Registry Cleaner Tool

Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.

Thank You

David wrote:
Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.

Thank You

I recommend "No Operator Need Experiment", known as NONE.
Effortless to use (you do nothing) and your registry will continue to
work fine.

Seriously, registry "cleaners" are *not needed*, and can do as much harm
as possible good. If you must remove a stubborn problem-causing
registry entry from an old program, use Regedit to find all instances of
it, and delete them individually.


Tony

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David wrote:
Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.

Thank You


Why do you even think you'd ever need to clean your registry? What
specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not some program's
bogus listing of imaginary problems) that you think can be fixed by
using a registry "cleaner?"

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
wide-spread multiple changes simultaneously. The only thing needed to
safely clean your registry is knowledge and Regedit.exe.

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 repeatedly 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. 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.

More importantly, no one has ever demonstrated that the use of an
automated registry "cleaner," particularly by an untrained,
inexperienced computer user, does any real good, whatsoever. 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. Given the potential for harm, it's just not
worth the risk.

Granted, most registry "cleaners" won't cause problems each and
every time they're used, but the potential for harm is always there.
And, since no registry "cleaner" has ever been demonstrated to do any
good (think of them like treating the flu with chicken soup - there's no
real medicinal value, but it sometimes provides a warming placebo
effect), I always tell people that the risks far out-weigh the
non-existent benefits.

I will concede that a good registry *scanning* tool, in the hands
of an experienced and knowledgeable technician or hobbyist can be a
useful time-saving diagnostic tool, as long as it's not allowed to make
any changes automatically. But I really don't think that there are any
registry "cleaners" that are truly safe for the general public to use.
Experience has proven just the opposite: such tools simply are not safe
in the hands of the inexperienced user.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

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

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:21:42 -0500, David wrote:

Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.


Registry cleaning programs are *all* snake oil. 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.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

The other posters' comments mirror my own thoughts on the matter. One thing
that hasn't been said is that the reg cleaners have undo files to reverse
any changes made. That's fine providing a problem caused by the cleaner
shows up immediately and you think to use the undo file. However, suppose
the problem doesn't show up for two weeks because you haven't used a
particular program. Do you think that you will even remember running the
reg cleaner two weeks earlier and think to use the undo file?

Just too much risk using these programs with very little documented benefit.
--
Regards

Ron Badour
MS MVP 1997 - 2008


"David" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.

Thank You

Ron Badour wrote:
The other posters' comments mirror my own thoughts on the matter. One thing
that hasn't been said is that the reg cleaners have undo files to reverse
any changes made. That's fine providing a problem caused by the cleaner
shows up immediately and you think to use the undo file. However, suppose
the problem doesn't show up for two weeks because you haven't used a
particular program. Do you think that you will even remember running the
reg cleaner two weeks earlier and think to use the undo file?

Just too much risk using these programs with very little documented benefit.


Absolutely. Ron is right - I speak from experience. Ditch the registry
cleaner idea.

Tony

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David wrote:
Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.

Thank You

The best one is none (seriously).

Unless you understand the registry well enough to be able to capably use
regedit, and then only by knowing exactly what you are looking for.
Otherwise, it is best to observe the Keep Out signs posted there.

"David" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.

Thank You

To answer your question as simply as possible try 'TrashReg'. No bells and
whistles but seems to be effective at what it is designed to do.

Whether you need to 'clean' the Registry of redundant entries is another
subject and has been addressed and debated extensively.

David wrote:
Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.

Thank You

Still if you "have to have one", then I like Tune Up Utilities 2008.
It comes with one, but it has cleaners to delete old temp files, and
many more utilities. And as some have suggested, the reg cleaner
allows for selective exceptions to the automated clean, and a back. Not
that I've used the backup, but it does work. I find it nice to run
when I delete a program and it leaves entries. I usually isolate those
entries and forget the others. Like others have said, I don't know
why they are there, I just know I deleted program xyz, thus any
reference to xyz I know I should delete. I write it up to a poor
uninstall program. It has a defrag for the registry, but I'd stay away
from that too.

And I'll re-iterate, if you don't have a good solid backup routine, nix
this whole idea. If Microsoft wanted the user to 'clean' his
registry, you think there might have been one on the menu?

this whole idea. If Microsoft wanted the user to 'clean' his registry,
you think there might have been one on the menu?

In fact, MS had a registry cleaner back in the W98 days called RegClean. It
was as destructive as any of the other cleaner products I've seen. MS
finally scrapped it.

--
Regards

Ron Badour
MS MVP 1997 - 2008

Edward W. Thompson wrote:
To answer your question as simply as possible try 'TrashReg'. No bells and
whistles but seems to be effective at what it is designed to do.


Thank you for your suggestion. Looks good.

Big Al wrote:

Still if you "have to have one", then I like Tune Up Utilities 2008.

Thanks Big Al. I already know this one but appreciate it anyway.

Ron Badour wrote:

In fact, MS had a registry cleaner back in the W98 days called RegClean. It
was as destructive as any of the other cleaner products I've seen. MS
finally scrapped it.

Ron, as far as I remember there were also a variation of RegClean that
was much better.

What is it designed to do?
"Edward W. Thompson" wrote in message
...

"David" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Please recommend an already tested Registry Cleaner Tool.

Thank You

To answer your question as simply as possible try 'TrashReg'. No bells
and whistles but seems to be effective at what it is designed to do.

Whether you need to 'clean' the Registry of redundant entries is another
subject and has been addressed and debated extensively.

David wrote:

In fact, MS had a registry cleaner back in the W98 days called RegClean. It
was as destructive as any of the other cleaner products I've seen. MS
finally scrapped it.

Ron, as far as I remember there were also a variation of RegClean that
was much better.

There was only one version.