Registry Question

Hello All,

First, thanks in advance for your attention and help.

I was looking through my registry (had to change to a new User name and was moving IE7 favorites to that new login) and noted many entries for programs that I have long since deleted, i.e. Wild Tangent, AOL, Kazaa, etc. Mostly the sh-- that comes with a Dell.

This sounds like a dumb question, but should I go through and manually delete all those files? I have used CCleaner's registry function, but it seems as though those files are not touched.

Thanks.

 

I would first check to make sure that CCleaner is updated. If it still does not remove those registry keys, I would not mess with them.

 

Senlis,

Thanks for the response. CCleaner is updated.

 

For instance, some of these items are:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\America Online\AOL Companion

or

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Kazaa\LocalContent

or

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Dell\WildTangent

The applications have been removed, but having read about how this sorta cr-- shouldn't be on anyone's computer, as a newbie it worries me that it's still there. And, since most people are really hesitant about messing with the Registry, using another program also makes me second guess myself.

Thanks.

 

ive allways used 2 programs mate.

1. is 'registry mechanic'

2. is 'your uninstaller pro'

registry mechanic removes traces of things you do not need, and uninstaller pro uninstalls programs in a 'full' capacity so they do not leave very many traces, i find them a usefull team - i apoligise though, they are paid for versions, the your uninstaller works as a trial - but the registry mechanic will require payment to remove things, so you may need to find an alternate. but this is just my advice.

 

I'll suggest a free alternative. It's Eusing Free Registry Cleaner 2.0; I've used it. Personally, I'd avoid 'registry mechanic'.

 

hey, lol - not to hijack the thread, just wanna ask why you would avoid that program usafveteran - have you had a bad experience with it ?

 

Wouldn't consider this discussion a hijack of the thread. Would be very interested to read what others think about this...

Aside from the time and mind-numbing effects, any issue with deleting these entries manually???

 

No, I haven't used registry mechanic. If I recall correctly, I've seen negative comments on it somewhere but I can't recall where now. So, perhaps I should have refrained from commenting on it.

Anyway, I have used Eusing Free Registry Cleaner and found it to be a reliable registry cleaner that's cleans the registry more aggressively than CCleaner. So, I think it might be helpful to victorydoc in this case.

 

So I just ran EFRC and it found 837(!) issues.
734 Invalid File or Folder
2 Missing Shared DLL's
16 Add/Remove programs issue
11 Unused file extension
2 Custom control issue
14 Obsolete Software Key
21 Missing Sound File (all AOL detritus)
37 ActiveX issue

I would assume (yeah, yeah, I know...) the obsolete programs (MusicMatch, AOL, Kazaa, Earthlink, etc.) could be safely deleted. But short of having someone hold my hand and make sure that I am not going to deep-six my computer, any other way to clean this?

Thanks!

 

yeh mate, too be honest u have to be very carefull playing around in the registry - i wouldn't advise manually deleting those references, ill be honest - a good reg app like that should clear most of the clutter - other things you should just chalk down to 'ill know better next time' ya know?

 

Sorry to keep belaboring this, but...

I made a System Restore point, as well as exported (I think) the entire registry through regedit.

If I go ahead and fix using EFRC, will this be ok if something hits the fan? I've read a couple of reviews, via Mr. Google, where EFRC has compromised their system.

Thanks.

 

Using any registry cleaner carries some risk. That's why prudent forum members are normally cautious about suggesting that anyone use a registry cleaner. And, it's why CCleaner, with a strong track record on safe scanning, CCleaner is often recommended. But, we also know that CCleaner is not as aggressive in it's registry cleaning as other registry cleaners. That's why EFRC found 837(!) issues after you'd used CCleaner.

All I can say regarding EFRC is that I have it installed on my Win XP computer and use it on an infrequent basis, perhaps only a few times a year. I use CCleaner on a fairly regular basis.

EFRC will prompt you to backup your registry; it also has a menu option to restore a previous registry. So, in my opinion, you need not worry about using it. I would use its registry backup feature before running a fix.

 

ive never done it personally but as far as i know as long as you make a backup of the registry and you've made a restore point, you should be fine to use any registry program (that you've heard good reviews about) if it ends up causing a problem u can allways re-instate your backed up registry, or restore your pc to an earlier time

but id agree with usafveteran, maybe i should have been a little more controlling in my suggestion of registry programs. altho now you've gone to the hassle - id say have at it, if it goes wrong - restore it all. =D

good luck, hope to hear from you again! lol.

 

What exactly do you expect to gain by "nit-picking" in the registry? This is a risk reward type of thing. High risk for very little reward.

 

By "nit-picking" in the registry, you mean using regedit to find and delete registry entries, right? Yes, that's definitely "High risk for very little reward."

 

Indeed. I also find it counter productive to use any registry cleaner tool and begin deleting stuff when there is no real problem.

 

true, it is advised to just do it if your a bit further on up the ladder of knowledge - and you're doing it cos your a perfectionist

but if the fella wants to do it, i say have at it - how do computer professionals become so anyhow?

=D