Value of 3rd Party Utility Programs

I'd like to hear some views on whether or not 3rd party utility programs, and particularly Advanced System Optimizer, are of value or a potential problem. When I was having problems with an older Dell 531, I tried using ASO hoping that cleaning up the registry and clearing out file fragments would help. It didn't. If anything it seemed to create more problems. After a 'cleaning' I wouldn't be able to reboot and would need to do a system restore. Now to be fair to ASO, it turned out there were hardware problems and I ended up building a new computer.

The reason for the note is that I can see the potential value of programs like ASO in cleaning up things regularly. However, my initial experience leaves me a bit concerned that programs like this might, in fact, do serious damage. Any advice on whether programs like ASO should or should not be used would be appreciated - with Windows 7 X64. Also, any thoughts on the value and effectiveness of ASO - or better alternatives.

 

If you want a regisrty cleaner look into registry defence. I've ran it for months and never had a problem with my registry

 

Hi

First of all, "third party utility program" is a VERY broad term. It includes anything from IOBit Defrag (which is good) to registry cleaning programs, which are useless.

The registry doesn't need to be cleaned or defragmented. It takes less than a gigabyte of space (far less, usually), and "registry cleaners" can ONLY remove entries. They can't fix wrong entries, or add missing entries. Almost all entries removed by these programs cause NO issues being left alone in the first place.

The paid version of Revo Uninstaller can remove problematic registry entries left by programs that have been improperly uninstalled (using Add/Remove Programs, or the included uninstaller will remove the registry entries automatically). I haven't personally purchased the program, but others on here have and have had good experiences with it. There should only be rare, specific cases in which you would need to use it... usually when you have a corrupted install that won't uninstall on its own completely.