Deleting Registry Entries

[illiterate1]

Hello,

Sorry to bother you again. I am attempting to clean up a Compaq 32 bit laptop. Having downloaded and used several Registry 'utils' I believe that there remain several entries which may be pointing nowhere. It is important that the maximum amount of hard disk space is 'freed' since the machine is a meagre 250 gig with about ten of that partitioned. At the moment I have achieved 196 gig free space but I believe there is a lot more. The programmes are currently taking up less than 1 gig of space and whilst I appreciate that the operating system may use substantially more, I expect about 20 gig of hard drive space in use at the most. Hence, the problem.. I am not prepared to shell out big bucks for registry cleaners which, I am told, may not achieve the desired results. I have deleted quite a few entries under the 'software' headings, but I am at a loss as to what to do next in the registry. Is there a way of determining whether an entry is no longer valid.

Thanks,

Illiterate

 

[DavidE]

Using registry cleaners will not gain much disk space and will most likely cause more problems than they solve.
You might consider a clean reinstall, don't use registry cleaners, and be careful what is installed.
Here is an excellent tutorial by gregrocker documenting a clean reinstall:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Well, my entire registry amounts to only 239 MB---less than 1/4 of 1 GB.

So I don't worry about its size much.

How large is the entire registry on your Compaq? Unless it's several GB or larger, I can't see why reducing its size could save much space.

 

[whs]

This is ridiculous. The size of the registry is peanuts compared to the size of even the most modest disk. Those cleaners are to be avoided like the plague because they accomplish nothing and may get you into a lot of deep yogurt.

If you expect only 20GB in use, what do you want to do with the remainder of the 250GBs - save it for a rainy day? The resources in our computers are there to be used, not to gather dust.

 

[LMiller7]

Deleting registry entries will not reduce the size of the registry. It just leaves empty space in the registry files that will be used when new entries are created. You would need a registry defrag utility to compact the registry and regain the space saved. Note that this is totally different from what registry cleaners do. But the space saved will be totally inconsequential. If you want to save disk space the registry is the last place to look.

The benefits of registry cleaning exist only in the ads for registry cleaners. The dangers are very real.

 

[Wordsworth]

illiterate1, did you make a backup of your registry before beginning all that you have done to it? I fear your next post will be one asking for help restoring the original registry when your computer does not boot, or you get BSODs.

The Registry is best left alone especially if as you say you "are at a loss as to what to do next in the registry."

 

[MrWhoopee]

Despite the fact that drives are now running in the TBs, 250 gb is not "meager". I have over 1000 CDs in my mp3 music collection, it runs 80 gb. Unless you anticipate a large video collection, 250 gb is like a 40 room mansion. I work on lots of computers, hard drives fail before they fill.

 

[illiterate1]

Hello and thanks for your expert replies..as usual.

Mentioned in at least one of the posts is "....Well, my entire registry amounts to only 239 MB...". Could you tell me where to find the size of my registry in total ? As mentioned previously, I aim to free-up 200 gig of hard drive space..I am currently on about 196 gig free, so taking all your comments on board (which I obviously appreciate, otherwise I wouldn't be on the site) I should insert that I have made several back-ups of the registry but would not know where to find them nor to determine their size.. Is it possible that the registry back-ups are eating some space and possibly the restore points also.. again I don't know how to determine their size.

Sorry to be a pain to you people but I do appreciate your help.

Thanks.

Illiterate.

 

[LMiller7]

"If you want to save disk space the registry is the last place to look"

 

[DavidE]

You will never free up 4 GB of space with any registry cleanup.

How did you backup the registry ?
If you don't know where the registry backups are stored, how can you restore a backup if you ever need to ?

Trying to reclaim 4 GB of space in your situation is not worth the time spent ... imho

Your time would be better spent with:
- CCleaner file cleanup
- Windows Disk Cleanup
- Windows Update Cleanup

 

[illiterate1]

Thanks for your advice, it's appreciated. I would like to find out how big my registry is though, and how much space the registry backups would typically use..and also the amount of space several restore points would take up.

