Registry Cleaners.

[PVR]

I have used these to scan my registry. Many errors (1700) were
reported. Are these things safe to clean the Registry? Can this
cleaning be done by XP or Vista?

Peter.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have used these to scan my registry. Many errors (1700) were
reported. Are these things safe to clean the Registry? Can this
cleaning be done by XP or Vista?

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

 

[someone]

If there's one thing I learned from these NGs is NEVER use a registry
cleaner. They are not safe. I'm sure one of the experts will soon chime in
to confirm my statement.

 

[John John (MVP)]

Are you having problems with your computer?

John

 

[Peter Foldes]

PVR

Never but never use any automated Registry Cleaning tools. They are all snake oil
remedies.You can get the OS into an unbootable state

What problem(s) are you experiencing

 

[John Barnett MVP]

No registry cleaners are not safe, leave well alone. You got 1700 errors
with the registry cleaner you used, another one would probably tell you that
you had 4,000 errors and yet another one would tell you you had 400. They
cause more problems than they cure and they certainly are not necessary. I
certainly do not recommend them.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org

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..

 

[PVR]

Yes, I am suddenly seeing a box called "Windows Installer" when I
start the computer. This tries to install "Instantshare." Apparently
this is on a CD. I have not needed Instantshare for 3-4 years and I
see no need for it now. This process attempt slows my computer
enormously.

How do I prevent this "Windows Installer" from appearing when I boot?

Overall, my computer (HP Pavilion laptop with XP/3) has been getting
much slower recently.

Peter.

 

[PVR]

Many thanks to all who responded. Opinions were unequivocal. "Don't us
Registry Cleaners!"

Peter.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have used these to scan my registry. Many errors (1700) were
reported. Are these things safe to clean the Registry? Can this
cleaning be done by XP or Vista?

Peter.

There is no such thing as a "good" (meaning useful or beneficial)
registry cleaner, free or otherwise. Some are less harmful than others,
but because they're all nothing but snake oil, I won't recommend any.

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

 

[Noel Paton]

You probably have malware!

To borrow from Malke (well, steal really - sorry Malke!)
<quote>

Go through these general malware removal steps systematically -
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Include scanning with David Lipman's Multi_AV and follow instructions to do
all scans in Safe Mode. Please see the special Notes regarding using
Multi_AV in Vista.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Multi-AV - instructions
http://tinyurl.com/yoeru3 - download link and more instructions

When all else fails, get guided help. Choose one of the specialty forums
listed at the first link. Register and read its posting FAQ. PLEASE DO NOT
POST LOGS IN THE MS NEWSGROUPS.

If you can't do the work yourself (and there is no shame in admitting this
isn't your cup of tea), take the machine to a professional computer repair
shop (not your local equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). Please be
aware that not all local shops are skilled at removing malware and even if
they are, your computer may be so infested that Windows will need to be
clean-installed. If possible, have all your data backed up before you take
the machine into a shop.
<unquote>

 

[John John (MVP)]

Try here:
http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-xp/77440-instantshare-keeps-trying-load.html

or here:
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&...h&cx=partner-pub-7728182332040300:8y6jzw-umnw

or:
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&...snum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Instant+Share&spell=1

John

 

[Peter Foldes]

Try this Tool from MS to stop the installer from coming up

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

 

[John Barnett MVP]

Not only have a seen various differences in the amount of registry entries
that have needed cleaning but, more importantly, I have been emailed many
horror stories of people who have ignored the advice of not using registry
cleaner, have gone ahead and have been unable to boot their machine after
using the said registry cleaners. So while we say categorically 'do not use
registry cleaners' those that decide to ignore that advice do so at their
own peril.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk
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..

 

[Twayne]

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:

Lots of pure BS. See inline reality:

No, unfortunately, XP/Vista don't natively have such a feature but MS
has recently re-released such a product under a new name, though I've
forgotten the new name for it. It used to be One Care.

Registry cleaning programs are *all* snake oil.

No, they are not. There are some very good, and reliable such programs.
This person has a closed mind and apparently zero experience with same.

Cleaning of the

registry isn't needed and is dangerous.

Not with a branded, reliable program, it's not. Grab just any old junk
and it might be, like any other software package.

Leave the registry alone and

don't use any registry cleaner.

Silly. With so many problems I'd want to look at them to see what they
are, but chances are good they're all going to relate to no longer
installed programs that you'll recognize and no longer need.

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.

But he has zero, nada, no, evidence of any kind to support such claims
as made here. He simply feels that everyone should trust him because
he's an MVP title near his name. And he's wrong, in addition to that
being only one of the spectors of this sort of a situation.

