Registry Cleaners yea or nay?

[LadyGrey]

Is there such a thing as a true registry cleaner that actually does a good job, doesn't mess up your computer, is not spyware or malware and is free?
There are so many other good free programs for everything else I was just wondering about registry cleaners.
Thanks much,
LG:)

[PrntRhd]

IMHO
Registry modifications should only be done for a specific reason and only after a backup has been made of the Registry. You can cause chaos by making registry changes manually and make a mistake.

Automated registry cleaner programs may increase the risk of something going wrong by allowing the cleaning program to alter entries without telling you exactly what it did and also allow multiple changes to be made at one time.

Good ones make you do a backup before changing things but if things go horribly wrong you may not be able to boot into Windows and restore the Registry from the backup file.
You might get away with using a good program multiple times, but the risk is still there each time. Eventually your number will come up.

CCleaner has a registry tool and it is free, I use it sparingly.

[Sylvander]

Why I don’t use registry cleaners (http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html).

[PrntRhd]

Sylvander,
Did you see the posts below the article, a familiar name on one.

[Sylvander]

Didn't notice any then, and despite scanning down the list am failing to see any now. :(

Who is it?

Yourself?

[PrntRhd]

no, Jabarnut(case)

[Sylvander]

Ah, I did notice a posting by Jabarnut and wondered if there was any link to Jabarnutcase, but I thought it wasn't on that page.

So they are one and the same?

[LadyGrey]

thank you so much for all the info. I found it very interesting reading and I think I'm coming in on the leave it alone side. If it really has no benifit and can cause serious problems then I can't see any good reason to run one.
LG

[Sylvander]

I tend to think of a registry as being like a huge metropolis.

And each PC's registry is unique...
Similar in nature to all the others, but different in detail.

So one PC's registry is like New York...
And another is like London or Tokyo.

Each is full of vital component parts...
You need [almost] all of the parts to function for the whole to run smoothly.

You need only take out a bridge, or tunnel, or motorway, or major set of mains electricity cables, or sewers, to cause a breakdown in the smooth operation of the system.

You could have lots of redundancy...
And that would make for [slightly?] inefficient use of space or other resources...
But the whole would continue to function.

Now imagine some self-important political group [Fascists?]...
Deciding that they know how to straighten up a city and make it orderly.
So they haven't got the patience to take it case by case...
[I'm thinking of the old-style buildings they wanted to demolish in New York]
And they begin to tear into the city making changes...
And chaos ensues. :(
It isn't that simple.
The city evolved slowly over time.
Each small change had to take into account the ripple effect on the surroundings.
Adjustments had to be made to avoid problems.

That's rather like the registry. :)

"Tread gently upon the earth", for "The tree remembers though the axe does not".

In computer terms:
When you're dealing with the registry...
Act as though tip-toe-ing in a minefield.
And be careful of the changes you make...
For the PC and its software functionality may suffer disastrous consequences even though you may be totally unaware of what you did wrong.

[Paul Komski]

I dont think I've used a registry cleaner in the past 10 years. Whether it's a possible registry problem or not I do occasionally use a "good image file" to go back in time though. Nor do I "test" new software on my main machine.

[Asphodel]

I use CCleaner combined with Auslogics Disk Defrag to clean my system and defrag my hard drive. Used the CCleaner registry tool only once - that G-d I backed up, because it made my computer a lot slower and it started acting weird. So I restored all changes and haven't had any problems since then.

[Sylvander]

"I use...Auslogics Disk Defrag to...defrag my hard drive"
I too have used this and a number of other defrag programs, but the only one I have found so far that defragments E-VERY-THING on chosen partitions is the defrag function included with...
PARAGON HARD DISK MANAGER
[I got the 8.5 SE version for free; still available HERE (http://www.computeractive.co.uk/paragon/index) 'till Oct 23rd 2008]
It doesn't give a graphical display during or after to show what a good job it has done...
I use the FREE O&O Defrag 2000 to display the results of the Paragon defrag.
And "Ashampoo Magical Defrag" working constantly in the background to try and keep it from gradually fragmenting.