Solved Is registry cleaning needed for a stable PC?

This gets asked a lot, yet there's always conflicting answers and misinformation posted. So, let me try and clear it up for you going by tried and true experience.

CCleaner is about the only trusted, safe cleaner out there. By default, it doesn't dig deep enough to do any damage. It is safe to use. However, given your question, I liken it to BIOS-flashing. You don't do it just to do it. You do it to solve an issue. CCleaner has helped me MANY times over solve issues, but I don't run it on my systems just because I feel like it. If you need to use a reg cleaner, that's the one to use. If your system is working perfectly fine right now, then there's no reason to run one. CCleaner has other useful parts as well, so it always gets installed for me. But the reg cleaner is there to help me solve issues, or clean up after app uninstalls. it is not part of my regular, routine maintenance.
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7-2600
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3P-B3
Memory
12 GB Patriot Extreme DDR3-1333
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GTX 470
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell UltraSharp 2209WA
Hard Drives
OCZ Agility3 240 GB, WD5001AALS, WD7501AALS
PSU
OCZ ModStream 700W
Case
CoolerMaster HAF 912 Advanced
Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus
My personal opinion is that if your machine is running well and not having issues, leave it alone. 188 entries in a registry with problems, out of hundreds of thousands of entries from a performance standpoint isn't likely going to amount to anything tangible.

If I were to run a reg cleaner, ccleaner is about the only one that I would touch. But I would only use the registry cleaner portion of it as a last resort.
 

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Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self-Built in July 2009
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
Memory
8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
Sound Card
Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
Monitor(s) Displays
23" Acer x233H
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
PSU
Corsair 620HX modular
Case
Antec P182
Cooling
stock
Keyboard
ABS M1 Mechanical
Mouse
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Internet Speed
15/2 cable modem
Other Info
Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Agree with most of what was just posted by DeaconFrost and pparks1.

If you use CCleaner to clean out the registry you can always create a restore point beforehand, use CCleaner's option to create a backup, and you still have the opportunity to view the list of keys it identified and choose which keys you want to delete.
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
188 entries in a registry with problems, out of hundreds of thousands of entries from a performance standpoint isn't likely going to amount to anything tangible.

And if the registry really was a part of the problem someone was having, it would likely be related to only one or a few of those 188 keys. The rest of the bunch are more than likely benign/ignored anyway, any performance improvements by deleting them would likely be unmeasurable.
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Someone once said that the registry is like a huge parking structure, the size of Texas, and sweeping out a space here and the there doesn't amount to jack squat.
 

My Computer My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
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