Registry Cleanup

[BobN]

How is telling the OP to learn to safely edit the registry *not*
providing a lasting solution?

Did you tell him exactly HOW to "learn to safely edit the registry?"

Well, I will admit that I do derive a steady, comfortable income
repairing the machines on which those alleged "millions" have foolishly
used registry cleaners. So, from that point of view, I guess one could
say that they're "good."

Sure you do.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Did you tell him exactly HOW to "learn to safely edit the registry?"

Yes, in fact.

Sure you do.

Yes, I do. In fact, if I had less of a conscience, I'd advice people
to use registry cleaners; they're that good a revenue generator. (In
fact, that's the only reason I can imagine any experienced technician
ever advising their use to the average 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

 

[Edward W. Thompson]

Yes, in fact.



Yes, I do. In fact, if I had less of a conscience, I'd advice people to
use registry cleaners; they're that good a revenue generator. (In fact,
that's the only reason I can imagine any experienced technician ever
advising their use to the average user.)

snip

Although you are correct that the benefits of running a Registry Cleaner in
WINXP are doubtful, I certainly do not agree with you over your blanket
statements that suggest they will damage the Registry in a catastrophic way
to leave the machine 'unbootable'. You make this statement at regular
intervals but as far as I know, have not offered any evidence other than 'in
your experience'. It appears that other peoples opinion differ.
Individual cases prove nothing. I have had one case where a particular
program required an empty key that the 'Cleaner' I used would recommend to
delete. That was hardly catastrophic as the OS certainly was not damaged
and once that 'problem' was known it was simple to avoid.
If you can cite a specific case, say Product X when run on WINXP Home will
result in the following problem with the OS then your criticisms will have
credibility. That is please cite a problem caused by a Registry Cleaner
that results in damage to the OS and can be replicated on otherr machines.
Better still please provide the names of Registry Cleaner programs that when
installed on a machine with only WINXP installed will damage the Registry to
the extent the machine will no longer boot or remain functional. We will
agree that the Registry Cleaner will no doubt suggest removal of a large
number of Registry entries but maybe expereinec has shown these entries are
not required anyway.

 

[BobN]

Yes, in fact.



Yes, I do. In fact, if I had less of a conscience, I'd advice people
to use registry cleaners; they're that good a revenue generator. (In
fact, that's the only reason I can imagine any experienced technician
ever advising their use to the average user.)

Your presumptive arrogance has become more than tedious. Since you do not
use these programs, what gives you the right to say anything about them?
Literally millions of people use these programs without ill effect. Your
canned cant about using regedit is ridiculous for the vast majority of
users. They would be much better off and safer to use registry cleaners
that have been used for many years.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Although you are correct that the benefits of running a Registry Cleaner in
WINXP are doubtful, I certainly do not agree with you over your blanket
statements that suggest they will damage the Registry in a catastrophic way
to leave the machine 'unbootable'.

I've never made such a blanket claim. They won't always leave the
machine unbootable, but they sometimes do. They don't always cause a
problem at all. But, because they provide absolutely *NO* bwenefit, why
take the chance?

You make this statement at regular
intervals ....

Because the question is asked frequently...

but as far as I know, have not offered any evidence other than 'in
your experience'.

What better evidense is there then years of first-hand observation?

It appears that other peoples opinion differ.

A very few people, yes, and they're free to express their opinions.
(Although I will submit that I've never met an experienced,
knowledgeable technician who recommends that the average user use
registry "cleaners.")

Individual cases prove nothing. I have had one case where a particular
program required an empty key that the 'Cleaner' I used would recommend to
delete. That was hardly catastrophic as the OS certainly was not damaged
and once that 'problem' was known it was simple to avoid.

Ah! One (worthless, by your own description) example of a registry
cleaner causing a problem, which fortunately wasn't catastrophic.
What's your point, then, if "individual cases prove nothing?"

If you can cite a specific case, say Product X when run on WINXP Home will
result in the following problem with the OS then your criticisms will have
credibility. That is please cite a problem caused by a Registry Cleaner
that results in damage to the OS and can be replicated on otherr machines.
Better still please provide the names of Registry Cleaner programs that when
installed on a machine with only WINXP installed will damage the Registry to
the extent the machine will no longer boot or remain functional. We will
agree that the Registry Cleaner will no doubt suggest removal of a large
number of Registry entries but maybe expereinec has shown these entries are
not required anyway.

I never claimed that every registry cleaner caused problems,
catastrophic or otherwise, every single time. That's your
misinterpretation. I simply warn people that the potential for trouble
is there, and not worth the risk, as registry cleaners are no better
than snake oil. If you want a list of registry cleaners that do
absolutely no good, and have the potential for causing harm to the OS,
use Google; I've better things to do then copy the list for you.


