Registry Clean/Repair : Are these tools effective?

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Registry Clean/Repair : Are these tools effective?

HairyScot

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Master Geek

#28142 19-Nov-2008 22:46

I have been playing with two products, RegCure and Max Registry Cleaner.
Each one shows different error conditions and then claims tohave fixed them.
However, an immediate rerun of the scan process of either product after a "clean up run" shows further errors.

This raises a few puzzles :-

1. Is windows so bad that is just screws the registry every few seconds just for the hell of it?
2. Why do these apps report different errors?
3. Which one do you believe/trust?
4. Will RegCure really cure things like the Outlook Express "Socker Error 11001" and error number 0x800cc0d (and others)?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

digitaldream

62 posts

Master Geek

#179032 20-Nov-2008 11:16

I'm no expert, but for as far as I know registry cleaners just tidy up the "loose ends".
So links to missing items will get removed.

I use the registry cleaner built into "CCleaner" by Piriform (free).

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freitasm

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#179033 20-Nov-2008 11:17

I don't use any of these and the only time I tested those things I've had problems with installed software.

My technology disclosure

zocster

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#179038 20-Nov-2008 11:37

don't waste your time, sometimes it's a scam to get you to buy something that is totally not required .. 'sometimes'.

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garvani

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#179047 20-Nov-2008 12:22

In my job Registry cleaners are a must! I vouch for them personally, they speed up slow computers and have fixed many problems. Of course there are thousands of registry cleaners and i dont recommend 95% of those as they are malware and probably do more harm then good!. Some good ones are

Regvac (has a 30 day trial) With one Warning, if you use a HP photosmart printer it can knock out the photosmart driver which will want to be reinstalled upon reboot. But overall this program rocks!
Ccleaner General PC cleaner, great program!
Norton Systemworks - The windoctor on this is great.

Some bad ones:
Registry doctor and the likes.

xpd

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#179048 20-Nov-2008 12:30

+1 for Ccleaner

Been using it for almost 2 years with no issues to date :)

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paradoxsm

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#179050 20-Nov-2008 12:38

Some are useful for cleaning up a really messy system to extend the life of an install a few months but many just do heaps of damage, you are better doing prevention rather than cure from piles of installed crapola, Try using Altiris SVS which is a virtual installing environment for installing programs you only want once or will rarely use to avoid it hooking into your real registry. and it's free for personal use.

digitaldream

62 posts

Master Geek

#179063 20-Nov-2008 14:01

This SVS program is interesting, wish I had known of its existance when I reformatted last.

HairyScot

182 posts

Master Geek

#179068 20-Nov-2008 14:12

Some interesting, and conflicting, views here!

I came across RegCure while researching an Outlook Express problem for a friend. In fact the problem I mentioned in my original post.
RegCure would appear to be recommended by a Microsoft techie, if not by Microsoft Technical support.

Max Registry Cleaner I installed to fix some issues with my Vista 64 bit system and have had no problems with it at all.
I went for it because it was one of the few that I found at that time that worked with Vista 64 bit.

I was just curious about the differences on the scan results.

As for the Outlook Express issue, perhaps I should post that as a separate topic.

paradoxsm

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#179074 20-Nov-2008 14:22

It's a superb way of controlling what applications can do which more often than not involves spraying files and setting all through your system, this makes the applications THINK they have access to your system and it appears they do but they are instead wrapped up in a little parcel, all "sprawl" suddenly vanishes back away when you "sleep" the application with SVS

Another recommendeation is "Sandboxie" though it's kind of annoying nag-ware now instead of freeware, i'll dig up the older version which is less intrusive and post.

Here is SVS..

http://www.svsdownloads.com/svs/SVS_21_Personal.zip

Here is the weblink for the licence (Use IE if firefox fails to allow the download)

http://www.altiris.com/Download/svsPersonal.aspx

Kineo

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#184453 16-Dec-2008 09:44

Registry cleaners are a must for me, since I add and remove programs a lot. Removed programs seem to leave loose ends in the registry so I use easycleaner to keep the registry clean, this helps the system run faster. The reason you received different results with two different programs is the result of how they were written and the process they use to find problems with the registry. I am by no means an expert, this is just a result of years working with the registry. Some programs are good and some are bad. CCleaner I have not used but I have heard great thing about it.

paradoxsm

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#184454 16-Dec-2008 09:51

You should really try that Altiris SVS application! then the registry glut will never make it that far ;-)

kiwitrc

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#184456 16-Dec-2008 10:01

I use Registry Mechanic when my system is running like poo. It seems to make a real difference to speed. Probably only use it about once every few months.

NZtechfreak

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#184466 16-Dec-2008 11:07

I use Ace Utilities registry cleaner, have done for a few years without problems. It also some other useful stuff like auto-start manager (some programs are a real pain to stop running at startup, but its easy here), integrated web search for processes etc etc.

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Nirodha

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#184490 16-Dec-2008 12:43

Most of these so-called registry cleaners are crap and do more harm than good. Also, one needs a bit of knowledge to know what exactly can be safely disgarded from the registry and what needs to be kept in order for one's system to continue to function properly.

Two products which I've found to be very effective for getting the job done though are Piriform CCleaner and Revo Uninstaller. Both are freeware, actively maintained and regularly updated. CCleaner is great for cleaning up temp trash that a lot of programs leave behind. And, Revo Uninstaller is excellent for digging out deeply rooted programs from the registry.

Other than the above, I really do suggest that one leave the registry alone. Some people recommend running a registry defragmentation program every couple of months or so. However, I'm not too sure that make any real difference. Anyone else care to comment about them?

Kind regards

HairyScot

182 posts

Master Geek

#184547 16-Dec-2008 15:08

Nirodha:
Two products which I've found to be very effective for getting the job done though are Piriform CCleaner and Revo Uninstaller.

Have not tried Piriform CCleaner, but will certainly now take a look at it.
Have been using Revo Uninstaller for some time. I agree with Nirodha that it is a very effective product. It even managed to sort out some hassles I was having with HP Scanner software failing to instal/uninstall completely when all HP could recommend was a reinstall of windows to fix the problem.