Cleaning the Registry??

I've read a couple threads here, which seem to be advising not to use registry cleaners, except maybe for CCleaner. So, I'm hesitant to try any!

I tried one some time back, but it indicated a lot of entries which should be removed. Back then, I was more trusting, and I removed them. Not a good move... That blind action removed so many good, needed entries, mostly about file associations and such. Fortunately, that utility made a backup, and I was able to restore them all, including any which could've remained Dumped.

So now my question is:
If I use another Registry cleaner, how do I Know that the entries recommended for removal are truely obsolete or unneeded?

 

I'm far from an expert on the registry, and have also made the same mistakes you have in the past. Some of the folks here never use a reg cleaner, except for CCleaner. They say it doesn't make a noticeable increase in speed. (If that's what your looking for)
One thing I do know is to stay away from the ActiveX/CLSID entries.
I use RegSeeker but only about once a month and only if I have been doing a lot of un-installs.
When I do a full clean, I only use the boxes marked in the thumbnail. (I have used the Invalid Services, but that was on my old XP machine and I don't know if RegSeeker is fully Vista-ready, yet.)
Also, I click OK and not Auto-Clean. (And again DO NOT check the ActiveX/CLSID box)
When it is done running, click Select and then Select All Green Items. Lastly, select Action and choose Delete. You will be asked if you want a backup, before Reg Seeker will delete.
It is best to set a system restore even before running any reg cleaner, just to be on the safe side.

At times after un-installing apps, I will run the "Find In Registry" selection and input the app name and run it. I always manually look at each entry to make sure it is only the app I want found and not something that has a similar name. Then I select all (if there is no other app entries there( and Delete.
So far, I haven't had a problem using it this way. (I have used Reg Seeker for well over a year)

http://www.majorgeeks.com/RegSeeker_d2579.html

Be careful any time you mess with your registry and always do a back up first.

 

As stated above, always make a registry back up before cleaning. Most of the better reg cleaners will have this built in, either as an option or it'll ask right before it actually does any cleaning (like CCleaner does). CCleaner has proven itself to be safe, and I've used it MANY times and removed everything that it found MANY times. And I can't remember ever having any problems after running CCleaner. I've used Wise RegCleaner which is also really good, and marks items for removal as safe, unsafe, or unknown. A while back, I ran 5 or 6 different reg cleaners back to back without removing anything, just to see what they found and how accurate and similar they were. I found that CCleaner, Wise, and Advanced Window Care all had very similar results in the number of things found and what the things were. I can't remember the other programs, but I do remember that one found over 1000 'problems' and one found only 9. CCleaner, Wise, and AWC each found between 190 and 215. This is how I came to settle on CCleaner and Wise. I was using AWC for awhile, but once after running it, my internet connection was suddenly dead and 'rebuilding' it was a major pain, so I don't use AWC for registry cleaning anymore (it has some other GREAT features, and I recommend it for those). If AWC actually had anything to do with messing up the DSL connection remains unknown; maybe it was a coincidence... who knows... So, run your own trials and see what looks 'right' to you, or just stick with CCleaner. Or, don't worry about it. Reg cleaning doesn't really do much to speed things up anyway, and "over-cleaning" the registry can be very dangerous.....

 

i have only once used a reg cleaner other than CCleaner and had the same problem as you so now (not being computer literate) i only use CCleaner and let it clean every thing it finds.

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