Registry Freeware Suggestions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Don Boring
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Don Boring

Which Registry freeware is best?

While there is NOTHING wrong
with my computer at this time,
I might like to clean up the registry,

BUT,

I don't want to f*ck it up.

What is the best FREE Software
with the most available options.

I looked at RegSeeker v. 1.45 here:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_9_100_9453.html
but some of the comments were from people who had
blown up their systems using the software.

Which one is best?

Don Boring
 
Don said:
Which Registry freeware is best?

While there is NOTHING wrong
with my computer at this time,
I might like to clean up the registry,

BUT,

I don't want to f*ck it up.

What is the best FREE Software
with the most available options.

I looked at RegSeeker v. 1.45 here:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_9_100_9453.html
but some of the comments were from people who had
blown up their systems using the software.

Which one is best?

Don Boring
Click to expand...
You might want to try the Registry Mechanic at PC Pitstop
http://www.pcpitstop.com/
 
Hi Don - In my experience all of these Reg cleaners, even the best, are
fraught with danger. I advise against using them except in one specific
instance, that is when you have one that is capable of doing specific Reg
searches, and you NEED (not just WANT) to remove the remaining traces of
something that didn't get uninstalled correctly. (and you didn't have
foresight enough to install it using Total Uninstall,
http://www.martau.com/tu.html or direct dwnld here:
http://www.simtel.net/product.download.mirrors.php?id=61416, in the first
place.) (As an aside, there are, however, some third party Registry Editors
which can be of great help with both the incorrect uninstall and with
certain malware problems, especially some of theCoolWebSearch types such as
the AppInit_DLLs variant of the about:blank version of CWS, for example. I
can recommend Registrar Lite, here:
http://www.resplendence.com/reglite .)

There are a couple of specific bugs that can cause abnormal growth in either
the System or Software hives; however, they are rare, and unless these hives
in %SystemRoot%\System32\config are very, very large (in the hundreds of
megabytes), then I would council you to leave your Registry alone except for
the special circumstances I mentioned above.

I and most other MVP's that I know believe that Registry modifications of
any type are probably best done manually, very carefully, with a thorough
knowledge of what's installed on your machine, and what you're doing, and
then only when necessary. There's very little (if any!) noticeable benefit
in either space saving or speed achievable by cleaning out the Registry
except in those few cases where there's a specific problem the client is
experiencing (usually uninstall or malware related in my experience) that
needs to be fixed.

Lastly, if you must screw around with your Registry, then at least get
Erunt/Erdnt, and run it before you do the Reg clean. You'll then have a
true restore available to you. Read below to see why you might not just
using the Reg cleaner's restore:

Get Erunt here for all NT-based computers including XP:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/index.htm I've set it up to
take a scheduled backup each night at 12:01AM on a weekly round-robin basis,
and a Monthly on the 1st of each month. See here for how to set that up:
http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer/erunt/erunt.txt, and for some
useful information about this subject.

This program is one of the best things around - saved my butt on many
occasions, and will also run very nicely from a DOS prompt (in case you've
done something that won't let you boot any more and need to revert to a
previous Registry) IF you're FAT32 OR have a DOS startup disk with NTFS
write drivers in an NTFS system. (There is also a way using the Recovery
Console to get back to being "bootable" even without separate DOS write NTFS
drivers, after which you can do a "normal" Erdnt restore.) (BTW, it also
includes a Registry defragger program). Free, and very, very highly
recommended.

FYI, quoting from the above document:

"Note: The "Export registry" function in Regedit is USELESS (!) to make a
complete backup of the registry. Neither does it export the whole registry
(for example, no information from the "SECURITY" hive is saved), nor can the
exported file be used later to replace the current registry with the old
one. Instead, if you re-import the file, it is merged with the current
registry, leaving you with an absolute mess of old and new registry keys.
 
Which Registry freeware is best?

While there is NOTHING wrong
with my computer at this time,
I might like to clean up the registry,

BUT,

I don't want to f*ck it up.

What is the best FREE Software
with the most available options.

I looked at RegSeeker v. 1.45 here:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/program_9_100_9453.html
but some of the comments were from people who had
blown up their systems using the software.