I know !! I'm a pain.

Thanks again,

Illiterate

 

[Sir George]

Thanks for your advice, it's appreciated. I would like to find out how big my registry is though, and how much space the registry backups would typically use..and also the amount of space several restore points would take up.

I know !! I'm a pain.

Thanks again,

Illiterate

On disk, the Registry isn’t simply one large file but a set of discrete files called hives. Each hive contains a Registry tree, which has a key that serves as the root (i.e., starting point) of the tree. Subkeys and their values reside beneath the root.

Location of Windows registry files
The location of these registry hives are as follows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM : \system32\config\system
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SAM : \system32\config\sam
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SECURITY : \system32\config\security
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE : \system32\config\software
HKEY_USERS \UserProfile : \winnt\profiles\username
HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT : \system32\config\default
(the left side of the colon is the reg data and the right side is the location on your disk)

Some hives are volatile and don’t have associated files. The system creates and manages these hives entirely in memory; the hives are therefore temporary in nature. The system creates volatile hives every time the system boots. Examples are:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \HARDWARE : Volatile hive
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM \Clone : Volatile hive

These files are database files, and only RegEdit, Regedit32 and the Kernel32 can read them. The primary tool in Windows 7 for working directly with the registry is Registry Editor. To access it, simply type Regedit in Start Menu Search Bar and hit Enter !

You will not see the files unless you choose to show them as follows;

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/394-hidden-files-folders-show-hide.html

HTH

 

[whs]

If you don't use hibernation, you can delete the hiberfile with this command: powercfg -h off. That frees up space at the amount of the size of your RAM. And if you have 4GB of RAM or more, reduce the pagefile to 2GB.

If you want to quickly see where all your space goes, run this program: https://windirstat.info/

 

[illiterate1]

Hello,

You people are absolutely amazing, I shall print out these pages and ' have a bash' as we say, In the meantime I have managed to free up a further 2 gig on the hard drive taking me to 198 gig free space... but I shall stop there. In line with an earler suggestion it's a pointless exercise to look to free up just the remaining 2 gig which would have taken me to 200 gig. However, each post reveals a further 'trinket' insofar that I now need to ask how to reduce the pagefile size.

Thanks to each and every one of you.

Illiterate.

 

[whs]

Type pagefile into Start/Search and hit Enter. It will tell you.

 

[DavidE]

Also,
Look at "Cleanup System Files", you may be able to get a lot of space back ...

To get to this:
- Open Windows (file) Explorer
- Right click the drive - Click Properties - Click Disk Cleanup - Click Clean up system files Look at how much space can be recovered in "Service Pack Backup Files" and "Windows Update Cleanup" I've seen up to 10GB free'd depending on - was the original install pre-SP1 - how many Windows Updates have been installed - OS is 32 Bit / 64 Bit - has cleanup ever been run before My screen print tries to visually show you how to get there ... [ATTACH]316405._xfImport[/ATTACH]

 

[illiterate1]

Hello,

I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would have so much help. On this page alone there are 'little gems' of information, and I thank you all for that... I had better start putting all this info into practise.

Thanks once again.

Illiterate.

 

[andrew129260]

Here is my guide on how to use ccleaner if your interested in freeing up some space.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/306648-ccleaner-delete-junk-files.html

 

[illiterate1]

Hello,

I've left a quick note beneath your tutorial. Thanks for taking the trouble to make things clearer for myself and all the other 'newbies' on the forum. Brilliant..Thankyou.

Illiterate.

 

[DavidE]

Another cleaner I remembered that can cleanup and recover space is TFC.
I can't remember how much space I free'd, but I remember being pleasantly surprised.
My OSs were installed 4+ years ago, so your mileage may vary

See this post from Jacee about using TFC
http://www.sevenforums.com/general-...-did-not-configure-restart-2.html#post2689970