registry cleaner

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sam
  • Start date Start date
Is there a good free registry cleaner available. Thanks
Click to expand...

RegSeeker has NEVER let me down.
I run it and CrapCleaner about twice
a month and all I have to re-install is
my FedEx Kinkos print driver for my
Desktop Publishing Software.

DB
 
You may need to print this.

I use all these cleaners for W2K/XP, each one specialises in a
different area.

Do not be supprised if hundreds of files are found.

Files are either removed to the programs backup or the Recycle Bin (
make sure the Recycle Bin is empty, before using the cleaners, that way
you know the files you have removed )

All ( except DustBuster ) allow you to restore them back into the
system, either by right clicking on the reg file in the programs folder
( example Regclean & OleClean > Windows Explorer > Unzipped, click on
either RegClean or OleClean ) & clicking on Merge.

jv16 PowerTools, RegCleaner & RegSeeker both store in Backup on their
main page.
Opening Backup allows you to either Restore or Delete.

EasyCleaner removes to the Recycle Bin & by opening the Recycle Bin,
right clicking on the files & clicking Restore.
Has an Update button. Checks you have the latest version & blacklist.

CCleaner, one advantage of this cleaner is, when Issues is clicked &
the boxes ticked, it will tell you before you fix ( doing one file at a
time ) why the file is there.
Configure the Windows, Applications & Issues panels to suit.

RegScrub
Click on Restore, click the backup to be restored, click on Restore
Selected backups.

DustBuster
Very quick, if you want to know what it cleaned, takes about 1 min to
clean ( depends on the speed of your comp ) you have about 4 seconds to
read the message displayed, when it is finished. Don't use whilst
online.

Find Junk Files
I use only > Find Dead Links, which is part of Find Junk Files. Start >
Programs.

Backups
Once you are sure they are not needed again ( about one week ) they can
be deleted.

=============================

jv16 PowerTools 1.3.0.195, which doesn't expire.
http://spazioinwind.libero.it/puntocr/dwl/jv16pt_setup.exe
http://down.hengshui.com/download.asp?downid=1&id=726
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page7.html
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/index.html#jv16
http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/sys.htm
Click on Registry tool > Tools > Registry Cleaner > Continue > Start.
When finished, Click on Select > Special select > Items that should be
safe to remove > Remove.

Or, the renamed later version ( dos'nt hurt to use both )
RegCleaner
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/dload/RegCleaner.zip
RegCleaner 4.3.0.780 ( last freeware version ) OS: Win9x/NT/ME/2000/XP
Click on Tools > Registry Cleanup > Do them All
When finished, click on Select > All, then down the bottom, click on >
Remove Selected.

==================================

RegClean
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download458.html
http://www.download.com/3000-2094-881470.html
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,4666,00.asp
Microsoft's RegClean ( freeware ) very conservative.
By default it puts the 3 files into Windows Temp.
I prefer them in Unzipped.
Right click in an empty space in Unzipped, select Folder & name it
RegClean.
Now when you click unzip ( during install ) select the new folder.
To use, you can either open up the folder & doubleclick on RegClean or
right click & make a shortcut to your desktop & then put it anywhere
you like.

===========================

OleClean ( Freeware. I tick all 8 boxes in Options )
http://www.majorgeeks.com/OleClean_d452.html
http://www.geocities.com/maurizioferreira/oleclean.html
http://www.webgrid.co.uk/system_13.html
http://www.webgrid.co.uk/index.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=oleclean

===============================

CCleaner
http://www.ccleaner.com/
CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimisation tool. That
removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing it to
run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The
best part is that it's fast! (normally taking less that a second to
run) and Free. :) Windows 95/98/NT4/ME/2000/XP/2003
Myth - "Deleting the contents of the Prefetch directory in Windows XP
will speed up the boot process"
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/XPMyths.html
Warning - Recently CCleaner has added a performance slowing cleaning
option, cleaning "Old Prefetch Data".

=================================

RegSeeker
http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm
RegSeeker is a perfect companion for your Windows registry!
RegSeeker includes a powerful registry cleaner and can display various
informations like your startup entries, several histories (even
index.dat files), installed applications and much more! With RegSeeker
you can search for any item inside your registry, export/delete the
results, open them in the registry. RegSeeker also includes a tweaks
panel to optimize your OS! RegSeeker is FREE for personal use only!
Click on Clean the Registry & tick ( new version 1.45 has this already
ticked > Scan Drives for old exe entries in the registry. Click OK.
My personal use, is to, delete only the Green entries.
Click on Select All and choose > Select all Green items.
Right click to delete.

