W
Wesley Vogel
[[Wesley is correct, of course.]] <LOL> I may have to print this out and
frame it.
frame it.
T
Ted Zieglar
Any performance improvement from the elimination of "300 useless entries"
exists in your head. You've bought into the hype, my friend. Big time.
exists in your head. You've bought into the hype, my friend. Big time.
J
Jim Byrd
Hi Prabhat - 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.geocities.com/ggmartau/tu.html or direct dwnld here:
http://files.webattack.com/localdl834/tun234.zip, in the first place.)
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.
--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP
In
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.geocities.com/ggmartau/tu.html or direct dwnld here:
http://files.webattack.com/localdl834/tun234.zip, in the first place.)
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.
--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP
In
R
Richard Urban
Consider this then!
I performed a clean install a month ago, just to test this theory.
Clean install. Added SP1 and all available Window Updates. Installed all my
programs (had a lot of time on my hands). Then I installed SP2.
I ran WinDoctor and eliminated about 600 bad entries in the registry. I
rebooted and emptied the recycle bin.
I then ran NTREGopt.exe ( from ERUNT). This optimized (compacted) the
registry. I obtained a 19% gain in the reduction of the registry size (about
8.5 meg smaller).
When I rebooted I was able to "CLOCK" - via a stop watch, a 23 second
reduction in bootup time to a usable desktop!
--
Regards:
Richard Urban
aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard
I performed a clean install a month ago, just to test this theory.
Clean install. Added SP1 and all available Window Updates. Installed all my
programs (had a lot of time on my hands). Then I installed SP2.
I ran WinDoctor and eliminated about 600 bad entries in the registry. I
rebooted and emptied the recycle bin.
I then ran NTREGopt.exe ( from ERUNT). This optimized (compacted) the
registry. I obtained a 19% gain in the reduction of the registry size (about
8.5 meg smaller).
When I rebooted I was able to "CLOCK" - via a stop watch, a 23 second
reduction in bootup time to a usable desktop!
--
Regards:
Richard Urban
aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard
T
Ted Zieglar
The six hundred registry entries that you eliminated didn't make your bootup
any faster. It took your system a fraction of a second to load those
registry entries into RAM; that's how much time you saved by eliminating
them.
Besides, how do you know that those 600 registry entries were "bad" --
because WinDoctor told you so? The great majority of 'errors' that WinDoctor
finds (missing icons, broken shortcuts, etc.) are laughable. Does it seem a
little suspicious to you that a clean install of Windows with nothing more
than Windows updates added yielded 600 "bad" registry keys?
Windows XP is continuously tuning itself in the background, establishing the
pre-fetch, performing partial defrags, reordering the driver load (the
'secret' behind the bootvis routine), etc.
Have you ever seen an article in a computer magazine that tested registry
cleaners with 'before and after' benchmarks that measured boot times and
overall system performance?
any faster. It took your system a fraction of a second to load those
registry entries into RAM; that's how much time you saved by eliminating
them.
Besides, how do you know that those 600 registry entries were "bad" --
because WinDoctor told you so? The great majority of 'errors' that WinDoctor
finds (missing icons, broken shortcuts, etc.) are laughable. Does it seem a
little suspicious to you that a clean install of Windows with nothing more
than Windows updates added yielded 600 "bad" registry keys?
Windows XP is continuously tuning itself in the background, establishing the
pre-fetch, performing partial defrags, reordering the driver load (the
'secret' behind the bootvis routine), etc.
Have you ever seen an article in a computer magazine that tested registry
cleaners with 'before and after' benchmarks that measured boot times and
overall system performance?
R
Richard Urban
Told you I loaded ALL of my software, about 100 major programs and smaller
applets!
--
Regards:
Richard Urban
aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard
applets!
--
Regards:
Richard Urban
aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard
R
Richard Urban
I just performed that benchmark, with a stop watch. I can't argue with the
results!
--
Regards:
Richard Urban
aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard
results!
--
Regards:
Richard Urban
aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard
B
Bill Cotter
The registry is a database however, and my understanding of databases is that,
without compaction from time to time, they never become smaller, only larger.
So, even if program vendors do an *excellent* job of removing useless keys (a
huge 'if' IMHO), over time combined with many program installs and uninstalls,
the registry is going to end up with a lot of "air pockets" in it. Can anyone
address the implications of this on system performance and/or reliability?
T
Ted Zieglar
Holly cow, Richard: What kind of software do you buy that causes 600
"errors" to appear in your registry? Maybe you ought to spend a little more
and get the good stuff. {;-> {;->
Ted Zieglar
"errors" to appear in your registry? Maybe you ought to spend a little more
and get the good stuff. {;-> {;->
Ted Zieglar
E
Edward W. Thompson
A note with regards to restoring the registry with ERUNT when the partitions
are formatted and you are unable to start WINXP.
You can restore the Registry to NTFS drives from DOS using ERUNT if you load
NTFSDOSPro. THe program NTFSDOSPRO will allow you to read and write to NTFS
volumes from DOS. However NTFSDOSPro remaps the partitions and the
partition where the Registry hives resides (normally C:/windows) is likely
to be remapped to another letter. In my case NTFSDOSPRO remaps C: to F:.
To overcome this and restore the Registry using ERUNT you need to open
ERDNT.ini in the file set to be restored and change all references to C: to
the drive letter assigned by NTFSDOSPro before running ERDNT.exe.
snip
are formatted and you are unable to start WINXP.
You can restore the Registry to NTFS drives from DOS using ERUNT if you load
NTFSDOSPro. THe program NTFSDOSPRO will allow you to read and write to NTFS
volumes from DOS. However NTFSDOSPro remaps the partitions and the
partition where the Registry hives resides (normally C:/windows) is likely
to be remapped to another letter. In my case NTFSDOSPRO remaps C: to F:.
To overcome this and restore the Registry using ERUNT you need to open
ERDNT.ini in the file set to be restored and change all references to C: to
the drive letter assigned by NTFSDOSPro before running ERDNT.exe.
snip
snip
T
Ted Zieglar
You are correct insofar as the registry can be thought of as a database, but
you can't compare it with a third party database program (like Microsoft
Access, for example). Compaction of the registry is performed in the
background by Windows. However, there are always those who think they can do
measurably better with a registry cleaner/optimizer. And why not - that's
what the advertising says.
As an aside (and this is not directed at you): I am always amused at
people's attempts to add insignificant performance improvements through the
use of exotic tools when there is so much more performance to be gained by
learning how to use their computer's to best advantage.
you can't compare it with a third party database program (like Microsoft
Access, for example). Compaction of the registry is performed in the
background by Windows. However, there are always those who think they can do
measurably better with a registry cleaner/optimizer. And why not - that's
what the advertising says.
As an aside (and this is not directed at you): I am always amused at
people's attempts to add insignificant performance improvements through the
use of exotic tools when there is so much more performance to be gained by
learning how to use their computer's to best advantage.
P
Prabhat
Hi Jim, Well Placed.
Thanks
Prabhat
Thanks
Prabhat
Jim Byrd said:
P
Prabhat
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the Test Result
Prabhat
Thanks for the Test Result
Prabhat
Richard Urban said:Consider this then!
I performed a clean install a month ago, just to test this theory.
Clean install. Added SP1 and all available Window Updates. Installed all my
programs (had a lot of time on my hands). Then I installed SP2.
I ran WinDoctor and eliminated about 600 bad entries in the registry. I
rebooted and emptied the recycle bin.
I then ran NTREGopt.exe ( from ERUNT). This optimized (compacted) the
registry. I obtained a 19% gain in the reduction of the registry size (about
8.5 meg smaller).
When I rebooted I was able to "CLOCK" - via a stop watch, a 23 second
reduction in bootup time to a usable desktop!
