Major Geeks recommendation for registry cleaner

I don't see any recent entries in search on the subject of registry cleaners for windows-- in this case XP.

I've been looking at the WikiHow page for system performance tweaks on this subject. The only registry cleaner I saw recommended was reginout which is a pay for program.

Does MG have a current recommendation for a safe and up to date registry cleaner?

In the past I have tried these and done more harm than good. But they are supposed to improve performance.

Recently I went through the Malware suite of procedures at MG. I would not want any reg cleaners to mess that up.

 

CCleaner Standard 4.09.4471

Author: Piriform Ltd.
Date: 12/19/2013 07:24 AM
Size: 4.56 MB
License: Freeware
Requires: Win 8 / Win 7 / Vista/ XP
Downloads: 517192 times

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/ccleaner_standard.html

 

Registry Cleaners in general are not safe or necessary as often they are way to aggressive in cleaning the registry.

If you insist on using one, then I recommend CCleaner Slim: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/ccleaner_slim.html

If using CCleaner Slim be sure to backup the registry items first prior to deleting them. CCleaner Slim usually updates about a week after the Standard CCleaner and comes without any *extras* added in. If going for the Standard version, opt out of whatever extras it offers.

I've used CCleaner Slim for years and it never has let me down, yet I always backup up the registry items prior to deleting them.

 

Registry 'cleaners' do not improve performance, changes they make can break Windows' features and updates.

If you have a problem, troubleshoot it

 

If you must use one of these registry cleaners, at least CCleaner allows the user the opportunity to review every registry key/value queued for deletion and to uncheck those that seem blatantly dangerous (that's assuming that the user is familiar with which keys do what). As stated above, CCleaner affords the user the opportunity for backing up everything that's deleted so that you can restore those deleted values should you have problems after the cleaning is done. I would suggest you do this every time, along with creating a restore point prior to running the reg cleaner, especially if it's one of those ridiculously dangerous "One Click" computer cleanup "tools". You must realize that deleting a necessary registry key can be as catastrophic as deleting the critical file that it references. Most of the stuff that these cleaners delete is just left over junk from prior installations and uninstalls which, as satrow stated, do nothing to speed up or slow down your system anyway.

 

Registry? Whazzat? Is it like a prefs file?


:-D

 

As I recall CCleaner is in the Comodo Suite is it not?

Yes, I am a sucker for those one button tools but that's why I asked again about it beforehand since there are trusted sources talking this up and I was having a major slowdown yesterday. Cannot imagine what it is since as I mentioned MG took me through the whole suite of Malware tools-- kicking and screaming a bit but I like to know what's going on during the process.

 

No. It's not.

If you need to ask for registry cleaner recommendations, you probably need to stay away from registry cleaners.

Run a disk cleanup, defrag and restart the computer. As stated above. You aren't going to gain anything as far as performance goes using a registry cleaner.

 

No, I think it's some type of pasta dish :-D

 

Closest I have come to using a registry cleaner is Comodo Programs Manager (uninstaller). Not that it's a problem, but CPM only uninstalls registry items for programs that were installed after CPM itself and then only with the approval of the user. I used it for awhile and then, when I reinstalled Windows to start over, I added CPM first.

What I like about it is that it gives individual warnings during the removal of registry items for shared .dlls. You can at that time just select to keep them and avoid removing a .dll that is or might be needed by more programs than just the one being removed. I also like that there is a registry backup and restore feature in the program.

I've used it for almost 2 years now, and I wouldn't go without it, short of a really serious and foolproof cleaner/registry cleaner. Easier said than accomplished I guess, but I think Comodo is on the right track, providing a registry backup tool and warnings and user control for the removal of shared .dlls.

 

Maybe I should give it another chance. When I used it, it seemed to do nothing more than the Add/Remove control panel applet. Maybe I wasn't using it correctly. I know it installs a driver as a service to monitor everything that happens with an installed program and stored data in a 500+ MB database, but I just wasn't seeing that it was utilizing the info for anything. So, thanks for the feedback on that app.

 

Good advice. Yes, I've avoided them for a long time but as stated I recently saw that recommended program and use MG as a trusted source to avoid backdoor endorsements-- plus it's a pay for program.

And the closest I come to reg cleaners these days is similar to Comodo Manager. That is Revo Uninstaller which seems to be very thorough.
I will look at CPM as well.

 

Hey rustysavage...

The problem is it just uses the program uninstaller to remove a program if CPM was installed after the program being targeted to remove. To the best of my determination, that's because the program information isn't in the CPM database from the installation. If the installation was recorded, CPM will use the program's uninstaller and then, after a wait, the registry items will appear to the right for removal. If a message about a shared .dll pops up, I just click to keep it...

I do like that the program records installations automatically. Forgot to mention it.

loninappleton...

I have always heard good things about Revo. Just don't have an angle on it. I tried it about 5 or 6 years ago, and I remember thinking "this is dangerous", but I liked the idea. Now everybody seems to like it.

CPM is a simple straight improvement of Add/Remove in XP for me. That's why I like it I think...

 

I will have to spend a bit more time with CPM to use it. Was wondering if the Geek Buddy is necessary to get it going since it stalled out when I ran the routine to install and see what was in it. It wouldn't go in.

Perhaps I should do it Safe Mode where telecom and my little homenet is shut down?

Anyway a good discussion of something has come out of this.

