Registry Search Tool... Cleaning Up Vista Registry...

[Susan]

All for Vista 64-bit Ultimate:

1.) I've had a third falling out over 25 or so years with Symantec/Norton
and am looking for a Registry search tool where you can search for a
particular 'word' much as you do now but where it will list all the finds,
review ones you want to delete, uncheck ones you want to keep and finally
make it so (delete them). Doing this one at at time is such a waste of
time--hundreds of occurrences of 'Symantec' and I still have 'Norton',
'Ghost', and '360' to purge out of the Registry. (BTW, Norton's removal
tool hardly touched Registry entries, left empty Windows Explorer folders,
and was not product selective--did they even think of the Registry?) This
time around I would rather find a manual way to scrubbing the Registry but
also a tool that will seek out orphaned key remnants too!

2.) Also the Registry... Why doesn't the Registry tree close up
automagically? Is there any easy way of doing this?

3.) Also the Registry... Might the tool(s) you recommend up above also
include compacting (getting rid of) the Registry free space?

4.) Under Services I have Disabled and Stopped the Windows Search and
Superfetch services. However I'm pretty sure the main hog all along was
Norton 360. It doesn't matter though since I don't find any loss not having
Indexing and/or Superfetch. Indexing I also turned off first in both my C:\
and D:\ drives. I also turned off Windows Defender from its own window. I
don't think I found it listed as a service or as an add/remove program or
Windows feature? Are there any other useless services out of the huge list
of services you might recommend me to Disable if they aren't?

5.) I'm currently using Webroot which I used and liked in the past with
Windows XP. When I switched to Vista 64-bit they hadn't quite released
their new version that seems to work just fine and doesn't offer the
intrusive atmosphere Norton 360 had. I added their Securities Suit though
and now have a minor problem/concern. I seem to be double-firewalling. If
I turn off Vista's firewall it thinks I'm unprotected? I'll be checking
with Webroot Monday about this but thought one of you might know something
about this (a simple fix) over the weekend.

The main thing are finding tools that work best with the Vista 64-bit
Ultimate Registry. Thank you.

 

[Charlie42]

1.) I've had a third falling out over 25 or so years with
Symantec/Norton and am looking for a Registry search tool where
you can search for a particular 'word' much as you do now but
where it will list all the finds, review ones you want to delete,
uncheck ones you want to keep and finally make it so (delete
them).

The built-in registry editor in Windows allows you to search for strings.
Run it as administrator, type "regedit" in your start menu search box, then
right click > Run as Administrator.

Also, you could download a tool like CCleaner. It will probably make the job
easier for your. NB: Do *not* use the automatic registry cleanup feature,
and do *not* delete registry entries unless you are 100% sure of what you
are doing.

(BTW, Norton's removal tool hardly touched Registry entries, left
empty Windows Explorer folders, and was not product selective-
-did they even think of the Registry?)

Sadly, even Symantec's own tool will not rid a computer completely of their
products. However, you should run the tool two or three times with reboots
in between. This way, the removal tool is able to delete more Symantec
residue.

3.) Also the Registry... Might the tool(s) you recommend up
above also include compacting (getting rid of) the Registry free
space?

CCleaner will not, and might I add: why should it? I doubt you will notice
any performance increase at all by compacting the Windows registry. Leave it
to Windows to maintain the registry, doing it yourself really has not been
necessary for almost a decade of Windows versions.

4.) Under Services I have Disabled and Stopped the Windows
Search and Superfetch services. However I'm pretty sure the
main hog all along was Norton 360. It doesn't matter though since
I don't find any loss not having Indexing and/or Superfetch. Indexing I
also turned off first in both my C:\ and D:\ drives. I also
turned off Windows Defender from its own window. I
don't think I found it listed as a service or as an add/remove
program or Windows feature? Are there any other useless
services out of the huge list of services you might recommend me
to Disable if they aren't?

Like you say, Norton is the major culprit. I would recommend you just leave
other services for now, at least until you can assess what performance your
computer has gained from uninstalling Norton.

I definately recommend you reenable Windows Defender. Running without it
exposes your computer to malware, even if you have other security programs
in place. It is generally adviced to run multiple anti-spyware scanners.

5.) I'm currently using Webroot which I used and liked in the past
with Windows XP. When I switched to Vista 64-bit they hadn't
quite released their new version that seems to work just fine and
doesn't offer the intrusive atmosphere Norton 360 had. I added
their Securities Suit though and now have a minor
problem/concern. I seem to be double-firewalling. If I turn off
Vista's firewall it thinks I'm unprotected? I'll be checking with Webroot
Monday about this but thought one of you might
know something about this (a simple fix) over the weekend.

Do not run multiple firewalls, they may conflict and cause connection
problems.

Security software that do not integrate properly with Windows is not
something I would use. Search this newsgroup for "best security", "best anti
virus" and so on. You will find a heap of advice on better programs to
obtain.

Charlie42

 

[Bruce Chambers]

of course it is tweaker but it have excellent registry cleaner ...

There is no such thing as a "good" (meaning useful or beneficial)
registry cleaner, free or otherwise. Some are less harmful than others,
but because they're all nothing but snake oil, I won't recommend any.

