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Best Free Registry Cleaner
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Introduction
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The registry is what keeps your computer running; it tells the computer what to do when certain events happen. However, as you use your computer, a lot of unwanted and unnecessary information is written into the registry, and this usually occurs because you've installed and uninstalled programs or updated versions of existing programs. This gradual accumulation of unneeded or incorrect information will, over time, slow the speed of your computer.
A registry cleaner tries to get rid of this unwanted data and restore your PC to full speed. The problem is that the cleaning process is less than perfect. In particular, there is always a small risk that the registry cleaner may incorrectly remove data that is actually needed. In the worst case scenario, your PC may become unusable as a result. That's why it's absolutely essential that you backup your registry before using a registry cleaner. For most users the easiest way to do this is to create a system checkpoint. An even better way is to use a drive-imaging program to create a snapshot of Windows, which you can use for system recovery if needed. As an added layer of protection, that may actually be more effective than System Restore, consider using the excellent ERUNT utility. This ever-present risk of problems is why the "best" registry cleaner is the one that causes the fewest problems, rather than the one that finds the greatest number of registry errors. Thus it is evident, a registry cleaner is - if at all - a tool reserved for the experienced user. The inexperienced may be assured that since the introduction of Windows XP, registry cleaning is no longer a crucial issue for the stability, security and performance of your system. Don't mess around with it! |
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This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Remah. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by clicking here. |
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If I may be so bold, I must contradict this supposed fact that registry cleaning is useless. I, personally, use the CCleaner program and, although it may not free up much space, my computer runs significantly faster. I do not know why this is but I certainly think registry cleaners are a worthy investment.
was reading your comments and decided to look at erunt...looks really good and a nice txt file to explain. i now have it set up automatically...thanks...just another bonus of gizmo and its readers...
Are you sure the performance gains aren't from CCleaner's temporary file cleaning? Because that's CCLeaner's main strength. Or maybe the performance gain is just you wanting a performance gain so "imagine" it. I used to do that myself, and a lot of people still do that, surprisingly.
Okay, here's a simple test, get a computer running Windows XP and higher, preferably a slow one. Test the boot time, time it takes to open a program etc, then run a registry cleaner, clean the registry, reboot, then repeat the tests, if you get good performance gains (for example, boot time improves by a half a minute or more, or opening a program improves by at least 10 seconds etc) then Registry Cleaners are good... okay?
I personally have not really noticed performance gains from registry cleaners, even though I've used several in the past, and I used them for a while never thinking to actually check whether they do produce performance gains. One has messed up one of my computers once though.
CleanHandlers is another app. that will clean past items in autoPlay list (right-click a CD drive,properties and then autoPlay you should see all autoPlay handlers for each event) Run app. and then chose the wrong entery (incomplete uninstall in most cases)
Go to: ( http://windowsxp.mvps.org/autoplayhandlers.htm )
and download (no install needed)
sandi
I am wondering how many ccleaner did the author try?
I had problem with easy cleaner on windows 2000. Sometimes copy option disabled from context menu.
Unfortunately, Eusing Free Register Clean does not work on my laptop. The shared DLLs might falls into a dead loop and CPU usage is always 50% until the fan starts to roaring -- It halts very close to end.
Similar problem happens when saving registry. But it really find some problem.
Try NTRegOptimizer Made by the same people who made ERUNT, same gui too.
That really does work. I've heard all registry cleaners are actually bad for your system. NTREGOPT isn't however. It only compacts your registry and removes empty keys vs deleting data.
Nice Article!
http://www.whatthetech.com/2007/11/25/do-i-need-a-registry-cleaner/
This link has been doing the rounds for a while now but thanks for posting it again for the benefit of our more recent visitors. Anyone contemplating this type of software would be well advised to read this first.
Please Christoph: re-check carefully the EasyCleaner functionality. On my version, 2.0.6.380, it has a backup for deleted Registry Keys. Recovery Files are located under the installation directory, subdir: Undo.
To configure it, click on Option button, then there is a specific folder for the System Registry.
Regards
Marco
Argente Registry Cleaner.Is in 10 languages,total free,modules to make:backup,configure,clean registry.You have possibility to exclude,automate,delete backup automate if you want.
hey got a question..is argente an agressive registry cleaner..
was trying jv16 powertools lite[free]..and it comes with 100% registry pc health.
while argente found 181 errors..also this doesn't defr4ag registry.
You may have heard elsewhere, but saying it again... please stay away from Registry Cleaners. They can cause more trouble than they solve. The products listed here on this review are the safe ones. If you use other products, use at your own risk.
Anupam Shriwatri
Well no registry cleaner is completely safe - the article also says "a registry cleaner is - if at all - a tool reserved for the experienced user".
Vit Registry Fix never causes a problem for me so I will continue using it. It defiantly makes my computer faster. I'm not an experienced user but it works for me so I'll just keep it.
Any software can cause problems, if it isn't good software.
As for registry cleaners, the guys who write the articles that say that they're bad and you don't need them, must be on glue, period! And no offense to anyone here, but me thinks you just forgot how fast your system used to run. :)
There are a lot of leftover garbage items in a registry when you uninstall software. And it is not because of Windows itself, although it is a bad design to have everything for a program in a central registry, instead of in the program's folder, via .INI/.CFG files. Rather, it is because Windows programmers are almost always sloppy and lazy.
Now if you're a programmer who writes Windows programs, I'm sure that offended you. But you have learned by what you have seen and been told. But if Windows programmers are not typically sloppy and lazy, then why are there so many leftover entries in the registry? And I don't mean user created stuff from using the program, although the uninstall routine should look for those too, but rather, I mean the basic keys and entries that the programs make when installed. Yet after uninstalling them, there they still sit, in the registry! I actually go through and manually delete them, before I run a cleaner, because even they don't get them all.
And no, it isn't from changes I made. I can install a program and then uninstall it and there the keys/entries sit!
And again, no offense, but no excuses guys! You know what you told it to make, so clean up guys!!!
So yes, these cleaners are necessary, because of the sloppiness and laziness of Windows programmers. And yes, there is a difference! I have run a few OS's and never did I see what I see from Windows programmers and their laziness!
Now you can go ahead and fire off at me if it makes you feel better, but the leftover entries are my witness and nothing anyone says will make them all suddenly disappear from everyone's machines.
I personally find (a pay program) to yes, actually do a decent job of cleaning up most of the garbage and yes, to make a system run faster, so that it is noticably quicker right after rebooting.
But for free programs, the one recommended here may be worth a try. Most of the free ones have been garbage, but free stuff is coming a long way and so, I'll take "Gizmo's" word for it. :)
Again, sorry if I offended anyone, but I'm just not the type to stay silent, just because someone might not like what they hear/read. The truth should be stated, so that things can get better. If everyone pretends all is well, then what changes?
Moderators comment:
Commercial software reference removed
P.S.: The Windows program uninstall routines don't even clean up the folders off your system half the time (and no, I don't mean because the user added stuff in it) and they spread out data all over the place and leave that as well! Now what is up with THAT?! C'mon guys, no excuses! I'm not supposed to have to check four or five places every time I uninstall a program and yes, it is YOUR fault that I do have to!
And so yes, a good, safe registry cleaner and some user folder "know how", are both important tools when running Windows!
Dr. Mark Russinovich is a Technical Fellow working in the Platform and Services division at Microsoft. Russinovich is a widely recognized expert in Windows operating systems. This is what he has to say about registry cleaners.
"I haven’t and never will implement a Registry cleaner since it’s of little practical use on anything other than Win2K terminal servers and developing one that’s both safe and effective requires a huge amount of application-specific knowledge."
Will using Registry Cleaners speed-up my system and make it more reliable?
"It will have no effect on system speed. There is an excellent chance it will make your system less reliable."
I've been following these discussions for years and 95% of the people making other claims are either dreaming or promoting commercial software for their own ends.