Which one is best?
Click to expand...

I have been using CrapCleaner (CCleaner). It has a registry cleaning
functionality which has never caused me problems.

http://ccleaner.com/

I also use ERUNT/ERDNT which I use to restore the registry if something
should mess it up. It has saved me several times, but never from anything
CCleaner has done. I have even disabled Window XP's Restore service since
ERUNT/ERDNT does a much better job of it.

http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
 
Don said:
Which Registry freeware is best?
Click to expand...


_________________________________________________

I've been using RegSeeker for about a year with no problems. I began
using it to remove "ghost" entries in msconfig.exe and it has worked
well with no problems at all. It automatically backs up before making
changes so you can restore your original config, but I've never had to
use that feature. Highly recommended.
 
Jim said:
Hi Don - In my experience all of these Reg cleaners, even the best, are
fraught with danger. I advise against using them except in one specific
instance, that is when you have one that is capable of doing specific Reg
searches, and you NEED (not just WANT) to remove the remaining traces of
something that didn't get uninstalled correctly.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Jim for a very useful post. I have heard that in the past about
"leave well enough alone".

I do 2 methods, either uninstall a program permanently, or more frequently,
install, copy the folder, then uninstall, then run (first time) the
executable. Either way, junk can be left in the registry. If the program
still remains, it is in a different folder name.

What harm does it do in W98SE to leave "remaining traces of
something that didn't get uninstalled correctly" in the registry? Not
searching for it and cleaning.

Mike Sa
 
Franklin said:
Is there a freeware equivalent to Total Uninstall?
Click to expand...


_________________________________________________

Version 2 of Total Uninstall is freeware. It's all I've ever used and
it does the job just fine. The extra features in the paid version are
ok I guess, but I've never needed them.
 
Hi Mike - It's almost impossible to answer your question absent a specific
situation as the problems that can occur depend on the program involved, the
rest of your environment and just what didn't get removed. Often it they
will show up as problems installing something else or re-installing the same
program. You might want to be aware of the the Windows Installer Clean Up
Utility download link available here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301 Read the
'Read.me' on that page carefully and use it with caution; however, it can
sometimes clean up situations involving programs initially installed using
the Windows Installer when nothing else will.
 
Jim said:
Hi Mike - It's almost impossible to answer your question absent a specific
situation as the problems that can occur depend on the program involved, the
rest of your environment and just what didn't get removed. Often it they
will show up as problems installing something else or re-installing the same
program. You might want to be aware of the the Windows Installer Clean Up
Utility download link available here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301 Read the
'Read.me' on that page carefully and use it with caution; however, it can
sometimes clean up situations involving programs initially installed using
the Windows Installer when nothing else will.
Click to expand...
The programs I install either use the MS Install Shield or the Wise Installer.

My puter is very stable, for me W98SE is very stable.

Can you comment on these two statements: "don't clean junk in registry as
it rarely causes problems",
OR,
"clean out registry keys left by program uninstalls"

I suggest this is a question with many people.

It seems to me most crap in registry is from program installs, if I see no
problems, I would plan to leave it, particularly from your OP.

TIA

Mike Sa
 
Hi Mike - Well, the problem, of course, is defining just what 'junk' is.
There are a wide variety of things in the Registry whose function is
obscure - sometimes deliberately so. To the naive observer (or Registry
Cleaner) they may appear to be 'junk', but in fact do have a purpose (even
if it's no more than serving as a placeholder in some cases) and removing
them will cause problems (unfortunately, usually at some later time when
there's no obvious reason to link the problem to the removals and when even
if you know to do so, doing a restore Merge from the Registry Cleaner will
_really_ screw things up). I have no objection in principle to cleaning
things out of the Registry - sometimes stuff needs to be (e.g. 'malware'), -
I just object to automatically deleting stuff without a demonstrated need.
"If it ain't broke . . ." usually applies, and most of the time even those
things in 'error' from an incomplete uninstall will cause no problems, while
eliminating them will gain little if anything in either speed or space.
When they do cause problems (for example, when trying to re-install
something that Norton screwed up on the initial install ( :) ) , then,
Yes, use a good Registry Editor and proceed with caution to clean things up
(getting some help if you need to).
 
