Solved How much do you trust registry cleaners?

[rbmorse]

If you use CCleaner, and I do, and haven't visited the Piriform web site lately, they've installed a "donate button" so you can toss a little money at the devs, if you're so disposed. It's the right thing to do.

 

[Versatile2820]

So there is alot of debating here on this topic and had read every one very interesting, so i just decided to give ccleaner another shot, i ran the regular cleaner that deleted about 1 gigs of temporary files and internet history, than i went ahead and ran the registry cleaner which had detected about 671 issues, alot of them referring to missing dlls and etc, so i did all of that and restarted my pc ( Its still under warranty and i can always do a system recovery so didn't really matter) the strange thing is i did notice some what of a improvement with the booting of windows went down to a little 5 seconds and programs seems to open quicker and a bit responsive. Im not sure if thats ccleaner doing or what, all i know was the last time i did ran it my pc performance was decreased now it increased by a bit, either my pc is drunk or it is just me, any answers on what happened because im still confused

 

[Britton30]

Well that was a lot of temp files and uneeded reg entries. That is likely the reason fo a snappier PC. Me, I run CCleaner a few times daily so I don't notice the slowing or speeding up as much.

 

[gregrocker]

Britton that caught my attention. I've been warned over the years not to run CCleaner (or defrag) that often. I once ran it once a week and was warned by several experts I trust that isn't a good idea. I now run it about once per month if that often and it seems to keep up nicely. Maybe others know for sure about frequency issues.

 

[wanchoo]

Due you run CCleaner for cleaning garbage only or do you also clean your registry about once a month?

Britton that caught my attention. I've been warned over the years not to run CCleaner (or defrag) that often. I once ran it once a week and was warned by several experts I trust that isn't a good idea. I now run it about once per month if that often and it seems to keep up nicely. Maybe others know for sure about frequency issues.

 

[gregrocker]

Whenever I run CCleaner I run the Registry tab too. I've done so for about 15 years it seems, without an issue. But sometimes it stretches for several months before I run it. If it finds too much schmutz, I remember to run it more often.

 

[wanchoo]

That is great. And I suppose that you agree with me that Registry Cleaners are not all that bad as they are being made out to be. They are a good example of "More sinned against than sinning".

Whenever I run CCleaner I run the Registry tab too. I've done so for about 15 years it seems, without an issue. But sometimes it stretches for several months before I run it. If it finds too much schmutz, I remember to run it more often.

 

[JMH]

May I butt in here please.
This discussion is now between Geeks who know exactly what they are doing...

Quite often the "Joe Blows" who ask our advice are not so tech savvy.
Often they have trouble giving sufficient information to us in a thread detailing their problem{s}.
Upon reading what is being discussed here currently they may see a green light of approval & rush headlong into who knows what.

"One cap does NOT always fit all."

With respect...
Jan.

 

[pparks1]

I often find that those who experience the most benefit are also the ones who don't actually time test anything prior to running the tools and instead rely on the "it just feels snappier" after the fact approach.

 

[zigzag3143]

I see the need for it in the proper hands. My irk is that it is so often given to a first poster with english as a second language where it can do great harm.

I dont recommend its use until I am sure they can understand it and far less often than the noobs think it is.


Caveat emptor

 

[gregrocker]

That is great. And I suppose that you agree with me that Registry Cleaners are not all that bad as they are being made out to be. They are a good example of "More sinned against than sinning".

I do not agree with that.

The only Registry cleaner I would use is CCleaner using its default settings which have been tuned for years to perfection.

Almost all other Registry Cleaners are either unproven to be as safe as CCleaner, or outright sales scams promoted in pop-up ads designed to entice users with faster-speed claims. These can cause more problems than they solve.

When you have a free cleaner tool which is perhaps the most respected single app in the tech world for years, why would you want another anyway?

When I put CCleaner on an install I always show how to back up Registry items found, although in hundreds of installs no one has ever had to use it for rescue.

And while I respect those who have differing opinions, I'm still waiting to see a confirmed case of CCleaner Registry cleaner messing up someone's computer. None in 15 years.

 

[sreedhav]

Microsoft does not recommend Reg.cleaners. Since i have never used the Reg. Option in Ccleaner, i have no independent opinion to offer.

I totally agree with Greg,when he talks about the "Hype" built around commercial Reg.cleaners.

Here is a simple test. On a brand new (with just the factory settings of MS OS), run a commercial Reg.Cleaner and see the results for yourself.

regards,
seedhav

 

[wanchoo]

My request to everyone, both Pros and Cons, would be to read this article (Langa Letter: Testing 10 Windows 'Registry Cleaning' Software Packs - - - Informationweek) if they find a little time. It was written long ago but I think it is still relevant.

As for Microsoft recommendation, many years back they used to sponsor a Registry Cleaner themselves. If memory serves me right it was called "RegClean".

 

[seavixen32]

With all due respect, Windows 7 is far removed from the days and problems associated with earlier operating systems.

It is a stable system that, in my view, has no need of a registry cleaner.

If you want a clean registry, only install software that you really need, keep away from dodgy sites and be meticulous in what you download.

In the two years or so I've been using Windows 7, it has caused me no problems and I've never used a registry cleaner. Why should I when my system is running well?

 

[DeaconFrost]

If I may throw some kindling on the fire....I don't think anyone can really make the claim that CCleaner speeds up their system (in terms of the reg cleaner). I am a religious CCleaner user, and I wouldn't make that claim. I don't use it for performance. I actually don't even run it on a schedule or at a set frequency. I run it when the time calls for it...such as when I remove a graphics card driver, and I want to ensure ALL traces of it are gone before installing the new version. I use it on test systems and VMs all the time when I install and remove a lot of software.

The only "performance" aspect I can claim is when I use the built-in tool to shut down start-up apps, but then again, that only affects my boot to desktop time...not actual performance.

 

[wanchoo]

Except that no matter how good the Garbage and Registry Cleaners are, a large number of orphans are always left behind.

If you remove a hardware driver to install a new one and want that all traces of the old installation are gone then I think the best way is to start from scratch. For removing every vestige of a program that I have installed I restore the latest image without that program but this technique shall not work with hardware drivers because they are almost always installed with Windows.

 

[DeaconFrost]

If you remove a hardware driver to install a new one and want that all traces of the old installation are gone then I think the best way is to start from scratch.

You describe one of the very reasons I recommend CCleaner. Back when I used an ATI video card, a 4850 to be exact, I always had toruble removing the older drivers before installing new ones. After searching and asking online, it was recommended that I try CCleaner. Sure enough, it found plenty of ATI mentions in the registry, and after removing them, I was able to install the newer drivers. Now I run CCleaner after every uninstall or driver removal.

 

[wanchoo]

What is the answer to when can the OP treat this thread as solved?

Should his answer be "Never".

 

[A Guy]

I'm going to weigh in as someone who will recommend CCleaner universally. Including it's registry cleaner. I have yet to see anyone who had it cause them problems. There are others that may be safe, and might definitely be safe on my system, but I will never recommend them to others, as the same may not be true for them. CCleaner however is the one exception.

I'm not saying it's necessary to use, but if I recommend a program, and there is the possibility the registry cleaner will be used, then I would want to be assured it will cause no problems. You could have the greatest program in the world, and it included a registry cleaner I could not vouch for. I would not recommend that program.

A Guy

 

[Versatile2820]

I agree on that one person that says '' that he haven't saw one legitimate cause of ccleaner messing up someone computer'' I have also did alot of research on this topic and came to the same conclusion ccleaner would considered to be the best and most trusted in cleaning needs