--
Regards:
Richard Urban
aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard
P
Prabhat
Hi All,
I Got Looooots of thing from this Discussion.
Probably I come to comclusion that If we are Good in Registry Keys then
Better We keep the Backup and Do it our self, Only if the Uninstaller of any
Application leaves some thing or XP Itself does not compact the Registry.
Thanks All
Prabhat
I Got Looooots of thing from this Discussion.
Probably I come to comclusion that If we are Good in Registry Keys then
Better We keep the Backup and Do it our self, Only if the Uninstaller of any
Application leaves some thing or XP Itself does not compact the Registry.
Thanks All
Prabhat
Wesley Vogel said:
T
Testy
The main problem with all registry cleaners is that if you don't know what
you are doing you can trash your system, And if you do know what you are
doing you don't need them.
Testy
\
you are doing you can trash your system, And if you do know what you are
doing you don't need them.
Testy
\
Prabhat said:
U
Unknown
Just installing SP2 will create many, many useless registry entries. I suggest
you use a stop watch and time your functions then do a registry clean and time
them again. You won't be convinced until you do so.
@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
you use a stop watch and time your functions then do a registry clean and time
them again. You won't be convinced until you do so.
@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
T
Ted Zieglar
How about posting some of those "many, many useless registry entries" along
with your explanation of why they are useless. Or is this just your opinion?
In fact, I have tried a few of the more popular "registry cleaners"
(WinDoctor, RegCleaner, etc.) and none of them came up with anything that
would affect my system's performance or bootup. No surprise then that my
before and after bootups were identical. But I did have a good laugh about
the "errors" these toys discovered.
I won't belabor the point: There is no substitute for learning how to use a
PC correctly and to best advantage. In the long run, this will cover your
a** better than digital eye candy.
with your explanation of why they are useless. Or is this just your opinion?
In fact, I have tried a few of the more popular "registry cleaners"
(WinDoctor, RegCleaner, etc.) and none of them came up with anything that
would affect my system's performance or bootup. No surprise then that my
before and after bootups were identical. But I did have a good laugh about
the "errors" these toys discovered.
I won't belabor the point: There is no substitute for learning how to use a
PC correctly and to best advantage. In the long run, this will cover your
a** better than digital eye candy.
X
XS11E
I'll disagree with the last, a registry cleaner is usually much faster
than manually going through the registry.
T
Ted Zieglar
I may be just playing with words here, but I don't think a registry
'cleaner' is called for even in that case. There are several third party
registry 'editors' that are more convenient than regedit. Basically, they
make it easier to navigate through the registry. For those who work in the
registry often, and who know what they're looking at, a well designed
registry editor can make working in the registry a lot less tedious. And
let's face it, working in the registry is dull. I'd much rather be playing
with Windows Media Player.
'cleaner' is called for even in that case. There are several third party
registry 'editors' that are more convenient than regedit. Basically, they
make it easier to navigate through the registry. For those who work in the
registry often, and who know what they're looking at, a well designed
registry editor can make working in the registry a lot less tedious. And
let's face it, working in the registry is dull. I'd much rather be playing
with Windows Media Player.
U
Unknown
I really wish I could so that I could convince you. However, I have deleted
them already. But as an example, my system came with many advertised ISP's.
Notably, AOL. If I wanted to subscribe to AOL I would click on its ICON and
install and register it. (Subscribe). I cleaned out everything pertainging to
AOL and, there was tons of it. If you had similar experience, do a regedit
search for AOL and see what comes up.
I run a registry cleaner about once a month and usually find at least 30
useless items each time. They accumulate.
them already. But as an example, my system came with many advertised ISP's.
Notably, AOL. If I wanted to subscribe to AOL I would click on its ICON and
install and register it. (Subscribe). I cleaned out everything pertainging to
AOL and, there was tons of it. If you had similar experience, do a regedit
search for AOL and see what comes up.
I run a registry cleaner about once a month and usually find at least 30
useless items each time. They accumulate.