goodness ya'all are out there for us
M
Mike Hall - MVP
John Barnett MVP said:PC World and the like haven't a clue. The last time I went into a PC World
outlet I tied the salesman in knots (not literally
to 'sell you something.' Exactly the same as they keep pushing Norton
Security. PC World, et al, get a commission for every single copy of
Norton they sell, of course they are going to tell you its marvellous and
you 'really' must have it!
As for registry cleaners, just don't even go there!
--
--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com
The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable
for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of
the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
kandinsky63 said:
John
It is an offence to assault store staff as well you know, but I'll wager
that a good few customers have walked through the doors of PC World outlets
with intent to do severe damage to staff. The staff at PC World in Coventry
and Wednesbury used to drive me nuts..
--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx
R
Randem
Registry Cleaners are not for everyday usage and you should know what you
are looking at when the registry cleaner asks you if you want to remove
something. I have never had a problem with Registry Mechanic but I only use
it to cure know registry issues.
--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org
are looking at when the registry cleaner asks you if you want to remove
something. I have never had a problem with Registry Mechanic but I only use
it to cure know registry issues.
--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org
P
PA Bear [MS MVP]
[Here we go again...]
Think your Registry needs "cleaning" or "repairing"? Read
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099 and draw your own conclusions.
Think your Registry needs "cleaning" or "repairing"? Read
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099 and draw your own conclusions.
B
~BD~
PA Bear said:
*********************************************
Should we believe this then?
Dave
_____________________
It is contraindicated to use /* generic*/ Registry Cleaners!
G
Gerry
They used to make Nuts locally<G>. Do you still live in the West
Midlands Mike?
--
Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midlands Mike?
--
Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
G
Gerry
Now let have 40 verses of "The Bear came over the Mountain" <G>.
--
Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--
Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
B
~BD~
Perhaps I should have mentioned that this response was in connection to my
enquiry earlies in other newsgroups, viz:-
Should anyone here have ever read this thread:
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=28099&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=registry+cleaners
they will be aware that the gurus at Aumha do *not* support the use of
Registry cleaners - period!
You can therefore imagine my surprise when I read here .........
http://www.aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=37253 ......
*this* instruction being given by Mr Bill Castner:-
***********************************************
Quote:
1) Click on the following link and download the AntiVir Registry Cleaner to
your desktop
http://dl.antivir.de/down/windows/registrycleaner.zip
2) Create a folder on your desktop called Antivir and Unzip the file to your
desktop
3) Double-click on the file called RegCleaner.exe to run it
4) Since the program is German, you'll have to click on the button called
"keys asulesen" to search the registry for any issues. Then place checkmarks
next to the registry entries you wish to delete.
5) Finally, click on the button called "loschen" to delete the keys
6) Restart your computer.
***********************************************
Someone reading here may know of some reason(s) why, in this specific
instance, the use of this particular cleaner *has* been advocated.
I'd be very interested to know such reason(s) - if you'll share!
Dave
enquiry earlies in other newsgroups, viz:-
Should anyone here have ever read this thread:
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=28099&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=registry+cleaners
they will be aware that the gurus at Aumha do *not* support the use of
Registry cleaners - period!
You can therefore imagine my surprise when I read here .........
http://www.aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=37253 ......
*this* instruction being given by Mr Bill Castner:-
***********************************************
Quote:
1) Click on the following link and download the AntiVir Registry Cleaner to
your desktop
http://dl.antivir.de/down/windows/registrycleaner.zip
2) Create a folder on your desktop called Antivir and Unzip the file to your
desktop
3) Double-click on the file called RegCleaner.exe to run it
4) Since the program is German, you'll have to click on the button called
"keys asulesen" to search the registry for any issues. Then place checkmarks
next to the registry entries you wish to delete.
5) Finally, click on the button called "loschen" to delete the keys
6) Restart your computer.
***********************************************
Someone reading here may know of some reason(s) why, in this specific
instance, the use of this particular cleaner *has* been advocated.
I'd be very interested to know such reason(s) - if you'll share!
Dave
~BD~ said: