How safe is a registry cleaner?

You were doing great until you said 'registry cleaners ARE preventive
maintenance tools' that clean up registry entries
that may cause problems in the future. If they erroneously 'clean up' an
entry you have a problem immediately.
"Tecknomage" wrote in message
news
GENERAL COMMENT ON SUBJECT

There are Microsoft MVPs that do not like any registry cleaners. Some
rant and post foaming-at-the-mouth comments on registry cleaners.

Microsoft MVPs are correct in their opinion that Registry Cleaners are
NOT a *necessity*.

But most *seem* to misconstrue what registry cleaner are for. And
there ARE sites that misrepresent registry cleaners.



1) Like ANY software, do not use or download from *promotional sites*
that are NOT the *publisher* of the software. These sites are like
the old sleaze "used card salesman." The software they offer is
likely to be a demo which is dangerous to run.


2) Registry cleaners should NOT be use to FIX a problem you have at
any time.

You should NOT RUN REGISTRY CLEANERS WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER MAJOR
PROBLEMS. Especially if you suspect you have a virus or other
malware.

Registry cleaners will not speed-up your system.

(This is the primary reason that *promotional sites* are bad, because
the offer a registry cleaner to fix a problem you have or speed up
your system)


3) Registry cleaners ARE *preventative* maintained tools, that clean
up Registry entries that MAY cause problems in the *future*.

This is similar to running Disk Cleanup (System Tools menu), cleaning
your Temporary Internet Files, and other tools that help keep your
system in the best condition.



I use (for years), and recommend registry cleaners for:

- Removing entries left behind in the Registry by *poorly written*
software uninstallers (run via link or Add/Remove Programs)

- Removing Registry entries for any file that no longer exists



A "good" registry cleaner? Here's my list:

- Scans Registry for problem then presents you with a detailed list
BEFORE cleaning.

Then you decide what you want to clean or cancel the operation.

- IMPORTANT, performs a backup the listed entries BEFORE cleaning
them, AND includes a way to recover them if need be.

(note that this is another problem with using registry cleaners from
*promotional sites* because the download they offer is a demo that may
not include the backup feature)

Just carefully review the specs of any Registry Cleaner and ALL its
features. Never use a demo.


Again I stress, Registry Cleaners are NOT for fixing an existing
problem.



--
======== Tecknomage ========
Computer Systems Specialist
IT Technician
San Diego, CA

Tecknomage wrote:

I use (for years), and recommend registry cleaners for:

- Removing entries left behind in the Registry by *poorly written*
software uninstallers (run via link or Add/Remove Programs)

- Removing Registry entries for any file that no longer exists

You didn't answer my question the last time I asked, so here it is
again:

What specific, concrete benefits have you noticed to date by doing the
above?

It is very rare that leftover registry entries cause *any* problems
whatsoever. Attempting to remove them is probably safe (as long as the
person doing this is knowledgeable), but one runs an unnecessary risk of
causing trouble by doing so. Therefore, since the risk of damage is
higher in running these utlities (albeit a relatively small risk,
admittedly), it is recommended to leave well enough alone.

Amen!
"Daave" wrote in message
...
Tecknomage wrote:

I use (for years), and recommend registry cleaners for:

- Removing entries left behind in the Registry by *poorly written*
software uninstallers (run via link or Add/Remove Programs)

- Removing Registry entries for any file that no longer exists

You didn't answer my question the last time I asked, so here it is again:

What specific, concrete benefits have you noticed to date by doing the
above?

It is very rare that leftover registry entries cause *any* problems
whatsoever. Attempting to remove them is probably safe (as long as the
person doing this is knowledgeable), but one runs an unnecessary risk of
causing trouble by doing so. Therefore, since the risk of damage is higher
in running these utlities (albeit a relatively small risk, admittedly), it
is recommended to leave well enough alone.

Tecknomage wrote:
GENERAL COMMENT ON SUBJECT

There are Microsoft MVPs that do not like any registry cleaners. Some
rant and post foaming-at-the-mouth comments on registry cleaners.

Microsoft MVPs are correct in their opinion that Registry Cleaners are
NOT a *necessity*.