I've read that more than once. It isn't true and with all due respect to Mark (he may be a very honest man who's just mistaken), I don't trust what anyone from Microsoft says. But then again, I don't trust any company who has a whole floor on a wing dedicated to their legal team. :)
I have personally installed and run registry repair utilities (maybe that's where this is coming in, cleaner vs repair) on systems that just would lock up and run very sluggishly, if hardly at all (after running the top spyware/malware cleaners and anti-virus on them) and they snapped to life! The problem was with some leftover DLL's that were still being called up, or in some erroneous keys, etc., etc.. Once I had run the utility, Windows was up and running again and in smooth fashion.
So you tell me; Did the util make a difference? :)
Yes, they can be dangerous in the wrong hands. But usually they are those that give some in depth stuff that most users will not understand. For example, JV16 is a great little util, but if you just keep clicking "Delete" instead of "Fix" first, you can damage your system severely.
So you decide. But I know what I've seen and I've been a tech (a real one) for almost 30 years ad I've taught the Windows OS's down to the core of each and I know how they work and how bad they are at keeping the resgisty in good working order (mostly due to programmers not cleaning up properly on uninstall, but also because it's just a bad design to have everything centrally located in a registry like that).
And I wonder if Mark would change his mind if Windows wouldn't run on his system and one of the utils brought it back to life. I mean, has he ever even tried it on a crashing system guys? :)
This is now more true to life "cleaner vs repair" - and I acknowledge that in some circumstances this is needed. The problem is that 95% of the people using these tools do not know what they are trying to achieve, where to look for the solution and what to do with the resulting choices presented by their favorite tool. This is the area Mark was highlighting when he talked about the dangers involved.
I really could do without the opinion-fest regarding whether registry cleaners are good or evil: they exist, they perform a function, and the question here for those who choose to use them is whether they do it well, not whether they should do it at all (since they've already made that decision regardless of whether some others might have decided differently).
What I would like to see is more information about how well they *do* perform it. For example, I've tried several and have yet to find one that will catch all dangling references in the registry (e.g., references to files or other objects that do not in fact exist).
This would, for example, help in cleaning up the remnants of uninstalled applications that leave junk behind: it's usually a lot easier to find detritus in the file system under Program Files and Documents and Settings and delete it there than it is to find every Registry reference to such garbage, but then that leaves dangling references in the Registry that can cause problems (yes, I've just finished cleaning up my Registry by hand to resolve one such case). Admittedly this won't get rid of junk that the uninstalled application may have left in the system directories, but once everything else is gone then searching the Registry by application name produces a more manageable number of entries to examine (I didn't check to see whether the available cleaners offer that option to make the manual process easier, but that would be nice to know as well).
- bill
It seems that I should have checked the Register Editor section here before that last parenthetical comment above: RegSeeker, for example, is said to perform that function well.
- bill
The guy I worked with servicing PC's used to manage this area and swore by this tool. Certainly if you do feel the need and have knowledge enough to interpret the results then RegSeeker is the one to look at. The sad fact is though that 95% of users overestimate their system skills and end up causing often irreversible damage with these things. Most months our customer flow had more self inflicted problems of this nature to sort out than those caused by infection or hardware failures.
I agree with you 100%! And I apologize for not making my statement more clear. Please forgive me for this obvious blunder of mine.
No apologies needed - I'm not exactly crystal clear with some of my own stuff sometimes! Even if we end up in total disagreement this is what I like about TSA and being part of it. Please continue to contribute to our discussions - you are very welcome here.
I agree with this that it is safe , secure and fast ....It could really help to computer give to its 100% performance.........
The article IS interesting, though it fails to acknowledge the noticeable speed/responsiveness increase that proper cleaning &/or repair can provide. I suspect that for a single use machine it may be correct but it is misleading for anyone having or working on a machine with a history of multiple and changing uses including uninstalling programs.
What about Registry Life?
http://www.chemtable.com/RegistryLife.htm
This is the FREE solution/cut down version of Reg Organizer.
Still in 1.0 Beta.
Unstable version.