Can you comment on these two statements: "don't clean junk in registry as
it rarely causes problems",
OR,
"clean out registry keys left by program uninstalls"
Click to expand...

I would alter those two statements this way:

FROM: "don't clean junk in registry as it rarely causes problems"
TO : "don't clean junk in registry unless it causes problems"

&

FROM: "clean out registry keys left by program uninstalls"
TO : "clean out registry keys left by program uninstalls if they
cause problems"
 
dak said:
I would alter those two statements this way:

FROM: "don't clean junk in registry as it rarely causes problems"
TO : "don't clean junk in registry unless it causes problems"

&

FROM: "clean out registry keys left by program uninstalls"
TO : "clean out registry keys left by program uninstalls if they
cause problems"
Click to expand...

The trouble is: how do you know if they cause problems? My rule is: do
whatever you want to with the registry, but only after ensuring that you
can revert.
 
The trouble is: how do you know if they cause problems?
Click to expand...

How do you know what the cause/source of any problem is? Common
sense, troubleshooting, trial and error, process of elimination, etc.
You do keep up with your system, don't you? What it is doing, what
you have done to it, what it is doing differently (good or bad) since
the last changes you made? You don't HAVE to keep detailed
notes/logs, you just have to be aware and pay attention.
If my computer is humming along and I install something and then I
uninstall it because it doesn't play nice with my system or I just
flat out don't like it and now it's no longer humming along like it
was before.... Well, the first thing I'm going to do is reboot (which
SHOULD have been done ANYWAY both after the install and after the
uninstall) and see if that makes it hum again. If not, then a little
checking/troubleshooting to see what's going on. And, no, I can't
tell you exactly what precise steps I'd take because it specifically
depends on what the exact nature of problem is (but I wouldn't bother
checking my joystick configuration if my modem no longer dialed out).
Once those possibilities were exhausted then I'd tackle the registry
for leftovers of the uninstalled program.
My rule is: do whatever you want to with the registry, but only after
ensuring that you can revert.
Click to expand...

If it ain't broke, it's okay to break it as long as you can replace
it? :o)
That may be fine for you IF you are aware of the consequences, but
remember that users are at different levels of experience and
expertise, so there's no blanket answer/solution to any of this.
How many do you think reading this would be able to restore their
registry if they broke it AND had a back up? And what if they were on
a Win9x system without the XP restore function and/or couldn't get
back into Windows?

Now, back to your original question - "Use common sense, be aware,
pay attention, and ask those with more experience" is the best answer
I can give.
 
dak took me to task for writing (with big snips marked [...] - look at
earlier postings for the gory details):

....
How do you know what the cause/source of any problem is? ....
Now, back to your original question - "Use common sense, be aware,
pay attention, and ask those with more experience" is the best answer
I can give.
Click to expand...

While I don't agree with a lot of what dak says in the bits I don't
quote, I must admit that I tend to post in more technical places. I
don't withdraw what I wrote in this thread, but be aware that it's
dangerous unless you know exactly what you're doing. Thanks to dak for
the warning.
 
_________________________________________________

Version 2 of Total Uninstall is freeware. It's all I've ever used and
it does the job just fine. The extra features in the paid version are
ok I guess, but I've never needed them.
Click to expand...

Just be aware that, if you have more than one drive, you need to set
the default scan to specify all drives. It does not cover alterations
made to any INI or other system files either.
 
Il Sun, 26 Jun 2005 23:06:51 +0930, David ha scritto:
Just be aware that, if you have more than one drive, you need to set
the default scan to specify all drives. It does not cover alterations
made to any INI or other system files either.
Click to expand...

The freeware version doesn't seem to have this option though, or I can't
find it.
 
dak said:
Now, back to your original question - "Use common sense, be aware,
pay attention, and ask those with more experience" is the best answer
I can give.
Click to expand...
To determine *what* caused the problem is still tricky. The instance you
mentioned is obvious where an install directly causes an effect. But
sometimes I run a "simple" executable and it has a unexplained "side
effect". Something in registry, since the same program runs on another
puter OK.

Mike Sa
 
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