But most *seem* to misconstrue what registry cleaner are for. And
there ARE sites that misrepresent registry cleaners.



1) Like ANY software, do not use or download from *promotional sites*
that are NOT the *publisher* of the software. These sites are like
the old sleaze "used card salesman." The software they offer is
likely to be a demo which is dangerous to run.


2) Registry cleaners should NOT be use to FIX a problem you have at
any time.

You should NOT RUN REGISTRY CLEANERS WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER MAJOR
PROBLEMS. Especially if you suspect you have a virus or other
malware.

Registry cleaners will not speed-up your system.

(This is the primary reason that *promotional sites* are bad, because
the offer a registry cleaner to fix a problem you have or speed up
your system)


3) Registry cleaners ARE *preventative* maintained tools, that clean
up Registry entries that MAY cause problems in the *future*.

Let's see some documented proof of that specific assertion.

This is similar to running Disk Cleanup (System Tools menu), cleaning
your Temporary Internet Files, and other tools that help keep your
system in the best condition.

No, it is not similar to that.

Tecknomage wrote:


3) Registry cleaners ARE *preventative* maintained tools, that clean
up Registry entries that MAY cause problems in the *future*.



Citation? Please provided documented reports of repeatable experiments
from independent laboratories that verify this.

Otherwise, you're no better than the fool who wear's a tin foil hat to
keep aliens away, and when told that there are no aliens around, says "See?"




--

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

Bruce Chambers wrote:
Tecknomage wrote:


3) Registry cleaners ARE *preventative* maintained tools, that clean
up Registry entries that MAY cause problems in the *future*.



Citation? Please provided documented reports of repeatable
experiments from independent laboratories that verify this.

Otherwise, you're no better than the fool who wear's a tin foil hat to
keep aliens away, and when told that there are no aliens around, says
"See?"

LOL

Good metaphor!

In ,
Unknown typed:
PSS You want ten times the problems you now have? If yes,
follow Twaynes advice.

Ignorance is truly bliss for some; esp those with insufficient brain cells
to know reality. That's why your credibility is zero.

"Unknown" wrote in message
...
No such thing a a 'good' registry cleaner. Best bet is to
avoid them completely.
"Gabriel Knight" wrote in message
...
Hi all, Im having problems with internet explorer 7, Ive
used my norton to do a registry clean but it dosnt get as
many detectable errors in the registry as some online
programs do. One program said my system had about 400
errors, but it was a demo program and was unable to clean
the entries. Is this safe to use these programs as
anything that changes the registry cant be all that good
or am I wrong? Is there any realy good cleaners that are
full programs for free on the web? Thanks all
GK

In ,
Gabriel Knight typed:
Ok all, im using Norton Internet Security 2010 that has
Norton Utilities its been updated and works fine but only
detects some errors like about 20-30 files. Im not to sure
about using any reg cleaners as from the ones Ive tried in
the past few days, has some how disabled some sounds for
win xp eg: when I click on a link there is no sound now and
a couple of others. I dont want to uninstall IE7 just yet
to see if that works as im waiting 2 weeks to do that. I
did do a safe mode boot with networking enabled but I didnt
want to see if IE7 closes as I had no way to enable my
Norton firewall as this would be to unsafe. Is there a way
to make a copy of the registry and then do a reg clean and
if problems occur can I use the backed up one?
Thanks
GK

To make a backup copy of your registry do any of the following:

1. Create a Restore Point manually (under System Tools; Restore Points).
or

2. Use ntbackup (XP's backup utility provided with all Home and Pro systems)
and save the System State.
or

3. Press F8 during the bootup to get the menu for things lke Safe Mode, but
instead of Safe Mode, choose "Last Known Good Configuration".

Creating a Restore Point essentially creates a full copy of the Regstry.
Saving a System State does #1 above, plus also saves the necessary
boot-time fles the OS needs to boot.
IMO #1 should always be done and then either 2 and/or 3.

Long term you can plan to learn about backups, get yourself an external disk
drive (they're cheap nowadays, often all the way up to 1 Terabyte in size
(1,000 GigaBytes). Then implement a good disk imagiing program such as
Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image; both are good. I can't speak for any
others at t's been too long since I've used them.