=========================================

EasyCleaner
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm
Click on Unnecessary.
I tick > Normal types, Extra types & Temp directories.
Don't use Duplicate files unless you really know what your doing.
If you try & remove a file that is being used, it will after about a 15
second delay, inform you so & will not delete.

==================================

RegScrubXP
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2048
http://www.sofotex.com/RegScrubXP-download_L7528.html
Registry Cleaner for Windows XP/2000 Systems (under development is a
version that will run in
Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP)
I have made it very easy for you to backup the registry prior to using
RegScrubXP. This backup process uses Microsoft's reg.exe program.
Follow these directions:
Go into the folder where RegScrubXP was installed.
Double-click on these two programs: HKLM.cmd and HKCU.cmd
You should see two files created: HKLM.reg and HKCU.reg
Copy these two files to a safe place.
If you ever need to fully restore your registry back to normal,
double-click on HKLM.reg and HKCU.reg to fully restore your registry as
it was before you used RegScrubXP.

==================================

DustBuster
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?id=1182&file=11&evp=bfd7730c44fba586eaed019edd92d63c
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?id=1182&file=10&evp=bfd7730c44fba586eaed019edd92d63c
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?id=1182&file=12&evp=bfd7730c44fba586eaed019edd92d63c
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?id=1182&file=9&evp=bfd7730c44fba586eaed019edd92d63c
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?id=1182&file=13&evp=bfd7730c44fba586eaed019edd92d63c
http://majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?id=1182&file=14&evp=bfd7730c44fba586eaed019edd92d63c
DustBuster is a garbage file removing utility for Microsoft Windows
operating systems. It searches for junk files and temp files that are
of no use and are just taking space on your hard drive. Based on a
"common sense" scanning technology, DustBuster now cleans over 1500
different types of useless temp files and directories in a single
click, detecting and deleting all these unneeded files automatically.
This will increase hard disk space on Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/2003.

==================================

Find Junk Files
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Find_Junk_Files_d1953.html
Find Junk Files is a user-friendly utility designed to free up disk
space by deleting useless junk files.
Each time you use your PC, unwanted files are created that increasingly
use more space on
your hard drive.
Find Junk Files can find more than 165 types of junk files with ease.
Unlike many other programs Find Junk Files will let you choose which
drive or drives to clean, which file types to search for, and what
folders to include or exclude.

==================================

Binman
http://steveseymour.0catch.com/
http://anothermirror.tripod.com/free.htm
Seeks out the rubbish left behind by other programs. Use regularly it
will save space. It can auto run at times set by you. Cleans
automatically at boot up.

Or, ( dos'nt hurt to use both )

XP
Auto Delete Temporary Folder
http://www.tweakxp.com/display.aspx?id=2021

First go into gpedit.msc ( only available in the Pro version of XP )

Start > Run, type in > gpedit.msc & press Enter.

Next select -> Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows
Components/Terminal Services/Temporary Folder

Then right click "Do Not Delete Temp Folder Upon Exit"

Go to properties and hit disable.

Now next time Windows puts a temp file in that folder it will
automatically delete it when its done!
 
Is there a good free registry cleaner available. Thanks
Click to expand...

I have at least half a dozen on my system, but if I were to choose
only one, it would be RegSeeker, no contest.

http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm

Most of the time, I just use the "Clean the Registry" option every few
weeks. Less often (but far more important) I use the "Find in
Registry" option and other tools to track down stray keys that are
causing a problem (file associations are one example) when other
methods just won't work.

A WORD OF CAUTION: the "Clean the Registry" option gives you a choice
of deleting the "Red" or "Green" keys or both. SOME people have
reported problems after deleting "Red" keys, although I have never
experienced that in years of use with 98,98SE, XP Home, and XPH SP2 on
several computers.

What I would RECOMMEND, given the above, is to delete the "Green" keys
at first, then later, when you have time, browse the "Red" keys and
decide if you want to selectively delete them or (as in my experience)
if they're of no particular consequence, delete them all.

And of course, standard disclaimer applies about making changes to the
registry. Since you're using XP SP2, I'd at least create a restore
point before cleaning with TegSeeker the first time.
 
Don Boring said:
RegSeeker has NEVER let me down.
I run it and CrapCleaner about twice
a month and all I have to re-install is
my FedEx Kinkos print driver for my
Desktop Publishing Software.

DB
Click to expand...

