Registry Cleanup Software

[Lua]

Next you'll be telling me top posters aren't welcome either

They're not, but that ship has sailed in Microsoft-hosted newsgroups.

JV16 is "exactly" what the novice needs, rather than tinkering manually.
As for your statement "The advocacy of Registry Cleaners is frowned on
here" - all I can to that is what a load of bollox! How come it always
takes me only a few posts to find the self-appointed 'net policeman?

How come people who post disinformation always complain when they are
corrected, and accuse the helpful people who post corrections of
being "netcops" or (your variant) "net policemen"?

We _need_ folks like Ron as long as we have people posting error as
fact and misleading less sophisticated people.[/QUOTE]

True, but he shouldn't get so defensive or be offended when somebody has
the audacity to disagree with him.
Lu

 

[Lua]

Faster boot, faster shutdown, less "blue screens of death", less hangs etc.
Lu

Citations, please?

Let's have some hard numbers, not just repeating your ungrounded
assertions.[/QUOTE]

I can only tell you my experience, I don't care for writing or reading
reports:
Several times when I have experienced slow bootup's or shutdowns, a
thorough reg clean has fixed the problem (I didn't need a stopwatch to
notice the difference - it was massively obvious). That's good enough
for me.

Lu

 

[Lua]

No. Can you?

Well, I'll give you points for being honest when pushed to the wall,
which is better than many Net kooks do.[/QUOTE]


I don't need your points and I don't feel backed against a wall. In my
experience they (reg cleaners) do/can make a difference. I'll continue
to use and recommend them, you can have a slow computer.
Lu

 

[Stan Brown]

Citations, please?

Let's have some hard numbers, not just repeating your ungrounded
assertions.

I can only tell you my experience, I don't care for writing or reading
reports:[/QUOTE]

Well, it's a moot point since you've already admitted you're making
it up as you go along. Luckily, people who know more than you (and
most of them more than me) will continue to post corrections to your
disinformation, so that new users aren't led astray.


--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
"Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's
game because they almost always turn out to be -- or to be
indistinguishable from -- self-righteous sixteen-year-olds
possessing infinite amounts of free time."
-- Neil Stephenson, /Cryptonomicon/

 

[Lua]

Well, it's a moot point since you've already admitted you're making
it up as you go along. Luckily, people who know more than you (and
most of them more than me) will continue to post corrections to your
disinformation, so that new users aren't led astray.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're trolling -
otherwise you need help for your delusions.
Lu

 

[Guest]

I am currently using a prg PC Tools Registry Mechanic V5.0. This can be
downloaded from PC Tools website, ordered on CD and we find it good and quick
at keeping things tidy! Can be set to start on start up or auto run as
required by you.

I don't get paid by PC tools for mentioning their software but it is a good
prog.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I am currently using a prg PC Tools Registry Mechanic V5.0. This can
be downloaded from PC Tools website, ordered on CD and we find it
good and quick at keeping things tidy! Can be set to start on start
up or auto run as required by you.

I don't get paid by PC tools for mentioning their software but it is
a good prog.

My advice is the opposite of yours. I always recommend *against* the
routine use of registry cleaners, regardless of which they are. 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.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I am currently using a prg PC Tools Registry Mechanic V5.0. This can be
downloaded from PC Tools website, ordered on CD and we find it good and quick
at keeping things tidy! Can be set to start on start up or auto run as
required by you.

Snake Oil! Registry "cleaners" are used primarily by inexperienced
users to render their computers unusable.


--

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

 

[Lars-Erik Østerud]

Snake Oil! Registry "cleaners" are used primarily by inexperienced
users to render their computers unusable.

Strange, I clean both manual, with Norton WinDoctor and Registry
Mechanic. Never had any trouble (have backup of registry), and they
find A LOT of mess. Programs DO NOT clean up when beeing uninstalled.

And to much old entries and mess in the registry DOES slow things down
(and even create strange errors). Every mess needs cleaning some time.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Strange, I clean both manual, with Norton WinDoctor and Registry
Mechanic. Never had any trouble (have backup of registry),...

You've been very, very lucky, or else know better than to let such
products have free rein. Norton WinDoctor, in particular, causes far
more problems than it "fixes." I've seen this from personal experience,
many times, while helping customers undo the damage it's done.

.... and they
find A LOT of mess. Programs DO NOT clean up when beeing uninstalled.

No doubt, but such remnants are almost always harmless, unless one is
subsequently trying to install the same or a newer version of the
removed application. Using an automated "cleaner" to remove them is a
pointless waste of time, especially when the potential for harm is so great.

And to much old entries and mess in the registry DOES slow things down....

Please provide independent laboratory confirmation of this. No one
else has ever been able to do so, to date.

(and even create strange errors). Every mess needs cleaning some time.

The only other people to make such a claim are the scam artists selling
registry cleaners. No independent laboratory has ever produced a report
support this claim. Further, in more than decade of experience using
and supporting WinNT, Win2K, and WinXP, I've yet to encounter any
instance of a registry "cleaner" doing any good, whatsoever. I have,
however, seen lots of times when the use of such products caused
catastrophic results.


