registry utility

  • Thread starter Thread starter Des
  • Start date Start date
D

Des

Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is starting to
creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
Des
 
Des said:
Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is
starting to creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
Des
Click to expand...

No. Do a Google Groups Advanced search in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general and use the search term "registry
cleaner". You'll get a ton of posts with most techs agreeing that
registry cleaners do more harm than good. If you know enough about the
registry to use a registry cleaner safely, you don't need a registry
cleaner.

The registry does not affect the speed and responsiveness of XP as it
did in older MS operating systems. Some simple maintenance will do the
job. Naturally, you will also want to make sure your computer is virus
and malware-free.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Maintenance

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

Malke
 
Replied To {REPLY BELOW}:
-------------------------------------------------------------

: Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility?


Yes, there is one registry cleaner and it is very popular. It is NO REGISTRY CLEANER
and it is available from Nobody because you already have it.
 
As others have stated, stay away from registry cleaners, the only way they
are safe is if you review what it proposes to clean before it cleans, and
this requires a good working knowledge of the registry, if you just let it
go willy nilly removing stuff, your asking for trouble.
 
Des said:
Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is starting to
creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
Des
Click to expand...

It's now fall, spring was six months ago, and if you use one of these
utilities chances are that your computer will stop creaking and just
croak instead...

John
 
You may not have liked the answers you have been getting but as a person who
for many many years used registry cleaning tools and manually analyzing the
results of a reg scan and then changing or deleting reg entries (always made
an image backup of Windows partition before making any registry changes or
deletions), I now find that after over a year of use without using any
registry cleaners that for the most part the effort and risk involved is
simply not worth it!

JS
 
OK, so using a utility is not reccommended, so can anyone help with the
following:
On shutting down, my machine hangs about 50% of the time. The only way to
get it to switch off properly is to turn off the power and then restart it
so I can shut down properly.
I have installed no new software or hardware for eons, and have already
checked for spyware.
Any ideas?
Des
 
Start > Run > msconfig > Select "Diagnostic startup" > Click OK > Restart your
computer > Run it the same way when the problem is occurring > Try to Shutdown your
PC after running the same programs and after the same time as before > See if problem
again

--
Ayush [ Be ''?'' Happy ]

For any query, search - www.Google.com
Want to know about a term - http://en.wikipedia.org

Replied To :
-------------------------------------------------------------

: OK, so using a utility is not reccommended, so can anyone help with the
: following:
: On shutting down, my machine hangs about 50% of the time. The only way to
: get it to switch off properly is to turn off the power and then restart it
: so I can shut down properly.
: I have installed no new software or hardware for eons, and have already
: checked for spyware.
: Any ideas?
: Des
: > You may not have liked the answers you have been getting but as a person
: > who for many many years used registry cleaning tools and manually
: > analyzing the results of a reg scan and then changing or deleting reg
: > entries (always made an image backup of Windows partition before making
: > any registry changes or deletions), I now find that after over a year of
: > use without using any registry cleaners that for the most part the effort
: > and risk involved is simply not worth it!
: >
: > JS
: >
: > : >> Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is starting
: >> to creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
: >> Des
: >>
: >
: >
:
:
 
Des said:
OK, so using a utility is not reccommended, so can anyone help with
the following:
On shutting down, my machine hangs about 50% of the time. The only way
to get it to switch off properly is to turn off the power and then
restart it so I can shut down properly.
I have installed no new software or hardware for eons, and have
already checked for spyware.
Click to expand...

I already gave you links, including how to check for malware. Please
review the procedures there and if you didn't follow something very
similar, please do so.

You should also go through this shutdown troubleshooter:
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm

Malke
 
Des said:
Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is
starting to creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
Click to expand...


Do not try to clean the registry.. Routine cleaning of the registry isn't
needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and don't use a registry
cleaner. Despite what many people think, and what vendors of registry
cleaning
software try to convince you of, having unused registry entries doesn't
really hurt you.

The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously
removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit it may
have.
 
Des said:
Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is
starting to creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
Des
Click to expand...

The BS;ers, scare mongers, wanna-be authors, etc. here are just that, but
IMO, in a way they're right, for your case. I noticed not a single one of
them did anything but cleaner bash and totally ignored your actual request,
so here are a couple of things that might help you out.