 

Oh, apologies. Forgot about Geek Buddy. I have version 1.2 of CPM, which wasn't bundled with Geek Buddy. Now that I am reminded, I remember the GeekBuddy thing was a real pain in the neck. I first had 1.2 and then updated because of a message in CPM. Then I removed CPM 1.3 with Windows and reinstalled 1.2. That must have been over a year ago.

I am reminded of how far I go for a good feature in an app with this. CPM 1.2 has one nasty element I forgot to mention, too. It has one process called CPMUpdateDBTool.exe. It's supposed to go on the internet and fetch some sort of information, but it uses alot of processor and runs like 2-3 times a day for about 15 minutes. Comodo had to shut down the server, because they couldn't get it to stabilize, so the process apparently just keeps trying to connect. I used a program called Process Lasso to kill the process every time it tries to start...

I have been so focused on the little successes that I have forgotten the woes that preceded them it would seem. :-o

Anyway, thanks for reminding me of all this and, again, apologies...

 

Not wanting to try to "Lasso" anything three times a day I think I'll avoid the program. Revo works well. My slowdowns might just be load. This is a 3 core but not the newest--

System under discussion

AMD Athlon II x3 450 Regor 3.2 Ghz
MSI 880GM-E41 mainboard
Kingston DDR3 Hyperx/fb 2x2Gb
Seagate Baracuda 320 SATA HD
Logisys 480w Power supply
USB cordless mouse from Kingston
corded keyboard
using onboard video by ATI

 

That makes sense. Again, I apologize. I use Process Lasso for other features, so I was able to take advantage of the "kill" switch it has for processes to stop CPMUpdateDBTool.exe.

About the connect thing...I think I recall that Comodo was trying to build a database of files that were removed by CPM when programs were removed, I suppose to determine which .dlls and registry keys could be classified as safe to remove. In that light the CPMUpdateDBTool.exe process was an upload of information rather than a download (if I have it right). At any rate, that part of CPM was abandoned and removed from versions after 1.2.

I read a horror story about Geek Buddy which involved a user who in a confused state thought he was supposed to sign up for the service and then began receiving bills. Don't recall the specifics, but he had a great deal of difficulty finding a way to turn off the service.

Still don't know how I forgot all of this. I have been through so many wars that they seem like nothing to me anymore lol...

:major

 

Thanks for the tip, plodr. I'd been using Your Uninstaller which worked great for about 6 months but then just started losing uninstall entries along with 90% of the install dates. Reinstalling didn't help so I'm in search of an uninstaller replacement.

 

Didn't want to do any long quotes, but Yikes, I had no clue that Geek Buddy was some sort of pay for service.

On the main screen of the Comodo CPM prog it asks if you want Geek Buddy to install it for you-- can't recall if it mentioned for free or not. I wonder what goes through their minds. Comodo has a good program suite and then inserting these sorts of tasteless tweaks with gotchas attached takes all respect from the user-- free or otherwise.

 

I think the rule of thumb with registry cleaners is if you have to ask then you probably shouldn't be using one and this comes from someone who definitely would have to ask! :-D

I think CrapCleaner is good, but only select things that you know are uninstalled from your system, otherwise things can go downhill in a hurry. If you really want to speed up an old system I think doing a clean install and only installing necessary software is the way to go, even if it means having to re-customize your PC. Also if you're using XP you really might want to look at upgrading to Win7 since XP is nearing end of life where Microsoft will no longer fix any security holes, etc. Supposedly there's lots of computers around the world still on XP so this is supposed to result in a coming tsunami of botnets or something like that.

 

What about deleting the Journal file?

$Extend\$UsnJrnl:$J:$DATA


This was noted at MyDefrag but I know nothing about MyDefrag.

 

loninappleton...

Found this. I had never heard of this before, but it sounds kind of important:

This was at MyDefrag.com here:

Hope this helps. Maybe someone knows more about this file...

 

A closer reading at MyDefrag says it only works on Windows 7. I have XP here.
But I tried to do a simple search and came up with nothing. I just wanted to know how big "Big" was.

As to defraggers such as IOBit recommended here, I remember originally liking the program and using frequently b/c in operation it looks like it's doing a lot of stuff. But I stopped when, for some reason, I thought it was doing more harm than good. Unfortunately I cannot report the specifics from back then.

 

I've had GeekBuddy around a long time without getting a bill. On the free version you get a little bit, but eventually you will run into them wanting you to subscribe for $47 or whatever for them to give you any more help. I stopped GeekBuddy from autostarting. Start Menu > Administrative Tools > Services > right-click on GeekBuddy line > Properties > change Startup type from Automatic to Manual (or Disabled if you desire)

Despite its name, Advanced Uninstaller PRO is freeware. Besides uninstalling, it has an awful lot of other nice features, including really good cookie control.

Since we have a detailed discussion of Comodo Programs Manager here, does it have that feature where if you use it to uninstall a program you installed with CPM, you risk having CPM go after other applications that were open at the time of the original installation? I know Advanced Uninstaller Pro is that way, so I have declined to utilize it in installs.

 

Hey loninappleton, I'm running XP on most of my computers and 2 of them use Mydefrag, check here, http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/mydefrag.html

 

I'm running MyDefrag on 2 machines --> one Windows 7, the other XP and it's working fine on both of them. Very cool app that allows the user to write scripts that direct it to do every type of defragging you can think of (and some you may not have even known about).

 

No it really doesn't do that cc. The only thing I have noticed is that some programs must be removed together. This only happens when they were bundled in one of those disgraceful installers that sneak multiple programs onto the PC, when you thought you were only installing the one...

Got your new crate (PC) yet cc? :-D