Any thoughts on Registry cleaners?

Barman58 · Jun 3, 2010

I personally have a different take on this ....

If you have no definite issues then leave it alone!

If you have issues with registry entries and you are confident that you can remove the offending items manually then by all means use something like Ccleaner to save time in locating the rouge entries and delete them
Always use the backup option in Ccleaner to protect yourself, in case you do not know as much as you think you do.

If you are nor sure of whether to remove an entry, Don't remove it

This is my take from my own, (sometimes bitter), experience

kucing13 · Jun 3, 2010

Well said Nigel. This registry matters is all about either you know about it,or you don't. If you know your problems,the root of the cause,you find the reason then you can remove it . However if you have a doubt of what are you doing, you better leave it alone.Even if you use CCleaner,if you have a doubt that CCleaner might harm your registry stop it.Unless you know what you are doing, then you can do it. If you don't? never try
Better stay safe than sorry

smarteyeball · Jun 3, 2010

To sum up an entire thread:

Note

IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHAT IT DOES - DON'T USE IT. EVEN IF YOU ARE CERTAIN OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING - BACK UP THE BLOODY REGISTRY FIRST IN CASE YOU DISCOVER YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING

kucing13 · Jun 3, 2010

smarteyeball said:
To sum up an entire thread:

Note

IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHAT IT DOES - DON'T USE IT. EVEN IF YOU ARE CERTAIN OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING - BACK UP THE BLOODY REGISTRY FIRST IN CASE YOU DISCOVER YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING

+1

CarlTR6 · Jun 3, 2010

drugo said:
i uninstalled photoshop cs4 and it left lots of key linked to photoshop cs4
association too

what should i do?

To uninstall complex programs such as Photoshop, I use Revo uninstaller. It gets the bits and pieces. YOu can run Ccleaner's registry cleaner and only delete the keys you know for certain are Photoshop related. Before you delete the first key, let Ccleaner back up the registry.

Regarding the file associations, check these tutorials:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9154-default-programs-associate-file-type-protocol.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/19449-default-file-type-associations-restore.html

gregrocker · Jun 3, 2010

I'm sorry to see CCleaner sometimes gets sullied by the bad reputation which Registry cleaners have earned. Most of these are sales operations with no real genius behind their program.

I've used CCleaner "Run Cleaner" and Registry tab for ten years and installed it on hundreds of machines without a single issue. IMO it's ingenious freeware that has been perfected to a T.

I regularly find machines that have 4-5 gb of schmutz to Clean up, then 100-200 registry items. Even a clean install needs cleanup and defrag as it's final step. CCleaner and Auslogics Defraggers keep my installs clean as a whistle and perfectly ordered.

Tatletz · Dec 29, 2010

I agree with CarlTR6, rather use proper uninstalling program which will remove all bits and pieces including the registry entries as well. Once I experimented with a registry cleaner after fresh windows reinstall. Guess what => it found 137 invalid/broken/corrupted registry entries!(this was "wise registry cleaner") :roflmao:
So, do yourself a favor: leave registry alone!

Mashed1316 · Dec 29, 2010

gregrocker said:
I'm sorry to see CCleaner sometimes gets sullied by the bad reputation which Registry cleaners have earned. Most of these are sales operations with no real genius behind their program.

I've used CCleaner "Run Cleaner" and Registry tab for ten years and installed it on hundreds of machines without a single issue. IMO it's ingenious freeware that has been perfected to a T.

I regularly find machines that have 4-5 gb of schmutz to Clean up, then 100-200 registry items. Even a clean install needs cleanup and defrag as it's final step. CCleaner and Auslogics Defraggers keep my installs clean as a whistle and perfectly ordered.

I have to agree with this, greg, i've used CCleaner and Auslogics Boostspeed for about 3 years or even more and i've never had a single issue, but hey, i respect people that doesnt support reg cleaners, they have their reasons and i won't argue them

CarlTR6 · Dec 29, 2010

I support the use of Ccleaner for the registry if -
1. you back up the registry first;
2. you know exactly what your are doing and delete only keys your 100% sure you don't need such as keys left over from software you have uninstalled.

