best software to buy to fix and clean the windows xp

Seeing as how 90% + of the known business computing universive uses I.E. and some version of Outlook/Outlook Express, I don't find your reply very helpful. Anyone diagnosing PCs on a regular or professional basis, will run into a variety of system glitches [not all malware related] that a good registry fixing/cleaning program would save a lot of time and frustration. I have only used two over the years, Norton's regisry cleaning application [whatever the name] and RegistryFix. I have found neither to be sufficiantly effective on a consistant basis, with the latter actually causing more problems then it fixes regularly. So, I too would be interested if anyone has found a magic pill.

Frank

And part of the problem is that, as you say, "90%+ of the known business computing universive [sic] uses I.E. and some version of Outlook/Outlook Express," but that's another topic for another day.

Eliminate IE, Outlook/Outlook Express, file sharing, and pirated programs, and your software related problems virtually disappear. There are some issues running Windows on shoddy hardware like you get in low end HP/Compaq systems, but you can only really fault Windows on that as far as not handling such things as gracefully as the likes of Linux.

NEVER, in the 10-12 years I've been dealing with systems, ranging from Windows 3.1 (yes, Windows 3.1 had a registry) all the way up to a smattering of Vista, have I ever encountered a need for a registry cleaning/fixing program, outside of what programs like Adaware provide to remove bits of malware. And you know why? Because the registry is just a simple flat file database to store program metadata that any first year computer science student should be able to recreate in an afternoon.

The registry is not this mysterious black box component of Windows that has all kinds of mystical properties to it. It's a real quick and dirty database that was designed to be a central location for all program metadata (such as settings), and to replace the older INI file system. That's all it is, besides a good idea implemented about as poorly as could be imagined in typical Microsoft fashion.

Knowledge is the key to understanding, and without understanding people are prone to believe all kinds of silly things. Primitive cultures didn't know how to explain things like lightning except to attribute it to the work of some deity. We can explain them as a series of natural phenomenon, having nothing to do with divine intervention. Many people do not possess sufficient knowledge about the registry in order to understand it, and are thus prone to coming up with all kinds of strange notions about it. So, the question then becomes, which sort of person do you want to be? The crazy superstitious type, easily fooled and often wrong, or the man of reason and logic, who seeks to learn about that which he doesn't understand, so that he may one day understand how it works.

I don?t want to belabor this discussion much further on this thread -- as much as I like good philosophical and theoretical discourse -- because it isn?t very relevant to the original post, and that?s essentially the point that I am making. Practically since the dawn of the internet message board, you?ll find some poor illegitimate, searching for the resolution to some practical PC problem, and heaven forbid if he doesn?t have to find some self-impressed technophile ranting in reply, in lieu of any practical advice .

You don?t need to understand the physics of the combustible engine in order to be a good car mechanic. Similarly, you don?t need to know how to recreate ?a simple flat file database? in an afternoon, if you want to make sure that notepad opens up when you double-click on a .txt file. When it comes to troubleshooting forums, practical advice and shared information is being sought, not know-it-all proclamations by people attempting to gain their sense of self-superiority.

Being a hypothetical car mechanic myself, I often come across my clients? systems that are doing goofy things like abnormally long operational delays between the time they arrive at their desktop and the time it takes for their startup programs to finish loading; unusual behavior during application or system upgrade installs; and various I.E. glitches with javasoft or what have you. In these instances a good registry repair utility can save hours of headache, time and/or the repair or reinstallation of Windows. I deal in facts. For example, I wouldn?t be in business long if I told an office manager ? who has been using Windows XP for six years ? that she has to start learning a new application [or even worse, lose all of her data] just because some of her hyperlinks stopped working. Another fact is that I would be giving up ? as previously mentioned - about 90%+ market share if I stopped servicing typical Microsoft-based systems.

Erudition is fine, but there is a better time and place.

Let's just make this real simple...

You're the sort of person who's happy to overlook things you know are only going to cause problems, because it means your services will always be in demand. I am the sort of person who finds that kind of thing highly unethical, and will recommend to clients alternatives that should be less problematic, even if it means my services may not be required as often.

You are interested in the money the job brings, I'm interested in the challenge. We can agree to disagree on which has more merit to it.

You'll forgive me if I decline to engage you in your straw man argument. I find I've rather lost the desire to explode arguments based on logical fallacies. As only the intellectually weak/lazy use them, there's no prospect of a challenge in it for me. I will simply say that there is a third option you conveniently overlooked. You don't need to be a master auto mechanic to save some money changing your own oil. You don't need to know everything about everything, but someone who does tech support for a living really should know a bit more about what the Windows registry is, and even more importantly, what it isn't.

Man, you're living in a fool's paranoid if that's what you took away from it. You've gone beyond condescending and sanctimonious straight to offensive.

The bottom line is that it is a cold, hard, unemotional fact that millions of people [Teachers, students, secretaries, salesmen, et all] use a Windows/Outlook/I.E. platform daily, at work, school and home. 99.9% of them are not Bachelors of Computer Science. They don't know - and don't need to know unless they plan on becoming IT professionals - about the interworking of the software and/or hardware. Otherwise, they would all still have typewriters on their desks. If you believe that servicing their needs is unethical because some impractical solution is superior, or that it would be better to convince them that they are stupid, then so be it. I'm not a psychologist. At any rate, I've expressed everything I need to here. This thread has totally digressed, and I'm not going to clog it up any further. I?d be more then happy to start a new one someplace more appropriate. My apologies to the original poster. I?m still looking for a practical and solid registry utility too.

No problems here. The only issues on the registry which I encounter with CCLeaner are the ones left by uninstalling programs. And I don't think IE has anytyhing to do with that.

Its also helpful to run in a virtual environment to avoid mess where possible.

I have a very firm philosophy on personal responsibility. I don't mind lending people a hand, but I flatly refuse to do everything for people.

And I don't know exactly what it is with people... When I refuse to engage a straw man argument one time, why is it so many people seem to think that simply restating it will somehow be enough to make me think it's some brand new argument? Go look up the definition of a straw man argument before posting again, for your sake as well as everyone else's.

Computers are not appliances. I decline to even speculate on whether or not they will ever reach this state, but as of today, computers require some level of upkeep, just like a car, or any other complex mechanical device. To my way of thinking, people have three options.

Option #1: Take it upon yourself to learn the necessary skills
Option #2: Be prepared to pay a hefty premium for someone else to come in and fix things for you
Option #3: Decline to use them

Do note that Option #1 does not mean that they need to go get a 4-year degree, or any other variant on the illogical exaggeration you want to try and come up with. Option #2 is always there if you can afford it, but you can expect to get ripped off often by less than reputable people... And yes, Option #3 is always an option. If your job requires you to use a computer, there's nothing stopping you from quitting and finding a job that doesn't. If you don't want to quit your job, then I guess you're left picking between Options #2 and #3.

And the fact remains, that the registry is nothing particularly special. It stores metadata, that is it. If you have problems with some program corrupting the data stored within, then the easiest and most logical solution is to not use that program. Would you drive in a car that would randomly switch which pedal was the accelerator and brake, or left and right on the steering wheel? Not until it was fixed would be my guess, assuming you aren't suicidal.

I also know there are people out there who will always pop up and say, "I do all of these things, and I never have any problems!" Well, good for you, but how does that help the tens of thousands, if not millions, of people who do? In any statistical sample, you will have outliers. Data points that are way out in the boonies from everything else. You are the exception that makes the rule possible. Enjoy your good fortune while it lasts, but your comments will only serve to give others false hope.