Registry Cleaner

hlewton · Post by **hlewton** » 27 Nov 2010, 17:44

I did a search for the topic title and came up empty. So does anyone have any suggestions for a good registry cleaner program that is preferably free? I am not at all sure if Ccleaner does that or not.

Thanks.

Post by **HansV** » 27 Nov 2010, 17:57

Registry cleaners are controversial, to put it mildly. Some people swear by them, others contend that they're useless at best, and potentially harmful.

I belong to the latter group. In early versions of Windows, there was a maximum size to the registry files (64K if I remember correctly), so it made sense to remove superfluous entries. This limitation has long since been removed, and unused entries don't do any harm, nor do they have a negative impact on performance.

CCleaner contains a very "conservative" registry cleaner utility. It removes only a small number of registry entries, but I've never found it to make a mistake, so it's safe.

ChrisGreaves · Post by **ChrisGreaves** » 27 Nov 2010, 18:04

hlewton wrote: a good registry cleaner program that is preferably free?

As Hans says, I think, "good" is subjective and qualitative.
I use ToniArts EasyCleaner 2.0.6.380 from the Official web page
I have CCleaner and have run it, but it seems to destroy some of my login cookies. probably my fault; I may have missed an option switch somewhere.

I have as part of my boot sequence NTRegOpt, but again, like Hans, I am somewhat skeptical of defragmenters.

Post by **StuartR** » 27 Nov 2010, 18:05

hlewton wrote:...does anyone have any suggestions for a good registry cleaner...

Is there a problem that you are trying to solve?

Post by **HansV** » 27 Nov 2010, 18:12

ChrisGreaves wrote:I have CCleaner and have run it, but it seems to destroy some of my login cookies. probably my fault; I may have missed an option switch somewhere.

Hi Chris,

Cookies are not part of the registry. You can specify which cookies CCLeaner should leave alone by clicking Options, then Cookies. You'll see two lists: Cookies to Delete and Cookies to Keep. You can move cookies between the lists by clicking the -> and <- buttons. So for example if you'd like to stay logged in to Eileen's Lounge, make sure that eileenslounge.com is in the Cookies to Keep list.
You should do this BEFORE clicking Run Cleaner in the Cleaner section.

hlewton · Post by **hlewton** » 27 Nov 2010, 19:00

StuartR wrote:
hlewton wrote:...does anyone have any suggestions for a good registry cleaner...
Is there a problem that you are trying to solve?

Yes kind of. In the last week my computer has really slowed down when either rebooting or shutting down. I have scanned if for viruses, malware, done a chkdsk /r, and defragged it all to little avail. I have installed the Ccleaner and I see it dopes have a registry cleaner and ran it. Not sure if that helped at all but will be able to tell sooner or later I guess.

Thanks

BobH · Post by **BobH** » 27 Nov 2010, 19:36

I was frustrated by very long start-up times and tried several different programs to control the problem. Eventually I found Soluto Beta (IIRC someone here mentioned it but I can't remember who it was.).

You can download it here. Soluto Beta Download

It is simple and easy to use. It allows you to choose which programs must open for start-up and which can be delayed. I cut my wait from 3 and a half minutes to 2 minutes 6 seconds.

hlewton · Post by **hlewton** » 27 Nov 2010, 20:45

BobH wrote:I was frustrated by very long start-up times and tried several different programs to control the problem. Eventually I found Soluto Beta (IIRC someone here mentioned it but I can't remember who it was.).

You can download it here. Soluto Beta Download

It is simple and easy to use. It allows you to choose which programs must open for start-up and which can be delayed. I cut my wait from 3 and a half minutes to 2 minutes 6 seconds.

Thank you Bod for the suggestion but start up is not a problem. It is restarting or shutting down that lately seems to be very, very slow. Once the screen appears where it says it is shutting down Windows then it moves along nicely. It is getting to that point.

agibsonsw · Post by **agibsonsw** » 27 Nov 2010, 23:51

Most programs that run at start-up continue to run and (I believe) can also slow down shutting down.
In CCLeaner, Tools there is a StartUp button to list programs that are starting-up. It might be worth checking these.
Andy.

hlewton · Post by **hlewton** » 28 Nov 2010, 00:38

agibsonsw wrote:Most programs that run at start-up continue to run and (I believe) can also slow down shutting down.
In CCLeaner, Tools there is a StartUp button to list programs that are starting-up. It might be worth checking these.
Andy.

