system slow down

[Guest]

I have a fairly new laptop, purchased Nov. 2006, running on XP Media Center
Edition 2002 SP2. It starts OK everytime but then slows down gradually to the
point that even the contro-alt-delete wouldn't work. I then have to power it
off and start over again. This slow-down process usually takes one to two
days. All I am doing is web browsing and some word processing. (I usually put
ithe PC on standby when not using it)
Earlier today, I did a registry scan by downloading a free program called
"Uniblue Registry Cleaner 2" which told me I had more than 350 errors in my
registry and cleaned 15 for me and asked for $ if I want to clean them all. I
think this is quite risky. Please anyone has any good ideas what I should do?
Thanks

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Earlier today, I did a registry scan by downloading a free program called
"Uniblue Registry Cleaner 2" which told me I had more than 350 errors in my
registry and cleaned 15 for me and asked for $ if I want to clean them all. I
think this is quite risky. Please anyone has any good ideas what I should do?

STOP USING THAT PIECE OF CRAP NOW.

And don't use ANY registry "cleaners" in the future unless you are a
meticulous person who has many restore points on your system and many
backups of your system on either internal or external hard drives.

 

[Paul Pedersen]

STOP USING THAT PIECE OF CRAP NOW.

And don't use ANY registry "cleaners" in the future unless you are a
meticulous person who has many restore points on your system and many
backups of your system on either internal or external hard drives.

FWIW, I've been happy with Ace Utilities.

 

[Kelly]

Hi,

Run this combo and good luck. Spypware Cleaners that WORK!

Line 393 - Right Hand Side: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Or see: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_s.htm#spy

*Note: Update all (except HijackThis) before using.

Added note - generally speaking... stay away from "registry cleaners".

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

FWIW, I've been happy with Ace Utilities.

I'm happy forya!

They aren't needed with XP: Today's systems are SO fast that no
registry material that is no longer in use is going to noticeably slow
down your system.

There is absolutely NO demonstrable gain in speed after using a
"registry cleaner" that I am aware of. The only gain is a "mental"
one that obsessive-compulsive computer users think they see.

The vast majority of those users **** up their systems by using
registry cleaners and never post here.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have a fairly new laptop, purchased Nov. 2006, running on XP Media Center
Edition 2002 SP2. It starts OK everytime but then slows down gradually to the
point that even the contro-alt-delete wouldn't work. I then have to power it
off and start over again. This slow-down process usually takes one to two
days. All I am doing is web browsing and some word processing. (I usually put
ithe PC on standby when not using it)
Earlier today, I did a registry scan by downloading a free program called
"Uniblue Registry Cleaner 2" which told me I had more than 350 errors in my
registry and cleaned 15 for me and asked for $ if I want to clean them all. I
think this is quite risky. Please anyone has any good ideas what I should do?

You're right that it's very risky. I strongly recommend *against* the
use of registry cleaners. Cleaning of the registry isn't needed and is
dangerous. Leave the registry alone and don't use any 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.

Regarding your slowing down, it's very hard to diagnose a problem with
the little information you've provided, but performance problems these
days are very commonly caused by malware infestation. The first thing
to do is make sure that your system is malware-free. I recommend that
you go to Malke's Malware Removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware and
follow the instructions there.

 

[Gerry]

Turn the computer off overnight!


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Do you know enough to locate and analyze each of things your utility
locates? Because ALL Registry "cleaners" produce false positives. I
sometimes use them, but then I thoroughly research each and every item
that's flagged and then determine for myself if they can be changed or
deleted, AND I'm only looking for specific problems, usually due to
uninstalling applications -- I don't just blankly do whatever the utility
suggests.

In any case, I've yet to see a "Registry Cleaner" make any difference to an
XP system (unless some problem I alluded to before is involved.)

 

[Rock]

I have a fairly new laptop, purchased Nov. 2006, running on XP Media
Center
Edition 2002 SP2. It starts OK everytime but then slows down gradually to
the
point that even the contro-alt-delete wouldn't work. I then have to power
it
off and start over again. This slow-down process usually takes one to two
days. All I am doing is web browsing and some word processing. (I usually
put
ithe PC on standby when not using it)
Earlier today, I did a registry scan by downloading a free program called
"Uniblue Registry Cleaner 2" which told me I had more than 350 errors in
my
registry and cleaned 15 for me and asked for $ if I want to clean them
all. I
think this is quite risky. Please anyone has any good ideas what I should
do?

