Registry Issues and more

P

PJC

I have a Dell about 6 years old with XP. It has grown slower and slower, and
despite my attempts to remedy, it's in tough shape. I've tried registry
mechanic, now trying PC Pitstop Optimizer, but it won't install. Downloaded
and ran WMIDiag and it notes many missing registry files....is there a way
the layman can get this machine working faster?
 
B

Bruce Chambers

PJC said:
I have a Dell about 6 years old with XP. It has grown slower and slower, and
despite my attempts to remedy, it's in tough shape. I've tried registry
mechanic, now trying PC Pitstop Optimizer, but it won't install. Downloaded
and ran WMIDiag and it notes many missing registry files....is there a way
the layman can get this machine working faster?


Many. And none of them entail using any "snake oil" registry cleaners.
However, at this point, having used such tools, you may not be able to
recover full and proper operation of the OS.

Periodically performing a disk clean-up and defragmentation using
WinXP's built-in tools can greatly help keep your PC performing at its
best. Also, make sure that your system is completely free of malware.


--

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
 
L

Leonard Grey

Instead of trying this, that and the other thing, you start by
identifying the cause of your problem. Only then will you know how to
solve it.

Computers naturally grow slower over time, as additional software is
added. Furthermore, everyone has their own idea of what "slow" means.

The only thing we know about your computer is that it was made by Dell,
it runs some version of Windows XP, and that you think it's slow. That's
not nearly enough information to pinpoint a cause for your slowness.
Unless you can offer some possible clues, you'll have to perform generic
troubleshooting.
 
J

JS

Try a 'System Restore',
pick a restore point dated before you used Registry Mechanic.

If your lucky you will at least be back to your PC being slow
but everything still runs without errors.

Then get rid of any registry cleaners and then follow
Bruce's advice about:
"performing a disk clean-up and defragmentation".

Then post back if you need more help.
 
W

W****n S***********g

PJC said:
I have a Dell about 6 years old with XP. It has grown slower and slower,
and
despite my attempts to remedy, it's in tough shape. I've tried registry
mechanic, now trying PC Pitstop Optimizer, but it won't install.
Downloaded
and ran WMIDiag and it notes many missing registry files....is there a way
the layman can get this machine working faster?

defraggler.com

Advanced system care.com
 
T

tech_nova

Hi,

When more and more softwares are installed, the performance of
computer becomes poorer. To boost computer performance,periodic
cleaning of registry is required so that the unwanted entries can be
removed.. You can perform process of registry cleaning either manually
or by using any effective registry cleaner software.. Make sure that
you have sound technical knowledge about registry before trying it
manually. For non technical users, registry repair softwares are
recommended...
 
M

Malke

tech_nova said:
Hi,

When more and more softwares are installed, the performance of
computer becomes poorer. To boost computer performance,periodic
cleaning of registry is required so that the unwanted entries can be
removed.. You can perform process of registry cleaning either manually
or by using any effective registry cleaner software.. Make sure that
you have sound technical knowledge about registry before trying it
manually. For non technical users, registry repair softwares are
recommended...

This is completely false and potentially destructive.

To the OP: see this link for why:
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099 - registry cleaner thread

Malke
 
M

Malke

PJC said:
I have a Dell about 6 years old with XP. It has grown slower and slower,
and
despite my attempts to remedy, it's in tough shape. I've tried registry
mechanic, now trying PC Pitstop Optimizer, but it won't install.
Downloaded and ran WMIDiag and it notes many missing registry files....is
there a way the layman can get this machine working faster?

You've probably already caused more issues by running the Optimizer and
Registry Mechanic. If those programs have an Undo feature, use it.

To speed up a slow machine:

1. Make sure it is virus/malware-free:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

2. Also see Slow or Sluggish Computer:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm
http://aumha.org/a/health.htm - Take Out the Trash

Malke
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

Not true at all.


Right, not true. And to be even more specific, he makes two
statements, both of which are completely false:

1. "When more and more softwares [sic] are installed, the performance
of computer becomes poorer." That's completely false.

2. "To boost computer performance,periodic cleaning of registry is
required so that the unwanted entries can be removed." And that is
also completely false.
 
T

Twayne

Malke said:
This is completely false and potentially destructive.

