Question about "registry"?

kona

kona

Member
I want to clear unwanted (maybe there is nothing there that's a problem - I don't know) stuff in my pc registry. I don't know anything about it so I don't want to just look for stuff & delete stuff haha.

I have a simple pc about 3yrs old....msi platinum board with 2 px7950 gt 512mb graphics cards, 2 300gb hard drives & a 500gb external hd, ADM 64x2 dual core 4600, 2.41ghz with 3gb ram. Only stating this in case it's important.

My local anti-virus progream uses over 1gbram I believe - it's Shaw.ca (I'm in Nanaimo BC Canada).

I want to clean my registry - so - how can I do this without losing files I work with & need? Also I'd like to clean my pc up so it will preform a little faster - without overclocking it. I just think I might have a "bottle-neck" somewhere.

I'm not a techno kind of a person but I do know enough to get me into trouble now & then.

Thank you in advance,

Gary
 
Registry cleaners/optimizers are not recommended for several reasons:


  • Registry cleaners are extremely powerful applications that can damage the registry by using aggressive cleaning routines and cause your computer to become unbootable.

    The Windows registry is a central repository (database) for storing configuration data, user settings and machine-dependent settings, and options for the operating system. It contains information and settings for all hardware, software, users, and preferences. Whenever a user makes changes to settings, file associations, system policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in this repository. The registry is a crucial component because it is where Windows "remembers" all this information, how it works together, how Windows boots the system and what files it uses when it does. The registry is also a vulnerable subsystem, in that relatively small changes done incorrectly can render the system inoperable. For a more detailed explanation, read Understanding The Registry.
  • Not all registry cleaners are created equal. There are a number of them available but they do not all work entirely the same way. Each vendor uses different criteria as to what constitutes a "bad entry". One cleaner may find entries on your system that will not cause problems when removed, another may not find the same entries, and still another may want to remove entries required for a program to work.
  • Not all registry cleaners create a backup of the registry before making changes. If the changes prevent the system from booting up, then there is no backup available to restore it in order to regain functionality. A backup of the registry is essential BEFORE making any changes to the registry.
  • Improperly removing registry entries can hamper malware disinfection and make the removal process more difficult if your computer becomes infected. For example, removing malware related registry entries before the infection is properly identified can contribute to system instability and even make the malware undetectable to removal tools.
  • The usefulness of cleaning the registry is highly overrated and can be dangerous. In most cases, using a cleaner to remove obsolete, invalid, and erroneous entries does not affect system performance but it can result in "unpredictable results".

Unless you have a particular problem that requires a registry edit to correct it, I would suggest you leave the registry alone. Using registry cleaning tools unnecessarily or incorrectly could lead to disastrous effects on your operating system such as preventing it from ever starting again. For routine use, the benefits to your computer are negligible while the potential risks are great.


 
CCleaner usually explains what it is deleted and you have the option either to leave the registry file alone or delete it.

Most my registry deletions are from files that have been un-installed and are use-less on my PC.

Edit: I rarely run the registry cleaner in CCleaner and when I do, I read about what it is actually getting rid of. I mostly use it to delete temporary files and cookies, to free up some space.
 
Last edited:
the registry cleaner in iobit toolbox 1.1 is good it gives you the found registry problems and list them as high risk, med, low etc, and you just tick the boxes of the ones you want to clear, and for a novice just select the low risk entries which is the default.
 
Playing with own computer is OK, but asking others to play dangerous registry games is not.
 
Broni said:
Playing with own computer is OK, but asking others to play dangerous registry games is not.
Click to expand...

LOL! Its not dangerous! CCleaner does do backups. And WTF? Billions of people run registry cleaners everyday and the chance of one "screwing up" is probibly a million to one. Stop going around and scaring everybody with your non-sence.
 
Like any system maintenance that you do on your computer there is always a chance that you can screw up your system. IMO using CCleaner is pretty safe but if there is an entry that you do not know for sure what function it has, I would leave it be until someone that has a better understanding of using registry cleaners can look through the entries.
 
Krazyshank said:
LOL! Its not dangerous! CCleaner does do backups. And WTF? Billions of people run registry cleaners everyday and the chance of one "screwing up" is probibly a million to one. Stop going around and scaring everybody with your non-sence.
Click to expand...

Maybe, you should watch what you say. You have no idea who Broni is, but I do, and in some cases, what he says is true.
 
Cleaning dead registry entries will not VISIBLY improve computer performance, not to mention "boost".
It MAY speed up this, or that operation by couple of miliseconds, but human brain is not able to detect such a difference.
However, cleaning one wrong key may result in....fresh Windows installation.
That will surely provide a boost.
 
Broni said:
Cleaning dead registry entries will not VISIBLY improve computer performance, not to mention "boost".
It MAY speed up this, or that operation by couple of miliseconds, but human brain is not able to detect such a difference.
However, cleaning one wrong key may result in....fresh Windows installation.
That will surely provide a boost.
Click to expand...

What if there a few thousand empty entries in the registry? Every time you start up it's going to load all of them.

Registry cleaners are most useful on systems that have never been "cleaned" before.

I use CCleaner every day, registry cleaner included and it hasn't done anything bad yet.

The only thing I'd be worrying about is that fake antivirus/scanning software, that will be more likely to screw up the registry with one of it's "scans" than anything else.
 
It completely doesn't matter.
Most items running on your computer are triggered just by these few registry keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Userinit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\load
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellServiceObjectDelayLoad
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SharedTaskScheduler

I use CCleaner every day, registry cleaner included and it hasn't done anything bad yet.
Click to expand...
What does it prove?
I never ran any registry cleaner and my computer runs perfectly fine.

As I said before, you can be lucky 1,000 times, but only one bad move and you reinstall.

That said, I really don't have anything else to add, so you do what you have to do.
 
Broni said:
It completely doesn't matter.
Most items running on your computer are triggered just by these few registry keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Userinit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\load
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellServiceObjectDelayLoad
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SharedTaskScheduler


What does it prove?
I never ran any registry cleaner and my computer runs perfectly fine.

As I said before, you can be lucky 1,000 times, but only one bad move and you reinstall.

That said, I really don't have anything else to add, so you do what you have to do.
Click to expand...

It's a preventative measure ;)
 
yup CClean is great, although take not if you delete cookies, it will get rid of your online passwords say to forums or email clients, so you will have to re enter them at login screen...also use spybot it works great in cleaning doubleclick ads
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top