WIll reinstalling XP remove unnecesary registry entries?

[MAP]

If I decide to reinstall XP, will this clean up the registry?

Thanks.

Only if you do a clean install and not a repair.
Why do you feel it is nessesary to clean up the registry? Are you having
some problem?
XP does not use the registry like older operating systems do,cleaning up the
registry in XP really is not needed.

 

[VMI]

If I decide to reinstall XP, will this clean up the registry?

Thanks.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "VMI" <[email protected]>

| If I decide to reinstall XP, will this clean up the registry?
|
| Thanks.
|

Only if the PC is completely wiped and the OS is installed from scratch.

 

[Plato]

If I decide to reinstall XP, will this clean up the registry?

If you want to clean the registry, clean the registry.

 

[Ken Blake]

If I decide to reinstall XP, will this clean up the registry?

If you do a clean reinstallation, yes; it will rebuild the
registry from scratch.

But why do you think you need to "clean up the registry"? It's
normally not at all necessary.

 

[VMI]

Thanks for the help. Greatly appreciated.

If you want to clean the registry, clean the registry.

 

[Brian]

**** off.

If you want to clean the registry, clean the registry.

 

[Brian]

Like when a virus happens???

If you do a clean reinstallation, yes; it will rebuild the
registry from scratch.

But why do you think you need to "clean up the registry"? It's
normally not at all necessary.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Like when a virus happens???

The way to get rid of a virus is with an anti-virus program.
Reinstalling Windows is almost always way overkill if you have a
virus. And trying to get rid of a virus by "cleaning the
registry" may not remove the virus at all, and is far more likely
to cause a problem than to solve one.'

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Ken Blake" <[email protected]>

| In |
| The way to get rid of a virus is with an anti-virus program.
| Reinstalling Windows is almost always way overkill if you have a
| virus. And trying to get rid of a virus by "cleaning the
| registry" may not remove the virus at all, and is far more likely
| to cause a problem than to solve one.'
|
| --
| Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
| Please reply to the newsgroup
|


Exactly and not to mention that if the virus is a Boot Sector infector then even a
re-format won't remove that kind of virus.

If an infector modifies the OS (such as the Registry) then one needs to use a good AV
application that will repair those changes as well as remove the infection. That is one
reason why just deleting an infector is often not enough.

Any questions on the proper ways to remove viruses and other malware should go to the News
Groups that specialize in this kind of support...

microsoft.public.security.virus
alt.comp.virus
alt.comp.anti-virus
alt.privacy.spyware

 

[Lil' Dave]

If you do a clean reinstallation, yes; it will rebuild the
registry from scratch.

But why do you think you need to "clean up the registry"? It's
normally not at all necessary.

Since the 98 OS, I've done a clean install every year with each MS OS I've
had installed on my past PCs. Have had everyone except Win2k. Spend most
of the time writing zeroes to the hard drive with the hard drive
manufacturers utility during each process. This is standard annual
maintenance for me.
The past two years, I've been restoring clean installs from image file (if
its the same PC) instead of sitting through the whole install process again.
All the MS OSes run better than the one year old install version as far as
user interpreted speed by my own experiences. This includes adding the
applications that were running as well.
Is it needed? Probably not. But, I sure like it.
Some change their oil every 10,000 miles if at all. Some every 3,000 miles.
Some even less. The engine sure likes clean oil so not clunk up the
internal works.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Since the 98 OS, I've done a clean install every year with each
MS OS
I've had installed on my past PCs. Have had everyone except
Win2k.
Spend most of the time writing zeroes to the hard drive with
the hard
drive manufacturers utility during each process. This is
standard
annual maintenance for me.

Your choice, of course. In my view, it's completely unnecessary
and a big waste of time and effort. If you maintain your system
even reasonably well, it should never be necessary to do this.

I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, 95, 98, 2000 and XP on
multiple machines here, almost every one from the day it was
first released until it was replaced by the next version. I've
never reinstalled any of them, and I've never had any performance
problems with any of them.

All the MS OSes run better than the one year old install
version as far as
user interpreted speed by my own experiences.

If that's your experience, I can't argue with it. It's not at all
my experience, nor is it that of the many other people I know who
run Windows.