Whether one uses a registry cleaner or regedit the first step is knowledge. One should know what they are looking for and why. Also what other effects will happen. I have tinkered with the registry when removing something like the Ask Tool Bar but I knew what I was looking for. Pushing one button on a program to fix the registry is scary to me.
Over the years, so-called registry cleaners have given me trouble so I don't use them.
That said, CCleaner is as good as any, and providing you backup the registry first and/or create a system restore point, you have a way back if things do get messed up.
However, I think Windows 7 is pretty good at taking care of business so providing you're careful with what you download you shouldn't need a registry cleaner.
Have never used a Registry Cleaner & have no intention of ever doing so.
Generic advice -
If you do not have knowledge of the registry, then you would probably be better off leaving it alone, and definitely not placing blind trust in a program to do the job for you.
To advise anyone that a "Registry Cleaner" works, and that it will fix or speed up their machine {or all the other nonsense that is often propagated about these things} can mislead people.
Should you decide to go ahead -
Make sure you have
1.a current System Restore point created.
2.a recent "Back up" of your computer- preferably to an external HD.
FYI
Registry cleanup - Microsoft Answers
Gregrocker, Deacon Frost, and myself all use CCleaner for temp clean up and its registry cleaner. It's true there is no real performance gain as with XP but it is a great help with driver and software uninstalls because there is always a lot of reg bits left over which can make a negative impact on performance. Leftovers can also interfere with updating those same drivers or software.
Other than CCleaner though, I would stay away from reg cleaners. I know from trouble shooting PCtools, AVG, System Mechanic, and the like will bork your machine.
I don't recommend them either, especially in full auto-clean mode. CCleaner is alright if you go through what it finds manually and you delete only entries for things you are 110% sure you have removed from your system. I do not trust any of them to just hit the clean button without going through the list. Just asking for trouble by doing that
In my experience,I never used them except for ccleaner. It doesn't seem to dig deep on the stock settings. Pretty much all of the stuff it finds for me are just for things that have been uninstalled or updated. I would never use a dedicated registry cleaner. There's no real need, and they're not safe at all.
You are exactly right, and you explain why CCleaner isn't to be feared. It doesn't dig deep into the OS on it's default settings.
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.
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