I will do that thank you. BTW even before posting this thread I deleted a lot of programs that were starting in the registry under the "run" registry entry but I'll see if I can decide on what may not need to be started at Start up.

Post by **HansV** » 28 Nov 2010, 00:41

Weeding out startup programs can improve performance, but be careful not to remove items that you don't know the purpose of - you don't want to disable an essential Windows component!

hlewton · Post by **hlewton** » 28 Nov 2010, 01:10

HansV wrote:Weeding out startup programs can improve performance, but be careful not to remove items that you don't know the purpose of - you don't want to disable an essential Windows component!

Thanks Hans, that is what really concerns me. I have checked the start up programs that appear in Ccleaner and there are only 13 of them which I don't believe is excessive. I know what 12 of them are for or have already been told not to remove them. One I can't identify even after doing a google search is "Windows Search.ink" I have no idea if I can disable it or not because I don't know its function. Any suggestions?

Thanks

viking33 · Post by **viking33** » 28 Nov 2010, 01:22

BobH wrote:I was frustrated by very long start-up times and tried several different programs to control the problem. Eventually I found Soluto Beta (IIRC someone here mentioned it but I can't remember who it was.).

You can download it here. Soluto Beta Download

It is simple and easy to use. It allows you to choose which programs must open for start-up and which can be delayed. I cut my wait from 3 and a half minutes to 2 minutes 6 seconds.

I downloaded it and tried to install it ( more from curiosity than need ) but it wouldn't install. insisted that I needed .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, Which I should have had but I DL'd from the MS link it provided. Installed again and rebooted. Still no go from the Soluto install. I sent a message to the authors, so we'll see how they respond.

Post by **Leif** » 28 Nov 2010, 10:04

hlewton wrote:It is restarting or shutting down that lately seems to be very, very slow.

What operating system?
Are you on a domain or home network?

In Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View...

x.jpg

...make sure 'Automatically search for Network Folders and Printers' is not selected.

hlewton · Post by **hlewton** » 28 Nov 2010, 13:12

Thank you Leif for the suggestion. I do have a home network and have that option cleared on all the computers on the network. I just doubled checked to make sure it hadn't somehow mysteriously changed and it is still unchecked.

Post by **Leif** » 28 Nov 2010, 13:41

There are quite a few other things to try - do an Advanced Search at Windows Secrets Lounge and you'll find suggestions ranging from anti-virus updates to indexing...

What operating system?

ChrisGreaves · Post by **ChrisGreaves** » 28 Nov 2010, 14:09

hlewton wrote:In the last week my computer has really slowed down ...

Try Soluto for the bootup problems:
http://www.soluto.com/

hlewton · Post by **hlewton** » 28 Nov 2010, 17:13

Leif wrote:There are quite a few other things to try - do an Advanced Search at Windows Secrets Lounge and you'll find suggestions ranging from anti-virus updates to indexing...

What operating system?

My anti-virus updates sometimes 5 or 6 times a day so I know I have the latest updates there. I update the program that check for Malware each time I run it which is at least once a week. I run a "chkdsk /r" faithfully, and defrag the disk at least once a month. I always install the MS updates too.

I will check out your link. My OS on that machine is XP Home with SP3 installed.

Thanks.

Post by **Leif** » 28 Nov 2010, 18:54

hlewton wrote:My anti-virus updates sometimes 5 or 6 times a day so I know I have the latest updates there.

I meant it in terms of your AV software trying to connect and check for updates immediately you start up, rather than there being a virus problem, if that's what you meant!

hlewton · Post by **hlewton** » 28 Nov 2010, 19:01

Not sure exactly how it works but I don't think it tries updating as it is starting up if I am understanding you.

I should maybe mention it is also an anti Spyware program as well. I mention that because after doing that advanced search other than trying to shutdown startup programs it mentions spyware the most as the culprit. Of course I can't be 100% certain but I have come to trust the anti-virus and anti-spyware protection I have and don't think I have spyware on my machine. But who knows for sure?

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