I'm assuming your level of expertise is not high because of your question
and how you phrased it. The registry is very, very unlikely to be the
source of a "creak"; rather there is a long list of thing that might cause
that, whatever you mean by it.

First, you need to detail exactly what's wrong and give the details of
whatever the "creak"s are that you want to address. If you're just going on
a hunch, then I recommend you just let things be. IF you're having problems
of some sort, describe them and be sure to define precisely what you mean.
IN other words, don't say something is "slow". Give some numbers or way of
knowing how it\s slow and how you know it's slow, and so on.

But back to your original question if you really just want to play with
registry cleaners:
There's a decent registry cleaner at www.ccleaner.com/. As with any
other time you mess around in the system areas, be certain you have your
data backed up in such a way that you can reinstall the entire computer if
it should become necessary.
Norton SystemWorks also contains a pretty decent system organizer called
WinDoctor that can clean up a lot of crud laying around in the system, not
just the registry.
You would probably benefit from a google search for xp +slow or something
like it; check and see what you can find. Wikipedia is also a great source
for the kind of info related to this stuff.

Cheers,

Pop`
 
Des said:
Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is starting to
creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
Des
Click to expand...


What specific problems are you *actually experiencing* (not some
snake oil program's bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you
believe to be rooted in the registry? (The "creak a bit...." might mean
a defective fan bearing, but would certainly have nothing to do with the
registry.)

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 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 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.

The only thing needed to safely clean your registry is knowledge
and Regedit.exe. 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.

Further, no one has ever demonstrated, to my satisfaction, that the
use of an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained,
inexperienced computer user, does any real good. 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.

I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment
far more than I would any automated registry cleaner. I strongly
encourage others to acquire the knowledge, as well.


--

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
 
In Des had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is
starting to creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
Des
Click to expand...

A few of MVPs have given you good information. Don't clean the registry to
fix a "creak" as it is far more likely to cause harm then good. If anyone
tells you otherwise, well, ask them to prove it. Can you gain performance
benefits from cleaning it? Sure. Can an automated application know what YOU
do with YOUR PC and have installed on YOUR PC and want to keep installed on
YOUR PC help? Probably not.

If it takes 4 hours for your reg clean to run and you save 2 seconds every
boot, how long will you have to do that before it adds up to a time savings?
And if, in one of those times, it kills your OS? How long will you have to
work to get your PC back to "now?"

Instead... I have a silly question?

Shutdown Shortcuts:
http://kgiii.info/windows/XP/tips/shutdown_shortcuts.html

Running shutdown with the -f switch, what do you see? Does it shut off
quickly? If not do you see a not-responding error? If so then what's the
application?

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/ http://kgiii.info/

"Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and
its solution is its own reward." - Sherlock Holmes
 
Des said:
Hi, can anyone recommend a registry cleaning utility? My com is starting
to creak a bit and I think it needs a spring clean....
Des
Click to expand...
Hi Des
For what it is worth, my feelings and opinions re Reg Cleaners.

I do not let any registry cleaner etc on my one and only computer.
If I get a problem then I fix it - if it aint broke I don't fix it - and
that includes RM.
If a computer owner, like me, has only basic user skills, and do not know
what goes on in the Registry, then the last thing they should use is a tool
to do it.
The problem with me(and thousands of others) of limited techno ability, is
that I have no idea what goes on in registry.
Until I am able to learn the hidden secrets in there I do not enter unless
held by the hand by somebody far more capable.
More damage can be caused than good done - it has been widely posted that
such a prog. gives a user no particular benefit.
Whether or not one gains any significant performance is questionable - I
have read more posts/articles to say that performing a registry clean does
not enhance performance to any degree.
In every thread I have read in newsgroups in the last 2
years or more, the advice has come down against these Reg Cleaners.
What your opinion is of MVP's, I do not know, but I have come to know the
ones I can trust - and most caution against their usage.
I have no problem with those who recommend/support or whatever the use of
these cleaners.
I just wish they would point out the other side of the coin to those who may
not have a clue what they are doing.
I sometimes wonder if they ever consider the capabilities of the poster to
whom they reply.
When I had my rush of blood to the head I had not heard of 'backup' and
there was no such thing as System Restore.
I had no access to newsgroups either :-(

Antioch
 
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