registery cleaners are they helpful?

[Guest]

IF THEY ARE I WANT ONE THAT PASSED BY MICROSOFT OR CLOSE TO THEM

 

[antioch]

IF THEY ARE I WANT ONE THAT PASSED BY MICROSOFT OR CLOSE TO THEM

My own personal view:

I do not let any registry cleaner etc on my one and only computer.
If I get a problem then I fix it - if it aint broke dont fix it - and that
includes RM.
If a computer owner, like me, has only basic user skills, and do not know
what goes on in the Registry, then the last thing they should use is a tool
to do it.
The problem with me(and thousands of others) of limited techno ability, is
that I have no idea what goes on in registry.
Until I am able to learn the hidden secrets in there I do not enter unless
held by the hand by somebody far more capable.
More damage can be caused than good done - it has been widely posted that
such a prog. gives a user no particular benefit.
Whether or not one gains any significant performance is questionable - I
have read more posts/articles to say that performing a registry clean does
not enhance performance to any degree.
In every thread I have read in newsgroups in the last 2
years or more, the advice has come down against these Reg Cleaners. What
your opinion is of MVP's, I do not know, but I have come to know the ones I
can trust - and most caution against their usage.
I have no problem with those who recommend/support or whatever the use of
these cleaners.
I just wish they would point out the other side of the coin to those who may
not have a clue what they are doing.
I sometimes wonder if they ever consider the capabilities of the poster to
whom they reply.
When I had my rush of blood to the head I had not heard of 'backup' and
there was no such thing as System Restore.

Antioch

What others say:

Bruce Chambers
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 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 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.
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.
Further, no one has ever demonstrated, to my satisfaction, that the use of
an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained, inexperienced
computer user, does any real good. 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.
I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment far more
than I would any automated registry cleaner. I strongly encourage others to
acquire the knowledge, as well.


Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
I always recommend against the routine use of registry cleaners.
Routine cleaning of the registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the
registry alone and don't use a 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.
Your advice is probably good, but I wish that providers of application
software would do a lot better job with their uninstall facilities.
I wish so too, but the lack of thoroughness in this by so many different
companies tells me that doing what we would want them to probably isn't as
easy as we might think.
If you are adding and removing software on a regular basis, your
registry can become very bloated by remnants of entries that are left when
applications are removed or updated.
Yes, but that's exactly my point. Yes, there are extra left-over unused
entries in the registry. But so what? They don't hurt in you in any way.
It's sort of like going to the library and looking for "Crime and
Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Whether that's the only book by Dostevsky
there or there are several others, there's no appreciable difference in how
long it takes you to find the one you want.

Katy Pluta, MS_MVP
What I recommend against is the indiscriminate use of those cleaners without
a back-up... Few things left over in the registry are harmful and it is so
much easier to create a mess while tinkering with it.
General myths with the cleaning of the registry: do it regularly like
defragging in every situation. Unless you install/un-install lots of
software all the time, there is no need to check the registry more than once
every few months...
Some cleaners are a bit like some anti-spyware finding hundreds of
"dangerous cookies", finding a lot of false positives or completely
unharmful entries just to boost their search results and look more
efficient, make sure you research which utility to use before either
spending money and/or messing with such important files on your system.
If you start cleaning your registry you have to make back-ups with every
change/installation. Say you have a restore point a month old and a problem
starts appearing from the cleaning you made at that time, all the changes in
between will be lost, cleaning the registry pushes you to have small
incremental back-ups regularly if you want to keep secure.
Also just cleaning the registry leaves empty spaces in the files, if you are
after better performance it is more important to compact it to remove
fragments..
It is all a trade-off, frankly with the hardware and prices today if
you can't use your computer comfortably without resorting to W95 tactics to
get performance out of it, It would be better to upgrade the hardware than
risk loosing data while tweaking. Just make sure you research what you are
doing


Rock [ MVP User/Shell]
Be careful with registry cleaners. They can cause more problems than they
solve. Best to avoid them. There have been several posts in the past
couple of days where the system was messed up as a result of using a
registry cleaner.


Vic Baron
I used to make my living as a computer consultant - still do a bit here and
there. Your attitude re the registry is a smart one. More people should have
it.
Working in the registry is relatively simple if you're aware of what you're
doing. The problem is that one little mistake or keystroke can completely
trash your system. The registry cleaners are, IMHO, for the most part very
safe. BUT before you delete anything, you should understand what you're
doing. The traditional registry clean is "orphaned" files or dead links -
they are *usually* quite safe to delete but not always and that's the
problem.
Anyhow, I agree with your sentiment Antioch, it is a wise one.
As a word of advice, before you do anything in the registry - back it up -
at least if you don't screw it up too badly you can recover.
Just MHO,

 

[Shaun]

Used one for years with no problems. I test programs and when done with the
uninstall I use one to remove the leftover junk. The junk in certain
situations can cause install problems.
If you are not aware of what problems reg cleaners can cause, don't use.

IF THEY ARE I WANT ONE THAT PASSED BY MICROSOFT OR CLOSE TO THEM

My own personal view:

I do not let any registry cleaner etc on my one and only computer.
If I get a problem then I fix it - if it aint broke dont fix it - and that
includes RM.
If a computer owner, like me, has only basic user skills, and do not know
what goes on in the Registry, then the last thing they should use is a
tool
to do it.
The problem with me(and thousands of others) of limited techno ability, is
that I have no idea what goes on in registry.
Until I am able to learn the hidden secrets in there I do not enter unless
held by the hand by somebody far more capable.
More damage can be caused than good done - it has been widely posted that
such a prog. gives a user no particular benefit.
Whether or not one gains any significant performance is questionable - I
have read more posts/articles to say that performing a registry clean does
not enhance performance to any degree.
In every thread I have read in newsgroups in the last 2
years or more, the advice has come down against these Reg Cleaners. What
your opinion is of MVP's, I do not know, but I have come to know the ones
I
can trust - and most caution against their usage.
I have no problem with those who recommend/support or whatever the use of
these cleaners.
I just wish they would point out the other side of the coin to those who
may
not have a clue what they are doing.
I sometimes wonder if they ever consider the capabilities of the poster to
whom they reply.
When I had my rush of blood to the head I had not heard of 'backup' and
there was no such thing as System Restore.

