Registry Debris from Uninstalled Programs

[Don Cohen]

Hi,

I have a new Vista Home Premium 64-bit system, and would prefer to keep it
as clean as possible.

I recently had to try out a number (probably 6 to 8) of programs for editing
my website (I previously used Adobe PageMill 3.0, which wouldn't install on
Vista 64-bit, no matter what options I tried!!), and finding all of them (so
far) unsuitable, uninstalled them.

I did a search through the Registry, and there is quite a bit of "debris"
left over from them. You'd think today's programs would be a little more
conscientious about cleaning up after themselves....

In any case, how safe is it to delete any/all references to the uninstalled
programs? I guess my OCD is showing here, as it irks me to have this junk
in my registry. The system is performing well, but I wonder how much bloat
will eventually hamper performance...

Or am I just worrying about nothing - just ignore it??

I'm reasonably comfortable editing the registry when I know precisely what
I'm doing, but am certainly not "literate" in the workings of the Registry.

Thanks.

--
Don

remove "lens cap" for email

P.S. And if anybody happens to know any tricks to get Adobe PageMill 3.0
installed on a 64-bit Vista system, I'd be very interested. It's such an
old program (probably 7 years, if not more) that none of the Compatibility
modes available made any difference - I couldn't get the install to even
start, with an error message appearing indicating a windows version
incompatibility, or something like that.

 

[Malke]

Hi,

I have a new Vista Home Premium 64-bit system, and would prefer to keep it
as clean as possible.

I recently had to try out a number (probably 6 to 8) of programs for
editing my website (I previously used Adobe PageMill 3.0, which wouldn't
install on Vista 64-bit, no matter what options I tried!!), and finding
all of them (so far) unsuitable, uninstalled them.

I did a search through the Registry, and there is quite a bit of "debris"
left over from them. You'd think today's programs would be a little more
conscientious about cleaning up after themselves....

In any case, how safe is it to delete any/all references to the
uninstalled
programs? I guess my OCD is showing here, as it irks me to have this junk
in my registry. The system is performing well, but I wonder how much
bloat will eventually hamper performance...

Or am I just worrying about nothing - just ignore it??

I'm reasonably comfortable editing the registry when I know precisely what
I'm doing, but am certainly not "literate" in the workings of the
Registry.

It's fine to delete the entries for uninstalled programs but not necessary.
The extra entries will not hamper performance in the slightest. What you
should *not* do is use a registry cleaner. Since you're OK working in the
registry manually, do that if you are so inclined. Just be careful in
there. ;-)

http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099 - why not to use registry cleaners

Malke

 

[Don Cohen]

Thanks for the quick reply, Malke.

It's fine to delete the entries for uninstalled programs but not
necessary.
The extra entries will not hamper performance in the slightest. What you
should *not* do is use a registry cleaner. Since you're OK working in the
registry manually, do that if you are so inclined. Just be careful in
there. ;-)

http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099 - why not to use registry cleaners

Yeah, I've heard bad things about registry cleaners, and haven't gone that
way so far. Point well taken.

I guess for the time being, I'll just leave well enough alone. If it
doesn't hurt performance, and I imagine has a negligible impact on the size
of the registry, what's the point?

Best,

 

[Rick Rogers]

Indeed. Unlike the Win9x line, "dead" entries in the registry have no impact
on the system and performance. Bloat, as it were, is immaterial.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com