A Good Registry Cleaner?

I have McAfee AV. It is telling me that I have 48 problems with my W11 registry and wants to sell me cleaning software.
I know there were plenty of free ones available years ago, but I stopped using them because I heard they can cause serious damage.
Is there a good free one out there, or should I just live with the 48 problems?

 

Depends.

A lot of people will say that registry cleaners are dangerous and, yes, if you don't pay attention to what they're doing, or if you override the defaults, they can be.

That being said, I've been using the registry cleaner in Glary Utilities (https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/glary_utilities.html) and Wise Registry Cleaner (https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/wise_registry_cleaner.html) for a number of years now with nary a problem...and, yes, I use the free versions.

As always, backup your registry before you run a cleaner, and a system restore point doesn't hurt, either.

 

There are a few listed here: MajorGeeks Top Freeware Picks - MajorGeeks

See also Should You Clean Your Windows Registry? - MajorGeeks

 

Use a free one. I use CCleaner but rarely.

It bears repeating: backup the registry before you allow anything to clean it..

 

I use ccleaner to clean my registry

 

Chances are it’s saying purely to get you to buy their software & that you don’t have 48 problems.
There’s a new cleaner on the block:
https://sirsoft.io/sircleaner/ free & paid, I’ve not tested it yet.
I use CCleaner but that’s become bloatware with the paid version (I get it for £1 per year) & has been known to make things worse not better when it comes to cleaning.
I used to use JV16 Powertools but that seems to have fallen by the wayside & hasn’t been updated in some time so has problems on my laptop when running - it closes during cleaning.
I mainly now use Revo Uninstaller Pro cleaning option.

 

CCleaner gets updated. I haven't updated it in years because I run Windows 7 and don't need things added for 10 and 11. I checked and it is from 2014 when Piriform owned it and before it became bloated.

I just ran it now. The last time I ran it was September 2023 so it is going on 2 years. I had 31 issues in the registry.

 

The debate goes on and on regarding whether or not you should use a Registry Cleaner. I do believe that they help and I have a suggestion for a very safe one that is underappreciated, overlooked and underrated.

The one I'm suggesting is called "Microsoft PC Manager" and it is made by Microsoft and it's free. I would install it and just follow the prompts. If you're unsure about a setting or don't unstand it just search for the setting on the internet. It is very safe to use and it will not hurt your computer. I don't want it to load at startup on my computer but that's up to you.

You can read more about it on the Microsoft website and here is the URL
https://pcmanager.microsoft.com/en-us
Cheers!

 

^^^ What he said!!!

 

Made in CN by MS, seems to have been in perpetual beta stage for non-CN users. Still heavily invested in keeping the ghost of XP alive and running.

Yup, I've used it. Not recommended.

Tame and cautiously use CCleaner instead, its way more beneficial.

 

I never clean my registry. I most likely never will. No good has ever come from it, only bad things can happen. It is just not needed, It is not even seriously debated anymore, except by companies selling registry cleaners.

 

I find that most Anti-virus software are nothing but bloat ware and a waste of money Their are several companies that have bought out other av services just to add to their collection and revenue. Like for instance if you use AVG and avast guess what avast owns avg now.lol