--

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

 

[axm]

Mr Bruce:
Your advise to avoid Registry Cleaner software is sound, especially for
people who are not initiated in the mysteries of the Windows XP
registry. I suggest people wanting to use registry cleaner software
first run regedit, look up all the huge data stored there, then decide
for themselves if they would like to invite a stranger do the cleanup.
Probably if they find the stranger having proper credentials, they may
just decide to let him do his job. You may just leave your contact
number floating around for them to make the next call.
Actually, if a person is not in the habit of installing and
uninstalling programs, he doesn't need a registry cleaner. But if he
does test software and discard them in quick succession, then probably
he knows how to safely run a registry cleaner.
What they will really benefit from is when they install a good and free
anti-virus program like Avast! that will prevent all sorts of malacious
websites from installing rogue programs on the system - that will in
turn need registry cleaners after they are removed.

 

[farshid]

How do I do a registry cleanup? I seem to have bits and pieces of old
programs, that have been uninstalled, in my pc. I would like to clean it up.

 

[Kayman]

AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099
Note the comments from Mark Russinovich and the reference concerning ERUNT.

This should clean up yor OS:

CCleaner - Free
Cleans temporary internet files, cookies, history, recent urls, application
MRUs, etc. ...
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
If Windows Defender is utilized go to Applications, under Utilities
uncheck "Windows Defender".

Download David H. Lipman's MULTI_AV.EXE from the URL:
http://www.pctipp.ch/ds/28400/28470/Multi_AV.exe
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp
English:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/09/scan-your-computer-with-multiple-anti-virus-for-free/

To use this utility, perform the following...
Execute; Multi_AV.exe {Note: You must use the default folder C:\AV-CLS}
Choose; Unzip
Choose; Close

Execute; C:\AV-CLS\StartMenu.BAT
{or Double-click on 'Start Menu' in C:\AV-CLS}

NOTE: You may have to disable your software FireWall or allow WGET.EXE to
go through your FireWall to allow it to download the needed AV vendor
related files.

C:\AV-CLS\StartMenu.BAT -- {or Double-click on 'Start Menu' in C:\AV-CLS}
This will bring up the initial menu of choices and should be executed in
Normal Mode.
This way all the components can be downloaded from each AV vendor's web
site.
The choices are; Sophos, Trend, McAfee, Kaspersky, Exit this menu and
Reboot the PC.

You can choose to go to each menu item and just download the needed files
or you can download the files and perform a scan in Normal Mode. Once you
have downloaded the files needed for each scanner you want to use, you
should reboot the PC into Safe Mode [F8 key during boot] and re-run the
menu again and choose which scanner you want to run in Safe
Mode. It is suggested to run the scanners in both Safe Mode and Normal
Mode.

When the menu is displayed hitting 'H' or 'h' will bring up a more
comprehensive PDF help file.

Additional Instructions:
http://pcdid.com/Multi_AV.htm

 

[db.·.. >]

microsoft recommends
this one and i as well:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/article/registry_cleaner_why.htm

 

[Bill in Co.]

Microsoft "recommends" a registry cleaner??? I don't believe it. Do
you have a MS site that says that?

 

[db.·.. >]

choke on this:

http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/purchase/trial.htm?sc_cid=mscom_hp

 

[Bill in Co.]

Nothing to choke on there.
As I said, nowhere do I see any Microsoft recommendation of a *registry
cleaner*.

 

[db.·.. >]

what you say
does mean much
to anyone.

perhaps when you
become a certified
microsoft software
engineer then we
can take you as
seriously as you
believe yourself
to be.

but for now microsoft
has the final word on
its' operating system.

 

[nass]

There are lots of bones in Ben's fish can make you choke LOL

 

[db.·.. >]

! ain't that the truth : )

 

[Bill in Co.]

The point is - which you still seem to be missing - nowhere does Microsoft
recommend a *registry cleaner* (not a temp file cleaner, not an empty file
remover, not a disk cleaner, not a pop-up remover, not a disk defragmenter,
etc).

(If you don't know the difference, I can't help you).

 

[nass]

I will take it as a Jellyfish then Ben lol

! ain't that the truth : )

 

[Trevor Ray]

Forget regedit. That is the worst advice that can be given to a computer

user. Not one person in 100 can safely use regedit for exactly the reason
you mention. What exactly do you do? There are several free registry
cleaners availble. Install and run. You do not have to do anything. Take
a look at the results. Then you can post with further questions.