I just finished a BSOD analysis that blamed the registry. The OP had used a registry cleaner and had no registry backup. The solution was a reinstall of Win 7.

Kari · Dec 29, 2010

Tews said:
As a rule, I stay away from registry cleaners ... IMO they end up doing more harm than good... If my system performance starts to suffer, I would rather do a restore from a backup image then start messing around with the registry ....

CarlTR6 said:
Windows is a closed source system. Developers of registry cleaners do not have the core code of Win 7 and are not working on definitive information, but rather they are going on past knowledge and experience. Automatic cleaners will usually have to do some guesswork.
Modifying registry keys incorrectly can cause Windows instability, or make Windows unbootable. No registry cleaner is completely safe and the potential is ever present to cause more problems than they claim to fix.

My advice for the average computer user is DO NOT use a registry cleaner. If you do not have knowledge of the registry, then you are far better off leaving it alone, and definitely not placing blind trust in a program to do the job for you.
Registry cleaners cannot distinguish between good and bad. If you run a registry cleaner, it will delete all those keys which are obsolete and sitting idle; but in reality, those keys may well be needed by some programs or windows at a later time.

Registry defragger programs are a myth, too. They might trim the registry size by 8-12MB; but will not improve operating system performance. In fact, your programs’ performance will decrease.
Win 7 does not need a registry cleaner. Forget all the "wisdom" you learned about XP. Win 7 is not XP and does not manage the registry the same as XP.

Win 7 is much more efficient at managing the registry than previous Windows versions. If you are very knowledgeable of the registry, you can use Ccleaner to delete keys left over when uninstalling programs. However, these few keys will not make 1 millisecond's difference in performance. If you run Ccleaner or any other registry cleaner and do not know precisely what you are doing, you will have problems down the road. There are no gains to be had from using a registry cleaner and the risk is great.

Nothing more to add, after reading these two posts.

Kari

Ciara · Dec 29, 2010

I change programs quite a lot and use CCleaner to clean up the bits (inc the reg) and not had any problems (I do backup the reg before installing and uninstalling)

SIW2 · Dec 29, 2010

I would also be interested to see any sources.

A lot of people make bold statements on this subject - there appears to be very little to back them up.

MS did include include a reg cleaner in their Onecare package.

However, it didn't sell very well, so they stoped selling it ( about a year ago - maybe less, can't recall exactly )

Borg 386 said:
CarlTR6, Is there a website where I can see how Win 7 handles the registry?

Does MS make it's own version of a reg cleaner?

Kari · Dec 29, 2010

I don't agree with Ed Bott in everything, but this article (although 5 years old) summarizes my opinion:

Ed Bott said:
Why I don’t use registry cleaners

Welcome, Digg visitors. Wow, twice in three days an old post of mine gets picked up and Dugg like crazy. Just to be clear: If you have a specific problem with removing a specific program, a registry cleaning utility might be able to identify keys that will help you solve that specific problem. But that’s a rare scenario. Most people I know use registry cleaners as part of their magic cleanup routine, and I see very little upside and a lot of potential downside in this sort of routine use. Specifically, as I write below, I have never seen any evidence that routine “cleaning” of the registry has any positive effect. I stand behind that statement.

Full article: Why I don’t use registry cleaners | Ed Bott's Windows Expertise

Kari

Mashed1316 · Dec 29, 2010

CarlTR6 said:
I support the use of Ccleaner for the registry if -
1. you back up the registry first;
2. you know exactly what your are doing and delete only keys your 100% sure you don't need such as keys left over from software you have uninstalled.

I just finished a BSOD analysis that blamed the registry. The OP had used a registry cleaner and had no registry backup. The solution was a reinstall of Win 7.

