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General discussion

Registry cleaners not for the unadvanced?

Oct 31, 2004 1:46AM PDT

That's the message I get because of the danger that the cleaner might remove something that is needed. But I wonder how much benefit a person gets from using a registry cleaner the right way. If it's very much, I wonder about a person posting the results of a registry scan and asking whether any of the items ought not to be fixed. And are there registry cleaners that may not be thorough but are safe for a non-tech to use? Thanks, grandpaw

Discussion is locked

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Re: Ccleaner
Dec 2, 2004 5:57AM PST

Hi Sabina, Happy

I have to say I don't know Registry Mechanic, nor CCleaner, (I like your name for that by the way!).

I think you will have to try them both out and see for yourself. You may find that one is good for somethings, and the other is good for other things. It doesn't do any harm to keep both on your system, but if you're using WinXP and have solved any problems you may have had with installing SP2, and are virus and spyware free, then like Bob said before in this thread, XP doesn't really "fall over" thru registry problems like the old Win9x or ME versions did.

Why not try this.

Run Registry Mechanic and see what faults, orphan registry entries, etc it finds. Make a note or do a screen print, and paste the print into Paint. Then, close down Registry Mechanic without making any changes, and run CCleaner, and see if it finds the same or different errors. Make a screen print, close it down without making any changes, and compare the 2 screen prints.

You can then, perhaps, see which appears to be the better, or more comprehensive.

I was sorry to learn you had Kazaa on your computer. Even thought it was the Lite version, I wouldn't have used that for all the tea in China. WinMX is good, I use it myself. But just be sure to virus check every file you download before opening or running it.

BTW I don't see you as hopeless, Happy

You seem like me. Loves tinkering around and trying things.

Mark

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Re: Ccleaner
Dec 2, 2004 10:47AM PST

Hello Mark,
I think your solution sounds like a very good idea before I start once more uninstalling something, lol. Just to let you know I downloaded winmex today and uninstalled Kazaa Lite. I will run both the CCleaner and Registry Mechanic (www.winguides.com) and check them out separately.
Thank you for not thinking me "hopeless", but compared to so many people here I still have sooo much to learn.
Sabina.

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Re: Ccleaner
Dec 2, 2004 7:10PM PST

You're welcome

I am learning all the time reading these threads.

Mark

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Re: Ccleaner
Dec 3, 2004 12:25AM PST

Hi, Sabina. Gee, we have something in common. I like to play around too. Maybe we could meet some time. Happy grandpaw

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Re: Registry cleaners not for the unadvanced?
Nov 4, 2004 10:24PM PST

There is a great shareware program called system mechanic, it is from www.iolo.com. It gives you 30 days use and has many, many useful tools in it. If you decide to try it, don't download the professional version unless you want an anti virus trial also. The only part to stay away from in the tools is "find duplicate files" tool, leave that to someone more advanced. Use the rest of the tools with a little caution and you will be ok. Sounds like your temporary files need removed along with backup files and history. These are accessed from start>settings>control panel>intrnet options, click delete cookies, click delete files, and click delete history. Answer yes to all conformations about are you sure. In the history box, if it displays any number, highlite it with the mouse and type the number 0. This should speed you up a little faster.

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Thanks, squeeze
Nov 4, 2004 11:57PM PST

I am going to look into that, although I get shy when I am told to use caution; that's not something I seem able to do. Plus, it's kind of vague advice; are there things I shouldn't do besides avoiding the "find duplicate files" option? (An aside: I'm teaching my granddaughter to drive; I don't tell her to use caution when changing lanes; I tell her to check her rear view mirror carefully and also look over her shoulder carefully to be sure the way it clear.) If you think of any specifics, I would appreciate your passing them on. grandpaw

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Re: Registry cleaners not for the unadvanced?
Dec 1, 2004 11:04PM PST

Hello grandpaw,
I have been using Registry Mechanic and have had absolutely no problems with it. I just let it do its job, but it also shows you what you should delete. It indicates what to do with the items it finds. The registered version is not free, but I cannot say anything negative about it right now.

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Re: Registry cleaners not for the unadvanced?
Dec 2, 2004 12:02AM PST

Thanks for the input, Sabina. As is so often the case, there is a considerable difference of opinion about using registry cleaners. I'm still somewhat up in the air about trying one. For one thing, my computer is doing fine now, and in the past I have gotten myself into trouble trying to fix things that aren't broke. grandpaw

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Re: Registry cleaners not for the unadvanced?
Dec 2, 2004 2:06AM PST

yw, grandpaw. I am a beginner, and as you know I get myself into tons of trouble. Sometimes it pays off though. This morning just for fun I went into the registry to check if incredimail really had been taken out. It should have been, because I followed microsoft's instructions, and bingo, I found more incredimail data to uninstall. Lol.

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The answers is :-
Dec 2, 2004 5:40AM PST

If you buy a good one ( Remember there is no such thing as a free lunch )
You should have no problems and after all you have to get your feet wet sometime
I will swear by JV16 this Swedish man knows his onions
Until you are more competant just use the second icon on the top bar
It will search for all the usless keys and let you delete them Don't worry it makes a backup so you can always retore
However in years of using this program I have never experianced one problem and I use it every week

Go for it Grandad

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Re: The answers is :-
Dec 3, 2004 12:21AM PST

shead, it's more like the answer is yes, no, maybe and, of course, the omnipresent it's up to you. I'm a little gun shy now with my computer behaving so well, but I am keeping your post in mind. I do think I've too often ignored the what might be the best advice for someone like me, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. grandpaw