Oh, please. Regedit is great for anyone with common sense. Just tell them
how to use it! Don't insult their intelligence. It's just plain easy! I've
been using it for three years now, since I was 14.
Simply go to... C:\WINDOWS\system32\regedit32.exe.
Run the program.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!!
Go to File>Export, and export the entire registry to somewhere safe, like
an external hard drive; this can take quite an amount of time and space on
some machines, but it's definitely worth it. This is your backup registry,
and if you screw up, you can always import the backup later. Somehow...
Anyways,
On the left should be a tree view of the registry.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Then, look under "Software," or keep browsing around until you've found the
branch of your junky program. Make sure to double-check that it's exactly
what you want to get rid of!!!
Click the beginning of the program's branch, but ONLY that program's branch.
When it's highlighted, press [Delete] and confirm the deletion of the junk.
That's pretty much it!
However, this is not the procedure you should use to remove programs. ALWAYS
go to the Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs FIRST!. Then, after you uninstall
the program, you can sweep up any bitbunnies (dustbunnies in a computer) in
the registry.
Hope this helps!

-Trevor Ray-
Age 17

 

[Twayne]

Forget regedit. That is the worst advice that can be given to a

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!!
Go to File>Export, and export the entire registry to somewhere safe,
like an external hard drive; this can take quite an amount of time
and space on some machines, but it's definitely worth it. This is
your backup registry, and if you screw up, you can always import the
backup later.

Oh yeah? I think you need some more experience before you take on such
hauty attitudes and give advice like that. Here's a challenge for you:
Export the whole registry with regedit.
Then Import the whole registry with regedit's import feature.
Now, since you claim to know a little about it, take a look at it and
tell me what you see. Import it again, and take another look at it.
But first, I'd seriously suggest you go do a little more research!

Somehow... Anyways,

On the left should be a tree view of the registry.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Then, look under "Software," or keep browsing around until you've
found the branch of your junky program. Make sure to double-check
that it's exactly what you want to get rid of!!!
Click the beginning of the program's branch, but ONLY that program's
branch. When it's highlighted, press [Delete] and confirm the
deletion of the junk. That's pretty much it!
However, this is not the procedure you should use to remove programs.
ALWAYS go to the Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs FIRST!. Then,
after you uninstall the program, you can sweep up any bitbunnies
(dustbunnies in a computer) in the registry.
Hope this helps!

-Trevor Ray-
Age 17

You may be pretty sharp; kids your age often are. But you need a LOT
more experience and research under your belt yet or you wouldn't give
such advice. That's anything but the right way to back up your
registry. Please don't give that advice again until you are more
knowledgeable. An easy way to back up the regisry is to create a system
restore point. A more efficient and more inclusive system backup is to
back up the system state. But do not try to import the entire registry.
The location you gave is only half-fast, also.

 

[Bill in Co.]

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!!
Go to File>Export, and export the entire registry to somewhere safe,
like an external hard drive; this can take quite an amount of time
and space on some machines, but it's definitely worth it. This is
your backup registry, and if you screw up, you can always import the
backup later.

Oh yeah? I think you need some more experience before you take on such
hauty attitudes and give advice like that. Here's a challenge for you:
Export the whole registry with regedit.
Then Import the whole registry with regedit's import feature.
Now, since you claim to know a little about it, take a look at it and
tell me what you see. Import it again, and take another look at it.
But first, I'd seriously suggest you go do a little more research!

Somehow... Anyways,

On the left should be a tree view of the registry.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Then, look under "Software," or keep browsing around until you've
found the branch of your junky program. Make sure to double-check
that it's exactly what you want to get rid of!!!
Click the beginning of the program's branch, but ONLY that program's
branch. When it's highlighted, press [Delete] and confirm the
deletion of the junk. That's pretty much it!
However, this is not the procedure you should use to remove programs.
ALWAYS go to the Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs FIRST!. Then,
after you uninstall the program, you can sweep up any bitbunnies
(dustbunnies in a computer) in the registry.
Hope this helps!

-Trevor Ray-
Age 17

You may be pretty sharp; kids your age often are. But you need a LOT
more experience and research under your belt yet or you wouldn't give
such advice. That's anything but the right way to back up your
registry. Please don't give that advice again until you are more
knowledgeable. An easy way to back up the regisry is to create a system
restore point. A more efficient and more inclusive system backup is to
back up the system state. But do not try to import the entire registry.
The location you gave is only half-fast, also.

Or use ERUNT.
Looks like you're learning a bit, too (by warning about some of the dangers
above), which is encouraging.