Solved How much do you trust registry cleaners?

[M1GU31]

I've always used ccleaner to clean the registry when i uninstalled something. Hasn't messed up my system yet.

 

[windude99]

Here's my rule: DON'T use ANY of them. They are all bad news. I would only ever use those on Windows XP and the only one that I would use on XP is ccleaner. Generally, you will see a performance increase if you just run disk cleanup and disk defragmenter, along with running msconfig to disable startup programs.

 

[xxsicknessxx]

when they work there great when they fail they break your computer.

does that help? cc cleaner good though

 

[ickymay]

I recommend to all of my customers registry cleaners are unnecessary , and those that don't listen earn me money when they bring me broken installs to fix

 

[legacy7955]

My take on this is.....

.....ordinary users should NOT use ANY registry cleaner. PERIOD.
EVEN CCLEANER.

Unless you are a trained professional who knows exactly the consequences of altering the registry entries it is not if, but WHEN you will have serious trouble which may result in having to reinstall the OS.

For the most part like some others said you will gain the most increase in performance with a basic windows defrag, cleanup up of temporary files, and selecting programs on start up. That being said you must ALWAYS allow your security suite to boot on start up.

 

[DeaconFrost]

.....ordinary users should NOT use ANY registry cleaner.

CCleaner, when left at it's defaults, is perfectly safe to use for all users.

 

[bru]

The default state for CCleaner's registry app checks everything. Seems like a potential for trouble somehow, some way.

I think CCleaner themselves only recommends some of the categories be universally removed.

 

[gregrocker]

If you're worried about CCleaner Registry cleaner then accept its offer to back up the changes and/or set a System Restore Point - Create

After 15 years, still waiting for a single documented case of it harming a system.

 

[A Guy]

.....ordinary users should NOT use ANY registry cleaner.

CCleaner, when left at it's defaults, is perfectly safe to use for all users.

If you're worried about CCleaner Registry cleaner then accept its offer to back up the changes and/or set a System Restore Point - Create

After 15 years, still waiting for a single documented case of it harming a system.

+2 I can recommend CCleaner universally, even knowing that the user may use the registry cleaner part. I can't say this of any other program. And, like Greg, I have never seen CCleaner cause a problem. A Guy

 

[brotherboard]

Why when so many of our experts quite rightly warn of the dangers of messing with the registry is there here on this very page (viewing without signing in) an advert for a windows optimisation software (Regcure)

 

[wanchoo]

Because as I have always maintained, cleaning the Registry is perhaps not as dangerous as it is made out to be.

A really good Registry Cleaner gives multiple level choices for cleaning the Registry. They are generally Safe, Aggressive and Very Aggressive. Cleaning the Registry with the safe choice is like cleaning with the free CCleaner. Those with greater expertise can use the other two choices.

Why when so many of our experts quite rightly warn of the dangers of messing with the registry is there here on this very page (viewing without signing in) an advert for a windows optimisation software (Regcure)

 

[DeaconFrost]

Why when so many of our experts quite rightly warn of the dangers of messing with the registry is there here on this very page (viewing without signing in) an advert for a windows optimisation software (Regcure)

It's called a targeted ad. You were viewing a webpage with the word "registry" on it, and that probably matched a target word that the ad specified. I'm not sure what you meant by posting this, though, as it isn't related to the forums or the topic. Blame your browser.

 

[gregrocker]

Another good reason to remove any installed Google software and stay signed out of Google except while using its mail, lest it stalk you with creepy targeted ads pasted everywhere you go.

The stable Google search box built into most browsers is exempt.

An even more thorough method is here: Network Advertising Initiative

 

[phoenixflying]

With due respect...

It is important for us to always remember that some of the people we give advice to are not always blessed with the same knowledge / ability & experience we have.

Therefore sometimes it is necessary to err on the side of caution.
Our personal experience is often irrelevant.

the guy at the auto parts store could have used your advise, but to the other side of that coin. thankfully, (since i was holding the battery post that was crossthreaded) i had the knowledge to smile, and say thanks for your help and forget that he told me to cut a hole in the side of my battery and put the cables and post in there.... (sorry, just happened)

my experience with ccleaner, is that its scary. its awesome and catches soooo much of the 'bad", unfortunatly, it also puts the "good" in there too. but i find it helpful to see and erase things that i 210% (i go back twice) know can go.

basically backup, backup, backup... and try try again.
found that out with that original win32 worm. found it, isolated it, removed it... along with (i dont remember what now) the FAT. fixed that (back in the day it seemed we could do anything), and within the day my motherboard fried.

 

[phoenixflying]

If you're worried about CCleaner Registry cleaner then accept its offer to back up the changes and/or set a System Restore Point - Create

After 15 years, still waiting for a single documented case of it harming a system.

MEMEME!!!!!!!!!!!

of course this was when it was still relatively new and USER ERROR is what caused the harm.

i didnt know it was my fault, it gave me a fix all errors button and i said yes...

blue screen of death

 

[Bertison]

+1 to the Deacon, disagree with all who do not find CCleaner a good piece of software that does exactly what it says and no more.

Does not slow anything down.

Carry out a Registry Backup after use, can't go wrong.

I have it to run on startup, takes a few seconds and job done. Tanya, your solution will take longer than CCleaner!

And Piriform's "Speccy" is a great tool for findind every Spec on your 'puter.

 

[phoenixflying]

how much to do trust registry cleaners?
very little to none at all

that being said there are two that I like and DO trust.
ccleaner is free. its the only one i use WHEN i use it.... only when theres a bonafide issue
and if anyone can remember which one that was that was a paid one bout 14, 15 yrs ago... its that one

Ccleaner will not hurt your computer.... you will by not knowing precisely what to do. it can b tricky... it told you it was bad, so you believed it.
not true
it told you there was a problem with that reg.
duplicate? broken? not fully uninstalled or installed... or (drum roll please) they havnt put it in their database yet so its not recognized and it was a vital system crashing update windows forced on you and with its own update tools it changed and/or erased the old registries(yeah, cause that happens often)... BUT Ccleaner doesnt know

 

[UsernameIssues]

Maybe gregrocker is looking for this level of documentation against CCleaner's registry cleaning function.

This video is documenting issues caused by Uniblue's registry cleaner - I hope that users will never see such issues with CCleaner.

 

[Bertison]

I think we have all moved away from the OP's question. The OP now probably has a very confused opinion (and a low one at that) of this Forum.

Basically, I would say, if you want to try out CCleaner, download it and just use the Cleaning part first, until you gain more confidence. The default settings will not cause any possible harm, leave them. If you want a REGISTRY Cleaner, don't download anything other than CCleaner. And take a tip - download from the PIRIFORM site only. Set it to carry out "Automatic" updates, even though it says 'automatic', it always asks for permission.

I can reinforce previous advice regarding other "Registry Cleaners." From bitter experience, you could open a can of worms which may harm your system, or at least clog it and slow it down. That is something many 'amateurs' such as myself, began; making a mess by downloading garbage which looks very attractive at first glance. CCleaner will NOT harm your machine, that is a fact, despite all the "evidence" presented by some here.

It is true that poking around in the Registry, without knowing what you are doing, can cause damage to it. So don't. If you want to know more about the Registry, "Windows Help and Support" is your friend, in the Start Menu. Open it and type "Registry" in the Search box. Read on, follow on if you wish. Find a good manual about Windows 7 and learn what you can. And please believe me when I say that all of us here, despite the conflicting views presented, are really just trying to help.

 

[spencer1]

What about Glary Utilities? It has a registry cleaner included in its 1-Click-Maintenance. Glary seems to find more stuff than CCleaner. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad.