"The registry gets to be pretty big, and cutting down the junk in it can =
improve response time when a program has to go hunt in it for =
something."

Another widely held misconception (w/r/t Windows XP).

Ted Zieglar

"VManes" wrote in message =
...
Bruce,
=20
I think you're leaning a bit too far out on this topic (much like many =
of=20
our political organizations today), and the fringe is seldom a good =
place to=20
be.
=20
Yes, any working in the Registry is not to be done by someone without =
some=20
knowledge, and wholesale housecleaning is not for the faint of heart.
=20
Yes, the Norton/Symantec prodcuts are a pale imitation of what they =
once=20
were ( I loved Norton Untilites 4.5 - that was Golden!) Recently, I=20
undertook the task of removing all Symantec products from our two main =
PCs -=20
mainly because the antispam product was just dogging down the system, =
not=20
just while working email. Man, what a performance boost!
=20
Now, what could some registry cleaner product do that I could not do =
with=20
RegEdit? Find the hundredSSSS of keys and values that=20
Systemworks/AntiVirus/AntiSpam and especially Live Update left =
scattered=20
throughout the registry, even after a supposed complete uninstall. I =
found=20
lots on my own, but Registry First Aid found many many more.
=20
The only programs that do a good job of cleaning up after themselves =
in the=20
registry with their uninstall are ones that don't make much use of the =

registry, and even there simple apps still leave lots of flotsam and =
jetsam=20
around.
=20
On a system that's been in use going on 3 years now, lots of programs=20
installed and removed over that time, Registry First Aid found about =
2000=20
entries that were orphaned, misdirected, or otherwised needed =
correction or=20
could be deleted.
=20
The registry gets to be pretty big, and cutting down the junk in it =
can=20
improve response time when a program has to go hunt in it for =
something.
=20
I'm not saying this is necessary for every user, or needed very often, =
but=20
in my case it was a useful procedure. And certainly a lot less =
painful than=20
wiping the drive and reinstalling everything to have cleaner system.
=20
Val
=20
ps - Bruce, I've seen your posts here for years, and been helped by =
your=20
advice more than a few times. Thanks.
=20
=20
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bruce Chambers" wrote in message=20
...
TRABEM wrote:
It might very well be a scam, but the concept of registry cleaning is
a valid one, even in XP.

=20
=20
No, that's not in the least bit correct. You've been listening to
salesman and marketing lies, rather than experienced, knowledgeable
technicians.
=20
=20
I use Norton Systemworks, which is a suite, which includes a registry
checker/cleaner.

=20
=20
Actually, SystemWorks' primary function separate your money from your
wallet. Once a useful utility suite, back in the days of MS-DOS, when
Peter Norton was more than a picture on the box, Norton Utilities have
been becoming increasingly useless and redundant over the years.
There's little offered by NU that WinXP cannot already do natively. =
And
some of Systemworks's features, like CrashGuard and CleanSweep (if
they're still included) cause far more problems then they prevent.
=20
=20
It finds registry errors all the time, many times finding 20 or 30 =
per
scan. Most software doesn't install cleanly, even WORD and Pagemaker,
which are supposed to be above suspicion by reputation::

=20
I find keys that don't lead anywhere and other assorted problems,
especially activeX problems. I can uninstall almost any piece of
software and run the scanner, it will be guaranteed to find problems!

Even when software isn't uninstalled, there are often 3 or 4 'medium'
rated registry problems found.

=20
=20
=20
Any thought as to where these registry "errors" are coming from, if
you're finding new ones "all the time?" Oh, and what specific =
problems
have any orphaned entries actually caused? Come on, name at least one
specific problem that you experienced and couldn't have fixed without
SystemWorks.
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
--=20
=20
Bruce Chambers
=20
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
=20
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on =
having
both at once. - RAH=20
=20