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

All for Vista 64-bit Ultimate:

1.) I've had a third falling out over 25 or so years with
Symantec/Norton and am looking for a Registry search tool where you can
search for a particular 'word' much as you do now but where it will list
all the finds, review ones you want to delete, uncheck ones you want to
keep and finally make it so (delete them). Doing this one at at time is
such a waste of time--hundreds of occurrences of 'Symantec' and I still
have 'Norton', 'Ghost', and '360' to purge out of the Registry. (BTW,
Norton's removal tool hardly touched Registry entries, left empty
Windows Explorer folders, and was not product selective--did they even
think of the Registry?) This time around I would rather find a manual
way to scrubbing the Registry but also a tool that will seek out
orphaned key remnants too!

This is not a snake-oil cleaner, but a scanner that's more powerful
than Regedit's built-in search toll:

RegScanner v1.51
Copyright (c) 2004 - 2007 Nir Sofer
Web Site: http://www.nirsoft.net


--

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Not always- sometimes especially if you many times install and
uninstall programs compacting registry are recomended and really
increase performance.

Documentation? Benchmarks from before and after? Oh, and make
sure they either been notarized or verified by an independent
laboratory. In other words, only when someone finally produces
verifiable scientific evidence will I give such claims a lick of credence.

Please provide documented, independently verifiable scientific evidence
that using such a product actually improves the stability and
performance of a computer. If you do, you'll be the first to have ever
done so.


--

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thank you Bruce. I actually used the program to remove three or
four-hundred separate string entries in the Registry. My searches
were 'Symantec', 'Norton 360', and 'Norton Ghost'. That still leave
around one-hundred entries that kept spawning back...some returning
even after a reboot. This morning I looked through the Taskbar and
Start Menu Properties | Notification Area and checked the Hide
inactive icons to see what was there. I found 'Symantec Email
Scanner', 'Norton Ghost Status: Backed Up', and 'Norton 360 is
protecting you.'

Do you know how I can get rid of these last remnants--how to keep the
Registry entries from respawning?

Is this the toll that failed you:

Uninstalling your Norton products on Windows XP (Link may wrap)
http://service1.symantec.com/Suppor...iew=docid&pid=2006032009205413&pkb=sharedtech

It seems to me that this is extremely poor programming on Symantec's
part--crude and rude--

Yes, it is poor programming on Symantec's part. That's one of the main
reasons why I don't know a single IT Professional who would recommend
the use of Symantec's consumer-grade products.

... and it leads to no wonder that XP and Vista get
toasted sooner or later via this 'untouchable' Registry.

It's not that the registry is "untouchable," per se, but rather that
some missed Symantec remnant is restoring registry entries upon reboot.


But, since I

am not a programmer although I was familiar with BASIC and Fortran
years ago, maybe you or someone can explain how writing all this code
into the Registry was the right way and the fact that Symantec's
special removal tool not removing these entries was the right way?

Another programming practice I don't understand why is making the
deletion of some files so incredibly bulletproof. A most recent
example here is Webroot's Security suite that writes 108 or so files
under the directory 'wrstemp' in the Windows\Temp directory. I've
always thought that Windows\Temp and \Tmp were _temporary_ directories
where everything in them can be deleted and the worst that can happen
is you have to reboot the computer. These particular files that
amount to some 61.5 or so MB so far can only be removed if you
uninstall Webroot Security. If they are permanent in nature even if
their contents/data varies then don't they belong elsewhere--such as a
Webroot Security program file directory?

This would be a question to direct towards the maker of Webroot.

Lastly, why is it meaningless to need to or desire to shrink up the
Registry free space, especially if you remove some 500 lines in it?

It's not so much meaningless as it is pointless. The most you'd do is
free up a microscopic amount of hard drive space. The "gain" would be
undetectable.

Is
it possible that Vista, unlike XP, does this automatically when
RegEdit is closed? I've never looked to see--interesting. Registry
Scanner worked well. Is there a reliable Registry compaction program
to go with it?

You might find these useful:

ERUNT and NTREGOPT
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/


--

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

 

[Gary Brandenburg]

Is this the toll that failed you[?]:

Uninstalling your Norton products on Windows XP (Link may wrap)
http://service1.symantec.com/Suppor...iew=docid&pid=2006032009205413&pkb=sharedtech

I'm very sorry to say today that I think so... Sadly I focussed and
lost focus on the wrong Goggle search findings and used this removal
tool for XP--not Vista. And far worse I thought that a special
removal tool would supercede using the normal removal in Vista's
Programs & Features. Oh, what a mess.

I've decided to try Kaspersky Internet Security next. They have a
very active forum support and I have tools and procedures that may get
rid of these Symantec remnants the hard way. It is really unknown
from my point of view now whether removing the Symantec products
properly using P&F would have removed all the remnants or not.

I'm wondering if I'm going to end up having to reinstall Norton 360
and Ghost 14 and then uninstalling them properly first before going
after any remnants will be necessary before I see light at the end of
the tunnel?

P.S. The link I used for downloading the Norton Removal Tool was:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...sf&view=docid&dtype=&prod=&ver=&osv=&osv_lvl=

Note that it does not mention the OS here, but I still wish I had done
the first removal from P&F.

Susan-
Try Regseeker: http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm to remove *specific registry
entries related to the Norton install.

Then go to the "Find in registry" & type in "Norton" & it will come up with all the
registry items related to that.
Then you can repeat the process by typing "Symantec" in the search box & it will show
all those items that you can remove.

You can select which ones to remove by using the Ctrl & Shift keys or you can just
click on the "Select" check mark & scroll to Select All.
Then it's just a matter of hovering over those entries & click to remove the selected
items.

*Be sure that the "backup before deletion" box is checked & it will create a .reg
file that easily restored if needed.(should be already checked by default)

It also has a "Search files" feature. Just stay away from the "Clean the Registry"
feature.


~Gary