Why do you have to re-install this driver when you could add it to the
Exclusion List?

===

Frank Bohan
¶ Stock Exchange Shipping lines stayed at an even keel.
 
Ron said:
I have at least half a dozen on my system, but if I were to choose
only one, it would be RegSeeker, no contest.

http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm

Most of the time, I just use the "Clean the Registry" option every few
weeks. Less often (but far more important) I use the "Find in
Registry" option and other tools to track down stray keys that are
causing a problem (file associations are one example) when other
methods just won't work.

A WORD OF CAUTION: the "Clean the Registry" option gives you a choice
of deleting the "Red" or "Green" keys or both. SOME people have
reported problems after deleting "Red" keys, although I have never
experienced that in years of use with 98,98SE, XP Home, and XPH SP2 on
several computers.

What I would RECOMMEND, given the above, is to delete the "Green" keys
at first, then later, when you have time, browse the "Red" keys and
decide if you want to selectively delete them or (as in my experience)
if they're of no particular consequence, delete them all.

And of course, standard disclaimer applies about making changes to the
registry. Since you're using XP SP2, I'd at least create a restore
point before cleaning with TegSeeker the first time.
Click to expand...

I have been doing that (green entries) a few times in W98SE, no real problems.

I did it in ME, now have recycled bin issue, on a ME ng the comment is heard
again, unwise to EVER use cleaners except to clean specific residue of a
uninstalled program. This is not a new comment, I've heard it before, if you have
a neat clean registry with no dust, wonderful, but you're very lucky you still
have an OS.

Comment?

Mike Sa
 
I have been doing that (green entries) a few times in W98SE, no real problems.

I did it in ME, now have recycled bin issue, on a ME ng the comment is heard
again, unwise to EVER use cleaners except to clean specific residue of a
uninstalled program. This is not a new comment, I've heard it before, if you have
a neat clean registry with no dust, wonderful, but you're very lucky you still
have an OS.

Comment?

Mike Sa
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear you had problems. Yours is the first comment I've
personally seen about a problem with deleting "green" entries.

I don't know if these are USEFUL comments, but FWIW:

(1) My experience with Win ME is virtually zero. From a second-hand
perspective, I've seen a lot of negative comments from ME users about
that version of Windows compared to 95/98/NT/2K/XP, mainly because it
tried to be more like the NT-based OS's, but it WASN'T NT-based. That
may be an oversimplification, but it SEEMS (at least anecdotally) that
ME is more problem-prone in many ways than other Windows versions.

(2) I included the "standard disclaimer" about making registry changes
because I know from experience that registry problems, when they
happen, can be serious. One uninstall of a piece of "crapware" when I
was running Win98 messed things up so bad I had to reinstall the OS.
It took the better part of a weekend to put things back the way they
were. Another time, on XP, a registry compacting tool (NOT RegSeeker)
kept me from a normal reboot. That time it only took about 10-15
minutes total to figure it out, boot into safe mode, pick a restore
point, reboot again normally, then DELETE the "pos" compactor! <g>

(3) Cleaning the registry is not a real priority for me. I do it (as
noted above) every few weeks when I think about it. I don't know if
it has any benefits performance-wise. There are obviously two schools
of thought on that point. It's one small part of a very generalized
overall maintenance plan I follow to keep things as clean as possible.

(4) More important than routine cleaning, there have been MANY
occasions when RegSeeker has saved hours of my time in correcting
major and minor registry-related annoyances and issues. It is SO easy
(and fast) to find and edit or delete a registry entry with RegSeeker
than with other tools I've used, especially when a particular entry is
DELIBERATELY made difficult to locate and correct. For THAT purpose,
IMHO, RegSeeker is to the registry as Google is to the web -- fast and
spot-on accurate in finding what you need if you use the right search
terms.
 
(4) More important than routine cleaning, there have been MANY
occasions when RegSeeker has saved hours of my time in correcting
major and minor registry-related annoyances and issues. It is SO easy
(and fast) to find and edit or delete a registry entry with RegSeeker
than with other tools I've used, especially when a particular entry is
DELIBERATELY made difficult to locate and correct. For THAT purpose,
IMHO, RegSeeker is to the registry as Google is to the web -- fast and
spot-on accurate in finding what you need if you use the right search
terms.
Click to expand...

Ron, thanks for good info.

I also am not a fan of ME. I have it on a second used computer, when I feel braver
I will format and install W98SE. I am having a new computer built to run W98SE.

Mike Sa

Mike Sa
 
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