HTH,

Twayne`
TH,

Twayne`


"Gabriel Knight" wrote in message
...
Hi all, Im having problems with internet explorer 7, Ive
used my norton to do a registry clean but it dosnt get as
many detectable errors in the registry as some online
programs do. One program said my system had about 400
errors, but it was a demo program and was unable to clean
the entries. Is this safe to use these programs as
anything that changes the registry cant be all that good
or am I wrong? Is there any realy good cleaners that are
full programs for free on the web? Thanks all
GK

In om,
Leythos typed:
In article ,
says...

Hi all, Im having problems with internet explorer 7, Ive
used my norton to do a registry clean but it dosnt get as
many detectable errors in the registry as some online
programs do.

Beware the online scanners; you have no way of knowing what is actually
being run unless you're at a known reliable site. Leave quickly when they
find errors and claim only they know how to fix the. As with any software,
those are often scammers at work.
Assuming your Norton is up to date and maintained/supported, it's going
to give you a good readng.

One program said my system had about 400
errors, but it was a demo program and was unable to clean
the entries. Is this safe to use these programs as
anything that changes the registry cant be all that good
or am I wrong?

You are correct; you have no idea who you're dealing with in most of those
sites and many of them are pure blackhat, as with any other program.

Is there any realy good cleaners that are
full programs for free on the web?

I don't use them so can't say. I will say if there are any free ones, there
aren't many of them will be reliable.
Stick to the major names in the business, as with any program you download.


Thanks all
GK

I've been working with MS products since DOS 1 days, and
have thousands of Windows computers under my control.

Same here; and what does it mean? Not a damned thing. Well, it gives some
idea of your probably age, but nothing about any experience or capabltes for
the problem under discussion.


I would never run a "registry cleaner" on any of them.

Well, that's great; now we know what YOU would do! And that's certainly your
right. But it's meaningless in any other way.

HTH,

Twayne`

In ,
Peter Foldes typed:
How Safe? After using any one of them and you are not able
to boot then you will find out

Registry Cleaners are all snake oil remedies and that is
all they are.

And Peter Foldes, besides being a follower, is an outdated, out-experenced
minion of the small group of libel and slandering fools who continue to post
things such as this. Provide some technical, verifiable indications of your
claims or have another mouthful of marbles. If your claims had any validty
to them, the uprising over them would have begun a decade ago, but it's
never gotten any further than this little group of deadheads who post here.
And you few are the ONLY ones making these claims, WITHOUT anything to
support your claims. The truth is, a good registry cleaner (e.g. not a
scammer/malware infested site and delivery) is no more likely to cause any
computer problems than ANY OTHER program or application!

Thanks for this opportunity to once again expose you.

HTH,

Twayne`

In ,
Bruce Chambers typed:
Gabriel Knight wrote:
Hi all, Im having problems with internet explorer 7, Ive
used my norton to do a registry clean but it dosnt get as
many detectable errors in the registry as some online
programs do. One program said my system had about 400
errors, but it was a demo program and was unable to clean
the entries. Is this safe to use these programs as
anything that changes the registry cant be all that good
or am I wrong? Is there any realy good cleaners that are
full programs for free on the web? Thanks all
GK




There's simply no such thing as a "good" registry cleaner,
unless you limit the meaning of the word "good" to "using
it didn't tank my system this time."

Why would you even think you'd ever need to clean your
registry? What specific *problems* were 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 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.
A little further reading on the subject:

Why I don't use registry cleaners
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=643

AumHa Forums  View topic - AUMHA Discussion: Should I Use
a Registry Cleaner?
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099

And this is one of the original closed minds who think they know it all and
yet have no knowldege at all about current product. Check out the names on
the posts/writing in those self-serving links and you'll see some familiar
ones there, using their own ego's to sound oh so great. Also notice they did
nothing to authenticate the claims that originated the post, but did a lot
to liibel and slander the companies involved. Authentication and verifiable
evidence just is not one of the things they believe in. Go ahead and ask
them.