Now i agree with you too, Carl... It's a little bit "silly" to not do a registry backup even though CCleaner and Auslogics Boostspeed makes automatic registry backups, just in case you don't know exactly what are you deleting or cleaning...

In fact, if you don't know exactly what you're doing, then yes, i suggest don't use a Registry Cleaner

Too bad for the OP that he has to reinstall the OS!

good thing now is that he learned (the hard way, though) that registry cleaner can damage seriously an OS! now he'll have a Windows 7 Cleanly installed and no more Reg Cleaners doing any damage

CarlTR6 · Dec 29, 2010

I posted my little registry sermon that Kari quoted to the OP. He realizes his mistake. By the way, it was a registry cleaner he paid for. I will not give the name. I don't think he will be installing it on his new install of Win 7. I looked five of his dumps. They were nearly identical and all blamed the registry.

Tatletz · Jan 4, 2011

Well, guys lets summarize it => Yes or No !? :doh:

Kari · Jan 4, 2011

Interesting to see how my answer is going to be commented...

But, here it is: I have been computing over 30 years. Used Windows over 20 years, since Windows 2. I do no longer remember how it was with earlier versions with Windows, but I do remember and know that at least since Windows 2000, I have never used any registry cleaners.

My reason is simply this: A Windows registry is even when "bloated" (as some fellow geeks say) a very small file. It does not affect Windows boot time or functionality, application boot time or functionality and so on. I can see no reason to constantly keep doing something that is so absolutely not necessary.

Read this and other forums. How often a request for help begins "I run a registry cleaning program and now my computer ..."?

So, the answer: No.

Kari

marsmimar · Jan 4, 2011

And for an opposing view, in the left corner wearing pink trunks and weighing in at 165 pounds is Windows Live OneCare safety scanner.

View attachment 129028

Microsoft still offers a registry cleaner and recommends that the registry be cleaned. From my own limited experience with Windows 7, it's probably not necessary to use a registry cleaner. However, if one chooses to use a cleaner I'd recommend either the OneCare cleaner or CCleaner ... IMHO ... FWIW

Mike Connor · Jan 4, 2011

An ever recurring discussion..........!

The truth is that as long as you have a sensible reliable backup system in place, and know how to use it, it doesn't much matter what you play with, as the worst that can usually happen is that you have to restore the system.

( This does not apply to things like playing with BIOS settings or "Flashing" programs, these can be very very expensive errors!!!).

If you have the fairly typical "single drive installation" with no backup, then you shouldn't play with anything at all unless you know what you are doing, because you WILL damage it or render it unusable. This is inevitable, and merely a matter of time.

Using a "registry cleaner" for "standard maintenance" on a regular basis merely reduces the time intervals between failures!

Regards....Mike Connor

CarlTR6 · Jan 4, 2011

Mike Connor said:
An ever recurring discussion..........!

The truth is that as long as you have a sensible reliable backup system in place, and know how to use it, it doesn't much matter what you play with, as the worst that can usually happen is that you have to restore the system.

( This does not apply to things like playing with BIOS settings or "Flashing" programs, these can be very very expensive errors!!!).

If you have the fairly typical "single drive installation" with no backup, then you shouldn't play with anything at all unless you know what you are doing, because you WILL damage it or render it unusable. This is inevitable, and merely a matter of time.

Using a "registry cleaner" for "standard maintenance" on a regular basis merely reduces the time intervals between failures!

Regards....Mike Connor

Good post, Mike. I especially like the statement in bold.

Any thoughts on Registry cleaners?

Post no evil ;)

My Computers

New member

My Computer

knows his stuff

My Computer

New member

My Computer

Antique Senior Member

My Computer

New member

New member

My Computer

New member

My Computer

Antique Senior Member

My Computer

An Angry Old Man

My Computer

English Rose

My Computer

YTS GEEK

My Computers

An Angry Old Man

My Computer

New member

My Computer

Antique Senior Member

My Computer

New member

My Computer

An Angry Old Man

My Computer

New member

My Computer

New member

My Computer

Antique Senior Member

My Computer