PC utilities: Do computer Registry cleaners really work?
- 6/19/09 12:42 PM
A simple rule of thumb
by rbsjrx - 6/7/09 6:56 AM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Succinctly, the slicker or scarier the advertising is for a registry cleaner, the more you should avoid it.
Hi,
by JerryHoneycutt - 8/31/09 12:56 PM In reply to: A simple rule of thumb by rbsjrxHere what i've found. Video from youtube called "Free Registry Cleaners - Avoid Scams"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtdvY2jIDFY
Yes they work, to a point.
by Eve Sansdieu - 6/7/09 9:45 AM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
All cleaners work to a point,do not forget we live in a monetary system and need money to fill our intestines. Automated reg-cleaning gets rid of recognized useless command lines taking space & time of reading, boot & shut-down times get longer with use. If you pay, you get a better clean-up, for free the clean-up does a bit less. This is going to sound corny, learn to do it your self, means that each time you delete somthing, note down what you got rid of and go in the regitry and delete all command lines related to what you got rid of. All that takes time so cleaners exist or if you dont mind learning command line, whrite your own old command line cleaner. Last point, a good operating system would do that cleaning automaticaly if you knew where to whrite the command to do so, does my OS cleans it self after having a crap, no it does not, so I have to buy bum wipes or pick uf thefree stuff 
keep on cleaning, the machine needs it to be a (bit) faster.CCleaner seems ok.
Free Registry Cleaner That Works
by hemidog 990 - 6/7/09 11:47 AM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
safety.Live.com is microsoft's online virus scanner it also has two other scans one is a registry cleaner now you can tell us if RegCure is scam or not
How i post without replying so i can post answers too!?
by saphiresharon777 - 9/11/09 10:44 PM In reply to: Free Registry Cleaner That Works by hemidog 990How do i post without replying i am new to this forum and here is a good registry mechanic i use and have for years if u like u may try it
its free but u can pay for the upgrade of it! Sharon http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/
Not a chance
by MKorkowski - 6/7/09 2:23 PM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You are asking for problems. Danger is the operative word. It really is basically impossible to find a "good" registry cleaner mainly because there are just too many "possibilities". Furthermore the registry cleaners I have looked at ask questions about deleting or modifying files. How do newbies answer? If you knew that answer you wouldn't need the registry cleaner. Since I am a "software" person I would say that the "registry cleaners" we know of are simply tools to make money and have very limited results. Again too many posisblities that are all but impossible to ascertain. Registry errors are from basically two sources: #1 poor software, and #2 US-digging around and making mistakes. I include myself in the past. The answer is doing a good search on the Internet to find "your" problem. This is the gigantic database that is free and has at least the same percentage of "success" that the registry cleaner has. It also has a failure rate percentage, in my opinion, that is less than the registry cleaners because you are looking at "more exact" symptoms. I have made a careeer at finding information this way. If your problem is more "mainsteream" you have a higher chance of finding in a search. If it isn't mainstream the registry cleaner has no chance of fixing it anyway. Don't waste your money!
RegCure? Never again. What a ripoff!
by Hpa2008 - 6/7/09 2:31 PM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I use Eusing Free Registry Cleaner. It has been very helpful. I've cleaned up several workstations with it. I bought the RegCure pro version a year or so ago. It stopped working after a year. I would NEVER buy software from a company that kills their product after a year so they can charge you over again. It was definitely NOT worth it. Cheers!
Registry Cleaners Pro and Cons
by thegame102 - 6/7/09 2:53 PM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
History
The first registry cleaner to hit the market (if my memory serves me right) is that from Microsoft called Regclean back in that of late 2001. Many reported very satisfactory results with less errors and an improvement with their operating system and then along came the famous RegCleaner by the author of Jouni Vuorio which really set the heights and led to the beginning of the registry battle grounds. For everyones information out there, yes Microsoft later stop supporting their registry cleaner but only due to people having problems when using it on a newer Operating systems and the newest Office programs. I guess people just didn’t understand the recommendations of that software and Microsoft felt it was better to pull it instead of the headaches.
What is a registry cleaner
Registry cleaners, or registry cleanup software, may improve the performance of computers by ridding the registry of redundant information.
Due to the sheer size and complexity of the registry database, manually cleaning up debris and invalid entries would be impractical, so registry cleaners are essentially tools that automate the process of looking for invalid entries, missing file references or broken links within the registry and resolving them. Source: wikipedia
Registry cleaners improve performance
Yes registry cleaners can improve performance but not dramatically (I’ve have yet to see a benchmark test to show any real difference). With a good cleaner one would notice an improvement with the stability of their system with less errors and a slight resource gain because your operating system isn’t wasting as much time going through the invalid keys. One benefit that doesn’t seem to get mention with registry cleaners is that by deleting invalid reference keys its very possible to eliminate some infections of virus, spyware and etc…
The misconceptions
Most people think automatically that a good registry cleaner is that one that finds more than the other do. However this is wrong because the more that one finds the more chances of a corruption and not only that but some keys are there for future use. Some people out there will report a dramatic improvement of their operating system like that of anywhere from 20%- 40% gain. However when I see that you just know sooner or later that performance gain will result in a corrupted system with either a fail to boot, the B.S.O D, a system restore that can’t be completed (that worked) and etc… I know someone that’s reading this is saying,”all hell you don’t know what you’re talking about” (and I have yet to be proven wrong). I totally beg to differ because I’m a computer technician and have seen the results of this too many times and I also wonder what they are deleting. Another problem that I come across is that of bad software that do more damage than good, I won’t dive into this because it’s just common sense but just to say beware of manufactures and their bogus hypes and do your research.
On a last note
I advise people to take caution when messing around with the registry and make sure to back up the entire registry before doing so. I personally only found about a handful of cleaners that’s worth anything and yes I probably tried and tested them all. I also like to add that many people make a reference to Microsoft that they don’t use any registry cleaners anymore however that’s not true, take a look at Windows Onecare software under clean up section.
Very true...
by JCitizen - 6/21/09 6:38 PM In reply to: Registry Cleaners Pro and Cons by thegame102I agree with everything you said. Didn't know the old MS cleaner was pitched, but stopped using it anyway.. Ms usually has a [fix-it] tool for a lot of problems now. Just googling many problems leads to these. Probably the smartest thing Redmond has done in a long time.
I notice the one time I did a CCleaner analysis of my x64 Vista registry it found nothing, and usually does. If it ever does I shall not try to fix it unless problems come up later. Getting rid of unsigned drivers may be part of the improvement here.
CCleaner is more valuable for virus or malware after action as far a the registry goes on Vista, it seems to me. Over all it is even more valuable for simply cleaning up temp files and such that hold misbehaving files that slow or stop my surfing in Internet Explorer. Using several other security applications has made this more unnecessary all the time.
Spyware Blaster shuts down bad server request that can place malicious ads or malware into the machine, also keeps bad active x vectors from jumping the web page and installing.
I'm not sure how AdAware makes a difference in this area, as I don't use AdWatch, but updating it seems to speed surfing up immediately, I'm not sure if it uses host files or not. Malwarebytes Anti-malware has a process guard that I am evaluating now, and it shows no conflict with NIS 2009 so I'm sure it will work with ESET or AVAST successfully too.
But I still use the regular cleaner on CCleaner at least once a week when nothing else works. Apparently it simply gets rid of misbehaving(malicious?) temp files that are not capable of installing on 64 bit Vista systems.
This has been the easiest most effective way to speed browser performance for me; not registry cleaning.
One care going away..
by JCitizen - 6/21/09 6:46 PM In reply to: Registry Cleaners Pro and Cons by thegame102I keep reading that Microsoft is getting rid on One Care but perhaps the are replacing it with Microsoft Essentials?
My memory is exceedingly foggy, but I'd swear Quest or Symantec had a reg cleaner way back in the DOS days, at least by 1995, but I digress.
CCleaner
by doctordawg - 6/7/09 9:57 PM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Search for it. Download it for free. Use it for free. Get updates for free. Clean your registry for free. Clean up your hard drive for free. Uninstall stuff for free.
Best thing on the internet. Pay a penny more and you've been had.
Now for the question: does it work? Kinda like asking if the car you are about to buy will ever crash. As a part of regular maintenance, it helps slow down the inevitable Windows registry bloat. When you run CCleaner for the first time on an old machine, it's astonishing how much crap there is from old installs and obsolete extensions still in your registry... sloppy uninstallers, version update mania, and stuff like that. On bootup, your computer has to slog through all that and try to make sense of it before greeting you with the happy sound of a freshly booted computer. CCleaner speeds it up, not like major surgery cures disease, but more like flossing after breakfast keeps things better in the long run.
And for the price... why not?
Different Registry Cleaners
by georgew282 - 6/8/09 5:51 AM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have come across this same same situation myself using two different registry cleaners and I totally agree with you I think it is a complete rip-off
Registry cleaners - do they work
by kenkirsch - 6/8/09 6:31 AM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In my experience of supporting many home and corporate users, is that registry cleaners don't help. As Windows is used daily it gets bloated. It is true that the registry grows and orphans registry entries and that this is are part of the problem. But none of the registry cleaners can be completely effective at cleaning because most software developers do not work with the registry is a standardized way. The best way to get your windows machine back to factory speed is to backup all important files and re-install Windows. Don't waste your money on snake oil products that claim they can clean your registry and speed up your computers. I have not seen one that can live up to this promise.
Registry Cleaners
by sirpaul1 - 6/8/09 7:00 AM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
IMHO paid versions are more accurate than the freebies, although there are some exceptions either way. There is probably NO program out there that will work 100% since everybody has different software installed on their computers. I know from past experience that registry keys that point to empty folders can be flagged as suspect. That doesn't mean they should be removed. They could be part of a program (suites especially) that you haven't used yet, or have been cleaned by that program to be used again later.
Also, a lot of the registry cleaners that claim high infection rates also include keys that point to files that THEY think you don't need such as .bak, .chm, .tmp, .hlp, .htm, etc. (sometimes referred to as 'junk' files). You WILL be reinstalling programs to access these files if SOME of those are removed.
Stick with Registry Cleaner and maybe use CCleaner as a backup. (it's free and it's default settings are harmless)
Just remember. You're running Windows! It's ALWAYS in beta and it will eventually crash no matter what you do!
BTW: If you install and uninstall a lot of programs like I do, try Revo Uninstaller. That gets rid of a lot of 'old' registry keys safely.
Beware of ANY software that claims you will die or the earth will end if you don't purchase their software. They usually have no backup feature and for some reason they never mention the adware or viruses that are included free of charge.
Registry Utilities
by donblv - 6/8/09 8:49 AM In reply to: Do computer Registry cleaners really work? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Bottom Line!!! Be extremely careful using any kind of "Registry" utility. I personally don't believe that any are perfect. I too have a licensed copy of Registry Cleaner but have stopped using it. True I only had one "KNOWN" problem I finally traced back to it, that was enough to scare me away from it. What happened is that every time I ran it, I would lose my Brother MFC software and access to the network device. I had to reload the software each time. Was that the only thing that went wrong? I don't know. Windows is Windows. It's wonderful when it doesn't have problems, but there is usually always something, no matter how small. Letting someone or something in to your registry is scary and every caution should be taken. MAKE BACKUPS OF THE REGISTRY BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING. I don't even trust the software to do it. Make a backup yourself.
Again ... be extremely careful with these utilities. Ask yourself ... "do I really need to do this?" There are many other cleanup utilities available that don't mess with your registry. Be sure to try them first.
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