To the OP: see this link for why:
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099 - registry cleaner thread

Malke

The link is self-serving, includes most of the same often used
boilerplate he uses here, and in neneral just continues to contribute to
the misinformation he's so proud of. He probably thinks he's getting
the link well known by poking it in as a spamlet so often, but it is
pretty obscure in reality and unknown by most who know hwo to find good
information.
Don't get me wrong; thre ARE some good articles there, but not from
this ignoramus.

Thanks for the opportunity,

Twayne
 
T

Twayne

THAT is good advice! It's seldom that the registry is the root cause of
a slow machine to any noticeable degree. Malware, corruption and
settings are always the first things to look at.
 
T

Twayne

John John arose from his potty chair and said
:
Not true at all.

Nahh, you can't say that. I had another one in the other day that it
took a reg cleaner to get that last 20 Second delay out. In this case
part of the boot problem WAS the registry. But one should only go there
when other more likely causes have been repaired/eliminated. It also
removed 14 over-length paths, 44 removed files and trash from 15
previously uninstalled programs, each with a very long path. I jotted
them down just to show you<g>.

Twayne
 
T

Twayne

Right, not true. And to be even more specific, he makes two
statements, both of which are completely false:

No, you're wrong.
1. "When more and more softwares [sic] are installed, the performance
of computer becomes poorer." That's completely false.

*[sic]* ??

Nope, not completely false. It may often not be NOTICEABLE but anything
that adds cpu cycles takes time. Some programs write thousands of
registry entries upon install. Witness the drop in responsiveness that
occurs when you one rebuids a computer and adds say Microsoft Office to
it. THERE is a noticeable slowdown in several differing ways, one of
which is registry related big time.
2. "To boost computer performance,periodic cleaning of registry is
required so that the unwanted entries can be removed." And that is
also completely false.

Nope, not completely false at all. Badly stated perhaps, but it's
simply the reverse of the above. It's wrong IMO in that it's not
"required" to remove unwanted entries. But anything occurring which
lowers the number of cpu cycles will result in faster response. There
are those that like to point out that a program goes "directly" to the
registry point it needs, but they neglect that fact that in order to do
that, there is a lookup to find the address where that part of the
registry lives, so ... "unwanted" entries are still part of the lookup
process and must be handled. Removing it means it's not there to loop
over, thus fewer cpu cycles, and thus less time consumed.
Removing something lke MSOffice definitely results in a vry
notiecable speed up, and then cleaning the leftovers from it often
results in another, much smaller but still noticeable, increase in
speed.
The real problem is that registry problems are much more than simply
unwanted entries; it's a much broader subject area.
 
U

Unknown

Good grief, if you add 200 nanoseconds to a routine because you installed
another program, can anyone detect that.
You are arguing insignificant timings.
Twayne said:
Right, not true. And to be even more specific, he makes two
statements, both of which are completely false:

No, you're wrong.
1. "When more and more softwares [sic] are installed, the performance
of computer becomes poorer." That's completely false.

*[sic]* ??

Nope, not completely false. It may often not be NOTICEABLE but anything
that adds cpu cycles takes time. Some programs write thousands of
registry entries upon install. Witness the drop in responsiveness that
occurs when you one rebuids a computer and adds say Microsoft Office to
it. THERE is a noticeable slowdown in several differing ways, one of
which is registry related big time.
2. "To boost computer performance,periodic cleaning of registry is
required so that the unwanted entries can be removed." And that is
also completely false.

Nope, not completely false at all. Badly stated perhaps, but it's simply
the reverse of the above. It's wrong IMO in that it's not "required" to
remove unwanted entries. But anything occurring which lowers the number
of cpu cycles will result in faster response. There are those that like
to point out that a program goes "directly" to the registry point it
needs, but they neglect that fact that in order to do that, there is a
lookup to find the address where that part of the registry lives, so ...
"unwanted" entries are still part of the lookup process and must be
handled. Removing it means it's not there to loop over, thus fewer cpu
cycles, and thus less time consumed.
Removing something lke MSOffice definitely results in a vry notiecable
speed up, and then cleaning the leftovers from it often results in
another, much smaller but still noticeable, increase in speed.
The real problem is that registry problems are much more than simply
unwanted entries; it's a much broader subject area.
 
U

Unknown

If you had a 20 second delay, it would be much wiser to find the cause than
to run a registry cleaner.
 
B

Bruce Chambers

tech_nova said:
Hi,

When more and more softwares are installed, the performance of
computer becomes poorer.


No, that's completely untrue.