--

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

 

[Lars-Erik Østerud]

You've been very, very lucky, or else know better than to let such
products have free rein. Norton WinDoctor, in particular, causes far

Of course I review all the things they find before letting them delete
anything. And with 12 years of Windows knowledge I (hope that I) can
see if they suggest to remove anything important And backup

subsequently trying to install the same or a newer version of the
removed application. Using an automated "cleaner" to remove them is a

Appliction data is easily removed manually under the "Software" keys

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Of course I review all the things they find before letting them delete
anything. And with 12 years of Windows knowledge I (hope that I) can
see if they suggest to remove anything important And backup

That *IS* the only way to do it. Unfortunately, the average home
computer user doesn't care to invest the time to acquire the requisite
knowledge to use such things safely, or to make the precautionary back
ups. That's why I always everyone but experienced technicians to avoid
such products.

Appliction data is easily removed manually under the "Software" keys

Very true. Then why do you recommend the use of automated products to
accomplish this simple chore?

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 provides a warming placebo effect), I
generally 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.


--

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

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Of course I review all the things they find before letting them delete
anything. And with 12 years of Windows knowledge I (hope that I) can
see if they suggest to remove anything important And backup

Routine use of registry cleaners *is* dangerous. If they are used wisely by
an experienced user who first reviews the recommendations, and knows enough
to evaluate those recommendations, their dangers can certainly be mitigated.

Very few people know enough to use them this way. Most people who use them
use them blindly, and often get themselves into trouble. For that reason,
and also because the benefits they are supposed to bring are normally far
more imagined than real, I continue to recommend against them.

 

[Lars-Erik Østerud]

ups. That's why I always everyone but experienced technicians to avoid
such products.

So do my friends (they use me and another friend for all PC stuff

Very true. Then why do you recommend the use of automated products to
accomplish this simple chore?

For all other stuff But as always with Windows, caution and backup

 

[Lars-Erik Østerud]

Very few people know enough to use them this way. Most people who use them
use them blindly, and often get themselves into trouble. For that reason,

But this is also true for things like spyware scanners. I use 3
different spyware scanners. ALL of them has suggested removing stuff
or changing important settings that would have messed up my system!

But I have never seen this with any registry cleaner on any PC yet.

The truth possibly is that ALL search/clean/scan software is dangerous
if used by people that hardly know anything about Windows :-(

 

[R. McCarty]

There are literally thousands of Registry Cleaning tools available.

Here's the issue. You run Registry Cleaner A - it chooses 50 Keys
for removal. You run that same cleaner again, it now shows 7 more
keys to remove. You switch to Cleaner B - run it, it shows 17 keys
to remove, re-run it and it's possible you'll find even more keys. What
that illustrates to me is Registry Cleaners are subjective. They do not
have absolute determination of what is valid and what is not. To me
Registry Cleaning is like peeling an onion. The more you run it, the
deeper it starts peeling away layers of keys/values.

The real problem is lousy uninstallers that leave content behind.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

But this is also true for things like spyware scanners. I use 3
different spyware scanners. ALL of them has suggested removing stuff
or changing important settings that would have messed up my system!

But I have never seen this with any registry cleaner on any PC yet.

The truth possibly is that ALL search/clean/scan software is dangerous
if used by people that hardly know anything about Windows :-(

Perhaps so, but I don't agree that all the dangers are equal.

 

[Guest]

As you can see, I'm coming very, very late to this thread. But a lot of good
points have been expressed.

Shenan gives a lot of information. Some of it is helpful. Some is not. But
it's a noble effort. Bottom line: each user has to take the time out to
learn a new OS. There is no one solution for all the problems an OS can
develop.

For keeping your computer running fast and smooth here's some of my
favorite EZ generic tips that may help you stay out of trouble:
1) Never load up software that you don't need. Don't use sharware that
hasn't been getting rave reviews by at least a dozen other users.
2) You need a good firewall.
3) You need a good anti-virus and anti-spyware.
4) Shop around for programs that claims to clean up the OS. I've found that
sometimes these simple programs will solve the problem. Sometimes they don't.
5) Start out with a clean machine.
6) Don't go to unknown websites.
7) Try System Restore before doing anything elaborate like trying to edit OS
files.
8) Come back to these kind of forums for help. Chances are that other users
have experienced the same problems. And as you can see there are many users
who truly have useful answers.

 

[Peter Foldes]

Bottom line is that Registry Cleaners are snake Oil remedies. Never touch the Registry if you do not know what it is advising you to delete\remove. Even with creating a back up before it starts ,what will you do if the system will not boot after. Will you be able to get to those back ups ??

Oscar

before commenting on someone's post (Shenan) you might want to understand the scope of his post. Also doing a System Restore before cleaning the infected system is a slap on top of a slap .

Read Shenan's post a few times to understand what he was conveying to the OP

 

[Bert Kinney]

Most folk around here do not recommend the use if registry cleans do to the
unexpected results that may arise.

And have these instructions handy in the event Windows does not start in
normal mode.
Starting Windows XP in Safe Mode:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/safemode.html

You will also want to test system restore to make sure it is functioning
correctly.

1. Create a new restore point named TEST.
2. Create a new shortcut on the desktop and point it to My Computer or any
other file of your choice and name it TEST.
3. Now restore to the Test restore point.

The system will now reboot, and you will receive a message if the restore
was successful, and the Test shortcut on the desktop will be gone.

I would also suggest installing the following utility before hand.
This utility will give you the ability to restore the registry if Windows XP
fails to boot.
ERUNT: The Emergency Recovery Utility NT
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt

Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.org