Antioch

What others say:

Bruce Chambers
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 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 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.
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.
Further, no one has ever demonstrated, to my satisfaction, that the use of
an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained, inexperienced
computer user, does any real good. 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.
I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment far more
than I would any automated registry cleaner. I strongly encourage others
to
acquire the knowledge, as well.


Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
I always recommend against the routine use of registry cleaners.
Routine cleaning of the registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the
registry alone and don't use a 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.
Your advice is probably good, but I wish that providers of application
software would do a lot better job with their uninstall facilities.
I wish so too, but the lack of thoroughness in this by so many different
companies tells me that doing what we would want them to probably isn't as
easy as we might think.
If you are adding and removing software on a regular basis, your
registry can become very bloated by remnants of entries that are left when
applications are removed or updated.
Yes, but that's exactly my point. Yes, there are extra left-over unused
entries in the registry. But so what? They don't hurt in you in any way.
It's sort of like going to the library and looking for "Crime and
Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Whether that's the only book by
Dostevsky
there or there are several others, there's no appreciable difference in
how
long it takes you to find the one you want.

Katy Pluta, MS_MVP
What I recommend against is the indiscriminate use of those cleaners
without
a back-up... Few things left over in the registry are harmful and it is so
much easier to create a mess while tinkering with it.
General myths with the cleaning of the registry: do it regularly like
defragging in every situation. Unless you install/un-install lots of
software all the time, there is no need to check the registry more than
once
every few months...
Some cleaners are a bit like some anti-spyware finding hundreds of
"dangerous cookies", finding a lot of false positives or completely
unharmful entries just to boost their search results and look more
efficient, make sure you research which utility to use before either
spending money and/or messing with such important files on your system.
If you start cleaning your registry you have to make back-ups with every
change/installation. Say you have a restore point a month old and a
problem
starts appearing from the cleaning you made at that time, all the changes
in
between will be lost, cleaning the registry pushes you to have small
incremental back-ups regularly if you want to keep secure.
Also just cleaning the registry leaves empty spaces in the files, if you
are
after better performance it is more important to compact it to remove
fragments..
It is all a trade-off, frankly with the hardware and prices today if
you can't use your computer comfortably without resorting to W95 tactics
to
get performance out of it, It would be better to upgrade the hardware than
risk loosing data while tweaking. Just make sure you research what you are
doing


Rock [ MVP User/Shell]
Be careful with registry cleaners. They can cause more problems than they
solve. Best to avoid them. There have been several posts in the past
couple of days where the system was messed up as a result of using a
registry cleaner.


Vic Baron
I used to make my living as a computer consultant - still do a bit here
and
there. Your attitude re the registry is a smart one. More people should
have
it.
Working in the registry is relatively simple if you're aware of what
you're
doing. The problem is that one little mistake or keystroke can completely
trash your system. The registry cleaners are, IMHO, for the most part very
safe. BUT before you delete anything, you should understand what you're
doing. The traditional registry clean is "orphaned" files or dead links -
they are *usually* quite safe to delete but not always and that's the
problem.
Anyhow, I agree with your sentiment Antioch, it is a wise one.
As a word of advice, before you do anything in the registry - back it up -
at least if you don't screw it up too badly you can recover.
Just MHO,

 

[peter]

Judging by your 2 posts and the distinct lack of info in either post I do
not think you have the knowledge to run any Registry Cleaner.I feel in your
hands that piece of software is a dangerous thing.

peter

 

[You Know Who ~]

The registry holds settings for virtually all hardware and software. the
registry has several components, in windows xp the largest one is user.dat
or NTUSER.dat (check out the size of the file)

Unfortunately, when you un-install a program it often does NOT remove
settings from the registry, so it can become quite bloated. And in some
cases, having false registry entries can cause problems. Using a registry
cleaner makes sense if you install and un-install a lot of programs or
devices. Messing with the registry can do damage, which is why most folks
will tell you to leave it alone.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

IF THEY ARE I WANT ONE THAT PASSED BY MICROSOFT OR CLOSE TO THEM

Why would you even think that you need to clean your registry?

What specific problem(s) are you experiencing that you believe will
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. Why use a shotgun 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 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 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.

The only thing needed to safely maintain 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 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.

Further, and more importantly, no one has ever demonstrated, to my
satisfaction, that the use of any automated registry "cleaner,"
particularly by an untrained, inexperienced computer user, does any real
good. 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.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



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

 

[Edward W. Thompson]

IF THEY ARE I WANT ONE THAT PASSED BY MICROSOFT OR CLOSE TO THEM

It clearly depends what you mean by 'helpful'. If you think that by
'cleaning' the Registry of unneeded entries then it is likely a Registry
Cleaner will be helpful, if you think that by removing unneeded entries from
the Registry will somehow speed up WINXP then you will most likely be
disappointed.

With respect to Registry Cleaners being 'dangerous' that is not my
experience although the potential for problems clearly exist. As the
Registry is vital to the OS common sense demands it must be backed up before
changes to it are made. By 'backup' I mean a reliable copy of the Registry
made that can be reinstalled if a problem should occur. In this connection
you should not rely upon System Restore which is demonstrably unreliable; I
suggest ERUNT (freeware) should be used to provide a backup copy of the
Registry.