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.

And that's completely naive and silly. Not only do the good ones all
allow you to undo their changes, but the even of any damage to the
system occurring is no more than that of any other software program or
program installation, use, whatever. He is completely wrong.

Read http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html

Ahh, there's a surely reliable, trusted expert source, eh? If I'm not
mistaken your infamous author of this last response simply spews the
same silly rhetoric there as he did here.

Watch out for him; his ignorance on this subject is really high and over
several years he has never backed it uip with a single bit of supporting
data or any information at all other than to offer his own opinions and
repeat his stolen boilerplated, now changed a little, spew against
cleaners.

 

[Twayne]

If there's one thing I learned from these NGs is NEVER use a registry
cleaner. They are not safe. I'm sure one of the experts will soon
chime in to confirm my statement.

Oh, there are a couple that will "confirm" your statement all right.

 

[Twayne]

I have used these to scan my registry. Many errors (1700) were
reported. Are these things safe to clean the Registry? Can this
cleaning be done by XP or Vista?

Peter.

As with any software, there are lots of good ones, lots of bad one, and
lots of crapware and fraudware out there to choose from. They could do
anything from a great job to sending the world all your personal
information and hold your machine hostage until you paid a fee to get
control of it back. You do need to choose the proper tool for the job.

That's an awfully large number of errors. In order to be able to judge
whether it's safe to clean the registry of them, it would be necessary
to know with what you would use to clean it. Unfortunately, neither XP
nor Vista has that capability natively, but MS does make such a tool if
you can chase down it's name which I forget at the moment.

Has that machine ever had a registry scan done on it? I suspect not
from the number of errors. There just isn't enough information here to
judge what to do for sure.
One thing you should do ASAP is a backup of your important data in
case there are serious errors that are endangering the use of the
machine.
What caused you to run a scan in the first place?

I think more details of your current status and issues would get you
much better answers.

Regards,

Twayne

 

[Twayne]

PVR

Never but never use any automated Registry Cleaning tools. They are
all snake oil remedies.You can get the OS into an unbootable state

Another ignorant, closed mind heard from with nothing to back it up.
ANY program can put your computer into an unbootable state under the
right circumstances such as poorly authored, inexperience, all sorts of
things.
Got any data to back up that claim?

What problem(s) are you experiencing

That's a good question, and I second it.

Why did you ignore has last question? You offered misinformation, then
asked a good question, and ignored anwering any of the OP's questions.
Is that what you call helping?

Twayne

 

[Twayne]

No registry cleaners are not safe, leave well alone. You got 1700
errors with the registry cleaner you used, another one would probably
tell you that you had 4,000 errors and yet another one would tell you
you had 400. They cause more problems than they cure and they
certainly are not necessary. I certainly do not recommend them.

Not a thing wrong with not recommending them. But your other statements
are patently false. I can show you three of them that come up with the
same number of errors each time. Heck, it's not rocket science;
registry management is really rather simple in nature, just voluminous.

Twayne

 

[Twayne]

Not only have a seen various differences in the amount of registry
entries that have needed cleaning but, more importantly, I have been
emailed many horror stories of people who have ignored the advice of
not using registry cleaner, have gone ahead and have been unable to
boot their machine after using the said registry cleaners. So while
we say categorically 'do not use registry cleaners' those that decide
to ignore that advice do so at their own peril.

I have used registry cleaners since they first came out for windows. I
have NEVER, EVER had a problem created by any of them. There IS the
possibility, as with chkdsk and other programs that delve deeply into
the system, for a miscalc, but as long as they can be undone, which all
the good cleaners provide for, it becomes a reather moot detail. I've
never needed the undo feature, but if/when I do, it'll be there for me.
That said, I have used it a time or two, just to recheck that the issues
I thought it fixed were indeed what I had judged them to be.

You guys are jokes with such a closed minded dismissal of something that
stares you in the face as your being wrong every day of your lives.
Folks like you are simply warts on the ass of progress and nothing more.
Well, ignoring the damage to your credibility by the thousands who know
better but don't speak up becuase you feel you're so good at your put
downs. Pure misinformation, that's all you've given.

 

[Twayne]

There's that ignorance and bald faced lies again from one who couldn't
make it as an MVP. Your'e so lazy I doubt you even remember what's in
the phony boilerplate you like to spew your misinformation with.
I have noticed the only thing you post on anymore is cleaners; losing
it are you?
You're nothing but a joke and a wart on the ass of progress anymore.

And thank you once more for this opportunity.

Twayne