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What's a safe program to clean up registry problems?
I recently bought a new Dell XPS 710. I used Laplink to move everything from my old PC. I've added and removed a number of programs and ran Norton WinDoctor to look for and repair registry errors. I've used this program for years with no problems. This time when I restarted my PC - it wouldn't. Not in regular mode, not in safe mode, not to a previous good startup, not even to a C: prompt. I ended up reinstalling windows and all my software (days, very long days). So now I'm afraid to use the Norton program. I don't know if it was the culprit, but it must have been since nothing else was done during that startup run. Any suggestions for a 'SAFE' registry repair tool will be most welcome.
- A "SAFE" registry repair tool?My opinion is that programs that use a wholesale approach to registry cleaning are not safe. These boards are littered with problems from those that use them. I have yet to see any evidence that indiscriminate removing of dead registry entries in any way improves sytem performance. (I'm not talking about specific registry fixes for known problems).But don't take my word for it, see what some real experts think:
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=24665It's a long thread, but well worth reading. - Registry "Cleaners" are a source of much intense debate. Some people swear by them... others swear AT them.Given the huge size of the average registry, even "cleaning" (i.e. removing) several HUNDRED entries will probably have no noticeable impact on startup speed, if that's what your goal is.More significantly, if the registry cleaner "goofs", and tampers with some entries that are really essential, there's a chance your PC won't be able to boot up again.... as your own personal testimony above now corroborates :smileysad:Having said this, I have some personal experience with TweakNow RegCleaner. I don't believe it ever "messed things up" for me... but on the other hand, I can't say that I've actually gained anything by using it, despite it finding and removing MANY entries...So I think you're best off following Joe53's sound advice, and staying clear of them [in general].If you choose to use ANY registry cleaner, be advised that you're doing so at your own risk!
- I appreciate the responses received. By my count 5 people have suggested their personal favorite registry cleaning tool and 3 people seem to feel registry cleaning is not worth the effort or risk. Doing a little research, I found this link on the PC magazine site:
http://www.compareregistrycleaners.com/?gclid=CJqdheCRi4sCFRllgQodLhC8FQ
I was tempted to download the top choice on this site but decided to do a little more research. That's when I found the following site:
http://asknerd.net/bestregistrycleaner.html
So, who do you trust? - My personal favorite is CCleaner. It not only has an option to clean the registry, but can be configured to do other cleaning at boot up. Click here for a link to their web site.
- Let's try to rephrase your question:You wrote: " I ended up reinstalling windows and all my software (days, very long days)".How is your system working now? Are you experiencing any problems? Is it "sluggish" at all? Else, what is your goal in considering a registry cleaner??If it's working well... if there are no clear problems/errors... then, given what you've already been subjected to, I would advocate the old maxim, "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it".If it's working well, but "sluggish" --- particularly, in the time it takes to boot up --- then you'd be far better off examining what's auto-booting at startup [with MSConfig, or some other startup utility, like WinPatrol], rather than trying to directly "tweak" the registry.You can research startup items, individually, at sites such as:Type-in the name of the program you want to check-out; or click on its first letter.and/orClick on first-letter of program name
Message Edited by ky331 on 03-23-2007 11:37 AM
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Posted March 22nd, 2007 22:00