Thanks again for the chance to expose you and congrats on biting on a
troller's inquiry who just loves to watch these conversations. Why no
Russinovich? Did you discover that he recanted his claim about cleaners? RR
is a breath of fresh air compared to the likes of your group of "followers"
which proves nothing except that there's truly one born every minute.

HTH,

Twayne`

In ,
Bruce Chambers typed:
Tecknomage wrote:


3) Registry cleaners ARE *preventative* maintained tools,
that clean up Registry entries that MAY cause problems in
the *future*.


Citation? Please provided documented reports of repeatable
experiments from independent laboratories that verify this.

Where's ANY citation from you that they are NOT? You obviously cannot
provide them or would have done so long ago. At one time I initially tried
to actually discuss this with you, before I knew what a droid and idiot you
were. All these years and you've only collected a few numbskulls as
followers. You arrogantly assume that yu are the only one with accurate
opinions, because you have nothing BUT opinons, and yet try to establish
them as fact.


Otherwise, you're no better than the fool who wear's a tin
foil hat to keep aliens away, and when told that there are no aliens
around, says "See?"

Glad that works for you! 99.9999% of the visitors here though know better
and see right through you as though you were made of glass. For the rest of
us, we'll let reality and experience be our guides as any thinking person
should do.

You have refused for literally years to do that very same thing when asked
to by many people right here on this newsgroup. Even I at one point
initially took note of your postings but a little reality and logic puts
everything you say/said into the darkness found under black hats and
misiniformationists. As soon as I asked a technical question you disappeared
and never did answer it. Shortly after that you found me exposing your
misinformation at every turn where I came across it.

Thanks again!

HTH,

Twayne`

You talk about credibility and promote running registry cleaners????
You're absolutely insane. Is it any wonder you have five hard drives to
back-up your system.
"Twayne" wrote in message
...
In ,
Unknown typed:
PSS You want ten times the problems you now have? If yes,
follow Twaynes advice.

Ignorance is truly bliss for some; esp those with insufficient brain cells
to know reality. That's why your credibility is zero.

"Unknown" wrote in message
...
No such thing a a 'good' registry cleaner. Best bet is to
avoid them completely.
"Gabriel Knight" wrote in message
...
Hi all, Im having problems with internet explorer 7, Ive
used my norton to do a registry clean but it dosnt get as
many detectable errors in the registry as some online
programs do. One program said my system had about 400
errors, but it was a demo program and was unable to clean
the entries. Is this safe to use these programs as
anything that changes the registry cant be all that good
or am I wrong? Is there any realy good cleaners that are
full programs for free on the web? Thanks all
GK

In ,
Unknown typed:
You talk about credibility and promote running registry
cleaners???? You're absolutely insane. Is it any wonder you
have five hard drives to back-up your system.

LOL, that's a definite candidate for the worst reading comprehenson I have
ever come across!
You apparently have no concept of proper backup structures or practices
or you could not possibly have written that! Perhaps some Google time or
just use your favorite search engine and learn just a tad about backups,
what they are, how they're done, and how to implement them.

I've had to closely monitor some things here in the computer room the last
couple days and so have had extra spare time on my hands but it's coming to
a close so you'll shortly be losing my tremendous words of with and
accurcacy. As with any pleasureable activity, it's only done in my spare
time. Excellent nic, BTW; very fitting.

....

Try being informed rather than opinionated.
"Twayne" wrote in message
...
In ,
Unknown typed:
You talk about credibility and promote running registry
cleaners???? You're absolutely insane. Is it any wonder you
have five hard drives to back-up your system.

LOL, that's a definite candidate for the worst reading comprehenson I have
ever come across!
You apparently have no concept of proper backup structures or practices
or you could not possibly have written that! Perhaps some Google time or
just use your favorite search engine and learn just a tad about backups,
what they are, how they're done, and how to implement them.

I've had to closely monitor some things here in the computer room the last
couple days and so have had extra spare time on my hands but it's coming
to a close so you'll shortly be losing my tremendous words of with and
accurcacy. As with any pleasureable activity, it's only done in my spare
time. Excellent nic, BTW; very fitting.

...