To boost computer performance,periodic
cleaning of registry is required so that the unwanted entries can be
removed..

No, that's completely untrue.

You can perform process of registry cleaning either manually
or by using any effective registry cleaner software.. Make sure that
you have sound technical knowledge about registry before trying it
manually. For non technical users, registry repair softwares are
recommended...

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
 
T

Twayne

Unknown said:
If you had a 20 second delay, it would be much wiser to find the
cause than to run a registry cleaner.

Uhh, when it's the design of the registry to allow 20 Seconds for the
function to start up? When what it's calling doesn't exist, what would
YOU suggest could be done otherwise? Or is the 20 S new to you?

Jeez,

Cheers,

Twayne
 
T

Twayne

Unknown said:
Good grief, if you add 200 nanoseconds to a routine because you
installed another program, can anyone detect that.
You are arguing insignificant timings.

I am not arguing; I am pointing out deficiencies in the same proportions
as the claims. Learn to comprehend.
Twayne said:
On Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:05:40 -0400, "John John (MVP)"

Not true at all.


Right, not true. And to be even more specific, he makes two
statements, both of which are completely false:

No, you're wrong.
1. "When more and more softwares [sic] are installed, the
performance of computer becomes poorer." That's completely false.

*[sic]* ??

Nope, not completely false. It may often not be NOTICEABLE but
anything that adds cpu cycles takes time. Some programs write
thousands of registry entries upon install. Witness the drop in
responsiveness that occurs when you one rebuids a computer and adds
say Microsoft Office to it. THERE is a noticeable slowdown in
several differing ways, one of which is registry related big time.
2. "To boost computer performance,periodic cleaning of registry is
required so that the unwanted entries can be removed." And that is
also completely false.

Nope, not completely false at all. Badly stated perhaps, but it's
simply the reverse of the above. It's wrong IMO in that it's not
"required" to remove unwanted entries. But anything occurring which
lowers the number of cpu cycles will result in faster response. There
are those that like to point out that a program goes
"directly" to the registry point it needs, but they neglect that
fact that in order to do that, there is a lookup to find the address
where that part of the registry lives, so ... "unwanted" entries are
still part of the lookup process and must be handled. Removing it
means it's not there to loop over, thus fewer cpu cycles, and thus
less time consumed. Removing something lke MSOffice definitely
results in a vry notiecable speed up, and then cleaning the
leftovers from it often results in another, much smaller but still
noticeable, increase in speed. The real problem is that registry
problems are much more than simply unwanted entries; it's a much
broader subject area.
tech_nova wrote:

Hi,

When more and more softwares are installed, the performance of
computer becomes poorer. To boost computer performance,periodic
cleaning of registry is required so that the unwanted entries can
be removed.. You can perform process of registry cleaning either
manually or by using any effective registry cleaner software..
Make sure that you have sound technical knowledge about registry
before trying it manually. For non technical users, registry
repair softwares are recommended...
 
T

Twayne

Bruce Chambers wrote:


There's that silly boilerplate from the laziest closed mind here.
No, that's completely untrue.

It is impossible for that to be untrue. INstall XP, check the boot
time. Install MS Office and check the boot time again. ARe they
identical? I don't THINK so! The computer performance HAS gotten
slower! Quit being an idiot!
No, that's completely untrue.

No, it is NOT completely untrue at all. Your'e as far left as that
statement is right. It's actually a good idea and prevents the
possibilty of the buildup of useless database occupation over time
resulting in more code that can corrupt to possible inadvertant pickups
on an old entry to actual slowing down on the machine. It IS true that
cleaners are probably run more often than necessary, but that's no big
deal since they will do no harm. Many MS programs and functions are a
LOT more dangerous than any registry cleaner. It's fact of life that MS
isn't stable all the time, although it's now considerably improved, but
the likelihood of a good cleaner rendering problems is as remote as any
other program on the machine, more remote in most cases.
Silly boilerplate snipped.
....
A little further reading on the subject:

That's not reading: It's SPAM!
Why I don't use registry cleaners
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=643
We all know why YOU don't use registry cleaners.
Self serving article contrinbuted to by ... guess who? And I don't mean
me!
AumHa Forums • View topic - AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use a Registry
Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099

Same thing. Spamming for his favorite place to get authored. You don't
have to be accurate to post your spews there, just willing to help
perpetuate their crappiness.


Regards,

Twayne
 

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