Do not use an automated registry cleaner. They cause more problems than
they fix. Unused entries in the registry do not, as a whole, cause
problems. If the program you ran has an undo feature use it.

See this link for tips on dealing with a slow computer:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm

Do a thorough scan for malware:

Malware Removal
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

THE PARASITE FIGHT
Finding, Removing & Protecting Yourself From Scumware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

Richard Harper’s Guide to Cleaning Pests
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm

 

[RalfG]

The errors reported by registry scanners are often very trivial things,
sometimes not errors at all and as others have said sometimes causing real
problems if you delete them.

I'd start by going through the installed programs on the computer and
uninstalling every one of them that is not going to be used. New OEM
computers often have a lot of extraneous fluff put on them and some of those
apps might have components that are needlessly running all the time.

BTW, you might want to double check your MCE version. The General tab on
System applet in Control Panel is not the correct place to check as it
doesn't report updated versions. Look within Media Center setup instead for
the real MCE version number (probably MCE 2005).

 

[Paul Pedersen]

Do you know enough to locate and analyze each of things your utility
locates? Because ALL Registry "cleaners" produce false positives. I
sometimes use them, but then I thoroughly research each and every item
that's flagged and then determine for myself if they can be changed or
deleted, AND I'm only looking for specific problems, usually due to
uninstalling applications -- I don't just blankly do whatever the utility
suggests.

In any case, I've yet to see a "Registry Cleaner" make any difference to
an XP system (unless some problem I alluded to before is involved.)

Actually, Ace Utilities has fixed several problems for me. And since
whatever entries it removes, it saves in a .reg file, it's easy to revert
changes.

No, I didn't write it, and don't get a commission. I'm just a satisfied
user.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Actually, Ace Utilities has fixed several problems for me. And since
whatever entries it removes, it saves in a .reg file, it's easy to revert
changes.

It may be easy to undo changes a registry cleaner makes, *if* the
computer still boots. Unfortunately the result of using a registry
cleaner can be bad enough that it no longer boots.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

I, too, have used plenty of Registry "cleaners", and I don't believe I've
caused any deep damage, just irritating damage (app suddenly won't work.) I
understand your recommendation, and yes, some cleaners are better than
others. But they all rely on logic, and the Registry's logic is rather
complex, including references to things that may not be present, or only
valid under certain conditions or as a "just in case" entry.

Our strong cautions against Registry Cleaners come from years of experience
and are meant to warn people away from them in the strongest possible terms.
People who need Registry Cleaners are usually the least likely to make
decent use of same and not get into trouble. Just make sure you know how to
do a System Restore when you can't get into Windows.

 

[Daave]

Actually, Ace Utilities has fixed several problems for me.

Out of curiosity, what were these problems?

 

[Plato]

I have a fairly new laptop, purchased Nov. 2006, running on XP Media Center
Edition 2002 SP2. It starts OK everytime but then slows down gradually to the
point that even the contro-alt-delete wouldn't work. I then have to power it

Sounds like you got a laptop with only 512 ram. Upgrade your ram for
starters.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Out of all your stupid answers this evening, this one takes the cake. Lack
of RAM will show effects immediately, not slowly drain performance.

 

[Paul Pedersen]

Out of curiosity, what were these problems?

It's been a while, but as I remember, it was various minor things. Apps
sometimes failed at certain tasks, some shutdown problems (errors or failure
to shut down), and similar. It also removes obsolete registry entries,
including Add/Remove Programs info, that often get left behind after
uninstallation. A bunch of stuff like that.

 

[Plato]

It's been a while, but as I remember, it was various minor things. Apps
sometimes failed at certain tasks, some shutdown problems (errors or failure
to shut down), and similar. It also removes obsolete registry entries,
including Add/Remove Programs info, that often get left behind after
uninstallation. A bunch of stuff like that.

Luckily, even when old registry entries are still there, windows will
not load them. Thats one main reason many folks in here do not recommend
registry cleaners.

 

[Paul Pedersen]

Luckily, even when old registry entries are still there, windows will
not load them. Thats one main reason many folks in here do not recommend
registry cleaners.

Well, it did load the invalid Add/Remove Programs entries. Programs were
still listed there, but trying to Remove them normally failed. Ace Utilities
cleaned them right up. There have been other problems it fixed too, but like
I said, it's been a while and I don't remember them all.

I can't say anything about registry cleaners in general. Only that I've been
pleased with the performance of this one. And in the two years or so that
I've been using it, it has never caused any problem, not once.